Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I CURRENTLY AM CONSIDERING GETTING ONE OF THESE (BABY). I WAS TOLD THE GIANTS GET TO ABOUT 3 FEET.IS THIS TRUE? CAN I START THEM OUT IN A 20L TANK? SO FAR I KNOW THEY EAT GREENS,BEANS,PEAS,AND SOME BIRD SEED(NOT SUNFLOWER).THEY NEED HIDE AREAS AS WELL.TEMP.THEY ARE DIGGERS AS WELL,TEMP. ABOUT 120 ON HOT SIDE.ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS HOW EASY ARE THEY TO HANDLE? I HAVE A BEARDED DRAGON VERY HANDILABLE AND A LEPARD GECKO HARDLY HANDLE BECAUSE OF TAIL POSSIBLY FALLING OFF. THE UROMASTYX LOOK SO MUCH LIKE A LITTLE DINOSAURS TO ME AT LEAST.ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.ALL THE INFO I GOT SO FAR HAS BEEN ON THIS MESSAGE BOARD GOOD JOB GUYS.I JUST HAVENT SEEN ANYTHING ON GIANT UROMASTYX AND WANT TO ADD TO MY BROOD.
THANKS VIPER

Viper

The gaint uro your refering to are Egyptian Uromastyx. There are two types 1) U. Aegyptica gets up to 3 feet, 2) U. Microlepis get up to 2 feet. when fully grown u. aegyptica will need a tank approx. 9 feet long, and 5 feet wide. u. microlepis will need a tank approx. 6 feet long, and 3 feet wide. Do you have the room for either tank? Or do you want a tank that size?
Handleing, well I have seven malis and only one likes to be handled.

THANKS FOR THE REPLY. I HAVE NO PROBLEM BUILDING A CUSTOM TANK MYSELF WHEN THE TIME COMES. IM IN THE THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A 4'BY4'BY2' FOR MY DRAGON.APPROXIMATLEY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR THESE GUYS TO REACH FULL SIZE ON AVERAGE?AS FOR ROOM I HAVE MY AMIMALS ALL IN ONE ROOM WITH SEPERATE TANKS OF COURSE (EXCEPT MY SON THE HEAD ANIMAL). I KNOW HOW AWRNRY SOME ANIMALS ARE. I JUST WANTED A GENERAL TEMPERMANT ON THESE GUYS BEFORE I MAKE THE DECISION AND START WITH THE SETUP OF THE FIRST TANK..ANY TIPS ON MY FOOD LIST OR TEMPS?

THANKS,
VIPER

I dont have any experiance with Egyptians, so anything I say about their temperment wuld be from a book or another site. But here goes a really tame one will make you fall in love. One that has a attitude will make you wish for mesh gloves.
But really each one has its own personality. Ever have a cat? Some like to be petted, some dont. Growth rate is not super fast, malis take about five years to become mature.Life span, depends on the site, between ten to thirty years. Have read about a pair in florida that lived for twenty years.

3.4.0 malis

A side note - typing in caps is the equivalent of screaming, so if you can avoid it, please do.

I would consider a 40 gallon breeder tank the smallest appropriate tank for a Uro, even a juvenile. It took my Egyptian a little less than a year to outgrow the 40 gallon breeder. He probably could have stayed in it a *little* longer if he had to though.

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine (RIP)
0.1 Feline Winter
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