Reptile & Amphibian Forums

it's actualy a sign of stress. This behavior is only found in captivity... obvious reason. I've read (Mellisa Kaplan ..maybe?) a study showing spinial damage in long term captive lizards that were directly attributed to this. Basicaly stated..the poistion they put themselves in puts un-due physical stress on their tail. Their tails are not designed to support weight in this manner.
With that said.. even in my 150gal set-ups I still see it happen. My adults rarely do it, if ever. But my sub-adults & little ones do it consistantly. This behavior is primarily done during sping. It's less fequently done throughout the rest of the year. I belive the length of captivity, environment provided, and potientialy pubesence are all factors. My very first Uro did this so badly, he developed sores-blisters on the bottoms of his front paws that required antiboitic treatment. He was trying to "Take on" a Bearded Dragon that was in a seperate tank 2 feet away. I no longer have my BD's so I could concentrate on Uromastyx. Just a choice I had to make.
I post this.. not to scare anyone.. but rather to pass along. I have not noticed any spinial problems... just something I read. The rest is from first hand knowledge. Personaly, I don't belive the climbing will cause damage in the short term , except you may want to keep a check on their feet. I hope this behavior will cease with age, like my adults. But I will continue to discourge it whenever and however I can.
-----
Jason
Blackdog Uromastyx Pics

that is good info to know. my mali only decides to do it when i put him in a smaller tank than usual..the rest of the time he doesn't...only occasionally. but since i'm redoing his big nearly 200 gallon tank he has to go in a 50 gallon for like 4 weeks and he doesn't like it. so he's started clawing gain...i'll keep an eye on his hands. thanx!

when she has to go to the bathroom. LOL She climbs the glass, while I'm there, in a panicky mode, only to come out and do A BIG MESS on the tile

Then she relaxes, and is fine going back ! I don't think she likes to have to go in her house

Eve

Imagine she could speak in Human tounge... Instead we speak in lizard! As cute as the Gecko from the Geico commercials is... I would bet my Sadaam would know profanity in 20 languages!
-----
Jason
Blackdog Uromastyx Pics

Jason is right,

Sorry if that wasn't clear when I was trying to help earlier but yes I was also implying that 'dancing' is a sign of stress. Bigger enclosures with opaque walls help because they lower the stress. It's no good for them to be constantly dancing like that. If they have some good substrate to dig around in and burn off some energy, that's a great help too. I just wasn't too worried about it because if you're here at this forum, you're only going to get better at husbandry and the 'dancing' should decrease.
-----
Mark Martinez
University of Florida

i have been extra busy lately with breeding and work in general, but i thought the same thing with the first "dancing" posts...

it is a problem, not a benefit, and another good example of anthropomorphising with the animals. such behavior is a clear sign of stress, and can be fatal in the long run, as part of an overall negative environment.

for those with dancers, i would look at a larger cage, larger environment, a more stimulating enviroment, more hidespots, some diggable substrate, cagemates, and other husbandry related factors that are less than ideal. it may be one of those things significantly, or a combination of many.

judging from so many of the setup pics that are posted here on the forum, i would say that lack of proper hidespots, and enough hidespots period, is a significant problem that is often overlooked by keepers.

that lack of security and retreat often manifests itself in such stressed out behavior as nose rubbing, pacing, and "dancing".
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles