Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just cant decide which one to get. ive been looking to get another lizard for a while now. does any one know which i can handle more. i know where i can get either one and i already have a large enough cage for either. is either one a better choice in terms of health and care. i have some experience with lizards i have a bearded dragon and a true fire skink.
happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

I've never had a uromastyx, but a friend has one and I've handled her a couple times before. Leopard geckos are smaller and more delicate compared to malis, but they have a nice simple diet (mealworms or crickets) and don't need UVB lights or 120 F basking spots.

Mali Uromastyx on the other hand are more "sturdy" and have that cute wrinkly appearance. They can wack you with their spiky tails if you piss them off, but my friend's mali has never bitten her. They need higher temps (like beardies) and UVB (again, like beardies) but my friend claims they're more interactive. I believe they eat veggies and the occasional cricket.

A normal phase juvenile leopard gecko goes for around $20-30 and I've seen juvenile mali uromastyx for $25.

I suggest you go to a herp show or a decent pet store and handle both and see what you like best. It's all up to you since you can't have random strangers online tell you what lizard to get
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thelastplace.tk

5.13 Leopard geckos: Cut, Skaq, Fido, Dino, Big Bertha the Bus, Clyde, Bernie, Stella, Cassidy, Clara, Hero, Q, Remy, KISS, Bean, Dexie, Tweek, Kitty.
0.1 Argentine B&W Tegu: Tindra
1.0 Bearded Dragon: Hobbes

i have both animals and if you want a more active animal then the mali uromastyx is the way to go,thier all over there cage through out the day,they require bigger basking bulbs in the 125-250 watt range depending on how big the setup is,they require high heat levels of at least 115F to 130F with a 100F in the middle and 85F on the coller side,they also need some type of non-chemical dirt to make burrows in.they need a slate stone or flat rock under the basking area to retain the heat after lights out.They also require a uvb bulb of some sort and if you have the money a mercury vapor bulb does both UVA and UVB while also giving off heat.they eat all sorts of veggies and love mealworms but should only have a few per week.Malis require huge tanks as adults something like a 3x3x2 with a foot of dirt.

leapord gecko's are much easier and require so much less.

they do not need any sort of UV bulb,paper towels make a great bottom,and they need a few hides one on each side then a humind hide in the middle,they also have a much lower temp need in the 85-90 range and 82 on the cooler side.

They do need a under tank heater for them to digest their food but thats really all they need.

they also dont need a big space as a 10G tank is fine for one gecko.

leapords are cheaper to start with and are easier to care for so just make sure you have everything before you buy your animal.

good luck......

kali
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1.3 Leopard Gecko's
1.0 mali uromastyx
0.0.3 tokay's(adults unsexed)

np
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Lauren
Leos and Uros
1.1 Saharan Uromastyx
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
1.1 Jungle Albino Leopard Gecko
1.1 Hypo/Baldy Leopard Gecko
1.1 Tremper Albino Leopard Gecko