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I was hoping that someone could provide a positive identification of this Uromastyx species. If possible, based on size, color, and pictures of femoral pores might anyone also be able to hazard a guess as to age and sex?

Many Thanks!

Looks like a Nigerian to me.

No idea on sex or age though.

My guess would be Sudan or McFad. Can you send more picts? Either way, looks kinda skinny.

Hi Matthew,
For what it's worth, your pictures are not of best
quality and unless you have it on pink sand and
that's a grayish/green grapevine in with it, your
photo colors are way off. I think this uro will be
difficult at best to ID using these pics.

You should never pose a lizard or what ever herp
under or in close proximity of a basking light when
taking pictures if you want to display true/natural
colors.

Having said that, can you tell us what color it is?
The ground color as well as the oscillation/pattern
color on it's back.
Is it's ventral side plain, white or off white or other?
Also, is there striping on it's belly. If so are they bold
and black or a thinner and more of a brown striping?

What length is it from snout to vent and snout to
tail tip (SVL/STL)? What does it weigh in grams?
How many tail whorls do you count? I think I
counted 18-19 but it's difficult since your pic is not
the best quality/clarity/color.

John

It always helps to tell us the length of the lizard too.
FWIW, my guess would be female mali, but with low degree of confidence.
-----
Lindsay Pike
Urotopia Uromastyx

Ok, I've taken a few more photos. They are probably still not the greatest but they are at least in natural light. As to the other info requested, s/he is 200g and just under 12" long STL. Her pattern is netted and s/he is white/off-white on her belly without patterns or striping. S/he is a brownish tan all over with yellowish hands. S/he has black splotches on her tail. S/he is currently in her subterranean burrow so I'll add the additional information requested when s/he comes out.

Just as a note, s/he was adopted at the beginning of the week from someone who had rescued her from a friend who could no longer care for her. Though s/he does look thin, s/he has a healthy appetite (loves the organic produce mixes we make) and her feces are well formed (though we will have her examined by our herp vet in the coming week). While s/he is our first Uro. s/he is by no means our first lizard or our first adoption (we care for a number of neglected and abused lizards in addition to our many others). We are fully up to speed on proper husbandry for Uros. in general but thought it would be helpful to get a better idea of her specific species and sex since the person who rescued her was uncertain and we only have pictures and vague descriptions in books to go by. S/he is extremely friendly and well adjusted to humans. S/he was supposedly captive bred by her previous owner just under a year ago and has been his children's pet since. Apparently the children lost interest in her and because of his work commitments he felt that s/he would not be properly cared for in his absence.

Much better pictures Matthew!
A pic is worth a thousand words ... LOL.

I tend to agree with Lindsay in that it
does resemble a mali. I'm also leaning
toward female at this time.
I believe it's older than a yearling at 12
inches STL and 200 grams in weight. My guess
is that it's no younger than an '05-'06 which
would make it 2-3 years at the youngest but
could possibly be older as it's pretty close
to full length at 12" for a female.

Does it often stand with it's foot folded
under as seen in the pics? If so, I would keep
a close check on your UVB lighting and make
sure it gets proper vit/calc w-d3 supplementation.

John

Many thanks to John and to all the others who replied. Based on books and pictures my guess was that she was a Mali female so I'm glad that this is your suspicion as well. To answer your question, no, this is the only time I've seen her stand on her foot like that and I think it was only because she was being posed to take a picture (though I will keep my eye on it). We are using both a Repti Sun florescent bulb and a Repti Sun Mercury Vapor Bulb for UVB lighting so she should have adequate lighting. I would certainly be interested in hearing opinions about frequency of supplementation (we use Repcal calcium with d3 and their multivitamin Herptivite with beta carotene). We offer an organic mix made predominantly of a wide variety of dark leafy greens, flowers, and fresh vegetables with a small amount of fruit (apple this week) and beans. We have also been giving her some shelled seeds/nuts. All of our animals have a slightly different vitamin schedule based on the current literature on their needs. What I’ve read seems to indicate that once a week is appropriate supplementation for Uro. adults (light sprinkling over salad). If this seems too often or too infrequent please let me know as supplementation has always presented itself as the most imprecise aspect of herp husbandry.

Many keepers dust their salad twice
weekly with a light dose but if she
eats her food with one good dose per
week, then continue as you're doing.

It's hard to guess when too much is
given but in most cases, they'll let
you know as they really don't like
the taste of over dusted salads.

Most of my herp are kept outdoors for
most of the year so added calcium is
seldom used on those unless they need
a pre brumation or egg developing
calc/vit boost.

Good luck with her,
John

I meant to write that it's no younger
than an '04 or '05 at the youngest but
probably older.

John