Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We just got a new mali uromastyx. Because of it's color, we thought it was a large female. However, once I got it home, it was aggressive. I figured it was stressed from the move from the pet store to our home, and let it relax in it's new environment. We tried handling it later in the evening, and it would writhe like a snake and whip at us with it's tail. It even hissed at us and puffed up like a balloon. My husband suggested that it may be acting that was because it's a male. So we're very unsure. Here are the pictures, any help?

The coloration seems pretty female to me. Female-mimic males are pretty rare. If you go by aggressiveness, that's not a good indicator of gender. My female is a lot more aggressive than my male and they are both malis.

It's going to take your uro a lot more time to settle down in its new home. It definitely takes more than just a few hours to expect it to calm down. I'd avoid handling it for at least a few days and just clean the cage and feed on a regular basis. It will get used to your presence when it learns that you're not trying to eat it.

With time, I'm sure it'll settle down but by how much, nobody can really say.

Good luck with your girl.
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1.1.17 Mali Uromastyx (Ra, Isis) & eggs
1.1 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (R.I.P. Diablo and Samael)
2.0 Tabby cats (Cloud, Magus)

Thanks I've left her alone today, aside from putting some greens in her food dish. Since she has found a hiding place she hasn't come out. I'm assuming she's still stressed from the transition. I'll take your advice and leave her alone for next week or so to let her get acclimated.

I'd recommend the same thing that Sunfox said... they can take weeks to adjust to a new environment. And considering most Uros aren't cared for well in pet stores, it'll take your new girl a while to settle into a routine with proper diet and enclosure. The way she tail whipped you and puffed up is a very natural reaction for them, at and least tells me that she's in good temps and active enough to want to fight back. I've seen people hold Uros in pet stores and say how "tame" they are, when in fact they're just freezing and don't have enough energy to do their normal tail whip dance.

Your new Uro looks like it's a good weight and healthy Be sure to get a fecal sample to a reptile vet to be checked for parasites.

Keep us posted, and congrats to the new family member

Andi

I was actually thinking it looks more of a male to me, kinda hard to tell from those pics though. My male has similar coloration, but the difference is very notable between my male and female by the shape of their head and length of rear toes for sure, as well as size of the rear legs. The male's legs are much bigger.