Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I'm debating between a uro and a bearded dragon. What are everyone's thoughts on differences between the two species in the following areas:

- Temperament
- Hardiness
- Ease of care
- Activity levels
- General opinions

The reason I ask is that I had a mali years ago that remained very skittish over several years. His cage setup was ideal (large, perfect temps, in his own bedroom without tons of activity or pets, etc.), and I was always careful of not trying to grab him from the above. I would rarely even see him basking since he would run for cover any time he saw someone. He was very healthy, just not observable.

Thanks!
Bruce

Hi Bruce,

Basically I am a fairly newbie owner of both. I have had my Mali uro for close to a year now (it was a cb/ch baby when purchased), and my bearded dragon for about five months (it was fresh out the egg from a local breeder/friend of mine). In my opinion, the bearded makes the better pet. Much less inclined to get stressed with handling, cage care, etc., better feeder in general(although my Mali feeds fine), and probably less prone to "crash" if husbandry isn't kept at 100% at all times. Both need similar cage requirements as far as size to maintain proper thermal gradients, but the bearded can probably get by with a bit smaller cage due to being handled and allowed to excersice outside its cage more. I am not a big believer in handling animals that stress out with handling, so the bearded tends to get handled more. My Mali still freaks and runs for cover when I enter the room. Not as much, but still does. It has to be very still for it to remain out and bask when people are in the room.

I hope this info helps you make your choice.

Good Luck

Hi Kevin, thanks for the info. I have had two uros in the past with my Aegypticus (sp?) being dog tame and my mali being super skittish. It seems that people generally experience "better" temperaments with beardies. Again, my goal isn't to walk my pet through the neighborhood on a leash, but it would be nice to actually see it.

Thanks again,
Bruce

No problem Bruce. My beardie is always out and about and never scurries off unless really frightened by something. He is still young, so naturally more skittish than a full grown adult. I hear they get mellower with age and handling, which is why I got the beardie. The uro is just cool and for some unknown reason, I like it alot LOL!!! I cant wait til it matures and gets adult coloration, even if it is a duller female Mali (which I think it is). Uros just appear to be more of a look dont touch pet compared to the bearded dragon, or something like a blue tonque skink or leopard gecko.

I've had my mali since march and he's in a well traveled room. My youngest is 5 and autistic and is constantly running or jumping in the room. Zilla doesn't seem to care, he'll bask move around the cage and he perks up when he hears my voice or my 7 yr' old daughthers voice. I guess I'm lucky he's not skittish. I don' thandle him all that much he doesn't seem to care for it so why upset him. but he doesn' t freak if i pick him up to clean the cage or move him in the cage.

I got two nigerian uros (2 years) and a bearded dragon (8 months). The beardie is far more personable than the uros. My beardie never hides and he comes running to the front of his cage when I get home so that I can let him out for a run. The uros hate being touched and are fairly skittish. Heck, I've only seen my uros twice in the last two months. They are out for maybe an hour a day to eat and thats it during winter.