Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I have a little experience with herps. I had a ball python for almost ten years. I recently lost her. She got too cold when we lost power in the ice storms. I'm looking into getting a mali uromastyx, but wanted some insight from someone with experience. I don't want to jump in headlong. Charlie was relatively low maintenance for a herp. Except when she didn't eat. Is this something that is gonna be a big jump for me? Any stepping stones to recommend before I try a uro? I think they're great and really want one, but I definitely want to make sure of what I'm getting into first. Thanks in advance for the advice, guys!

I would say the jump from a ball python to a uro is a BIG jump in terms of care and caging in general. Depending on the size of the species you want, a MINIMUM cage size is four foot by two foot, or even six foot by two foot in floor space for an adult uro. They need uvb lighting and a basking area of 120 degrees or so, and aren't really considered a "lap" pet like a ball python or corn snake. You mentioned a power outage causing the loss of your ball python. I think a similar situation would be even worse for a uro if a long term outage was experienced. Keeping snakes and lizards are like apples and oranges IMO. Snakes are MUCH easier in general to house and feed and meet their temperature requirements. Plus they dont need special UVB lighting.

Aside from what the other poster said, if you want a Uro, Mali Uro is a great choice to begin. They are the hardiest of all the Uro species.

It's a big difference, but as long as you choose your source wisely and do tons of research and have your complete setup BEFORE you buy the uro, it can work fine. Just make sure that you really want to make up full salads every day, and understand that it WILL impact your grocery and electric bill! Uros are great, if you have the time and money to put into keeping them properly.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

I kinda fell in love with the little guy at a pet shop yesterday, and I knew someone that had one. It was sweet. I miss having a herp, but I'm not sure that I want another ball. She had periods of months that she wouldn't eat, then one day she would just decide she was hungry again. I've never had a lizard before, and I don't HAVE to have a uro. I just miss herps. Any suggestions as to good species?

From Snake to Uro is definately a big jump, but doable if you research enough and get all the proper stuff ahead of time.

You might also want to consider a Bearded Dragon, they are less work, less lights and easier to care for.

I agree that beardies are one of the best lizard species to keep as a pet. They still require large cages compared to a snake, but not QUITE as elaborate as a uro setup IMO. Less heat is needed, but they need UVB or good supplementation without it. Another good lizard choice is a leopard gecko. An adult can live in a 10 gallon tank with an under tank heater on one side, and generally feed well on crickets and mealworms. Both easily obtainable from local pet shops now. Some may even eat canned crickets off tongs, or prepared leopard gecko foods, and meal worms kept in a shallow dish. They are docile for the most part, less expensive in general, and WAY easier to keep than Uros or beardies IMO. Plus, being nocturnal, no UVB is necessary, just light calcium supplementation a couple of times a week by dusting their food or gutloading the insects with nutritious food before eating.

The fact of the matter is ALL herps require more attention to temps and/or caging then other small pets like hamsters and such which can pretty much be kept at room temps with no special heating, and can be fed dry foods from a box. BUT, those features in herps also make them exciting for folks to keep as opposed to a more mundane pet.

Probably one of the best herp pets is a corn snake. Docile, manageable size, can be kept in easily obtained and inexpensive caging, and heat requirements are generally easy to maintain. They can even do OK at room temps if around mid-70s, although a warm end around 80 is best. No special lighting is needed, so no expensive UVB bulbs. They feed on mice, which can EASILY be purchased frozen at most big pet chain stores now, and most all available at these stores or at shows are captive bred and feeding very good on frozen thawed mice already.

Whatever you decide, good luck. Just make sure your neat pet doesn't turn into your worst nightmare as far as care is concerned.

I appreciate the input. I have a decent size terrarium, about 4ft long by 1ft wide. And I already have a lighting setup. I need to get a new night bulb, but I have everything else. Undertank heater, hide box, water bowl.

I'd never really thought about a gecko. I always just assumed that the humidity would be difficult to control. I've taken care of corns, and to be honest, I think I want a lizard. I loved my ball python dearly, it broke my heart when she died. But I think I'd like something with a bit more personality. I understand that people look at me like I'm crazy when I say things like "personality" and "cute" about a reptile, but they can be true.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Between the leopard gecko and the bearded dragon, the bearded has more "personality". You cage size actually sounds adequate for a beardie. Just give it a good basking spot. You can use a cinderblock or branch at one end for it to climb closer to the light if using a lower watt bulb. I would go with a good uvb/heat bulb combo. All you need is one dome fixture over the warm end and your set. Babies are a bit delicate and obviously small. However, once feeding reliably, they do real well. Mine eats crickets and well, just about anything offered off of feeding tongs. It also eats from its bowl which I fill with greens or prepared bearded dragon food every other day or so.