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Can you tell me a bit about uromastyx personality & behavior? I've been researching ... I've seen comments about their great personalities & amusing behavior. Can you tell me more? What sort of personality? How do they behave?

How active are they? I'm considering a smaller uro, probably a mali, although any suggestions on one species vs another are appreciated. I'm looking for a not-too-shy critter, hoping for interesting behavior. We'd like to be able to take him/her out & handle him occasionally.

I've had chameleons (Jacksons & a panther) & raised leopard geckos, but this would be my first uromastyx. It would live in a 90-gallon vivarium in the living room. I'm researching various lizards, and from what I've seen, these guys are pretty cool.

Thanks!
Leslie

Hello Leslie and welcome to the forum!

Uros are very rewarding animals to own! To start, uros are some what similar to bearded dragons personality wise, they can be very outgoing and adventurous but they can also be very flighty and shy. I have not worked with every species available so I will tell you what I can about my experiences. Wanting a Mali is a good start, they are one of the more common species so snatching a c.b. baby should not be that difficult. I keep mostly Saharan uros and they are great. I will state that they can be a bit more difficult if you get them wild collected. I have a few that are long term captives and they still will not tolerate being handled.
I have also hatched out a clutch of Saharans and the babies have an assortment of attitudes! Some are real chill and don't mind some quality interaction yet some are a bit more weary. Ornates are another species that are somewhat easy to find and can have very cool attitudes, they are however, quite a pretty penny. When choosing an animal, I think your best bet is to find a good quality captive bred animal.
A 90 gal. tank has a good floor plan but keep in mind these animals like it HOT, if your tank is an aquarium you will def. be playing around a lot to get proper heat gradient because of its height. These animals (for the most part), are quite active when properly housed and fed.
This is just the tip of the ice berg and I'm sure others will chime in. Good luck!

-Nathanael

Actually, the more I research, the more I've become interested in the Saharans. Finding a captive bred one may be difficult, though. Ornates seem pretty cool, too.

I'm tempted to get a pair.

I have some experience with lizards (raised two Jacksons chameleons from birth, a panther chameleon, and raised leopard geckos) but this would be my first uromastyx.

If you're wanting to keep a pair in the same cage, I'd suggest the Saharans over the Ornates. They appear to be more tolerant of cagemates. Ornates (particularly females) can be snarky - mine certainly is. But definitely do the work and find CB. My WC Saharan pair are also intolerant of handling (or being looked at from across the room) even after four years.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2. Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

I have three Saharans, an adult male WC who is very tolerant of people being in the room with him, but hates to be touched in any way. We were very lucky in that he really didn't have an adjustment problem and took to his new enclosure and ate well from the first day we had him. But.... if I had it to do again, I'd definitely get a CB.

In the last two months, we've gotten two CB Saharan babies, one a female and the other unknown. They were together at the breeder's, and we've kept them together without any problems thus far. One went on a hunger strike and got dehydrated, needing a trip to the vet for fluids, but has bounced back incredibly well and the two get along great. They do have very different personalities, even at their young age. One is very outgoing, wants to see everything going on, eats out of my hands daily, etc, and the other one is a lot more skittish, runs and hides at a lot of things, and keeps its distance.

For a pair, you need to make sure there are multiple basking/hiding/feeding areas so that one can't intimidate the other one. It might be so subtle that you don't notice it, but giving plenty of space lessens the chance that one will dominate the other. I've heard from several people that the Saharans are some of the easiest to keep in pairs.

If you decide to get Uros, do your research first, look up care sheets, and make sure you have everything properly set up BEFORE getting them so that they have as much of a stress-free transition as possible.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do...
Andi

I agree that Ornate females can be raging [bleep]es, but they seem to pair up fairly easily when introduced as adolescents. And if you get a compatible pair, it's truly worth the price. I think Doug has some sort of warm water introduction process but I haven't followed up on it yet. And if anyone wants a raging Ornate [bleep], I have one for cheap!
Dan

Shazzbot was nasty even as a youngun. I guess some of them are just hatched cranky!

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2. Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Well, you gotta be careful what names you give 'em... I mean, their could be an identity crisis happening there...

In your experience, would CB Saharans tend to be as tame as CB Malis or ornates?

Also, I read that ornates tend to become lethargic "couch potatoes" as they mature. Is this true?

Yes, some Ornates definitely become couch potatoes. It's one of their many enjoyable perks. They have an aloofness about them.
Gotta love 'em!