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Egyptian Uromastyx

BatGirl1

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I'm not an expert, however was looking into getting one before I got my tegu. From what I remember, they are desert creatures so they like dry, hot temps. Not sure how big they get, maybe similar to bearded dragons(?) What turned me 'off ' of getting one is that their 'ideal ' diet is ants, and other foods that they are commonly fed causes them to have health issues. If anyone has better knowledge of them, perhaps they have an idea of supplemental foods which give them equal nutrients as ants would. (?)


Oh, as far as temperament,i have found most to be very nice/managable, especially as they get bigger. The babies can be skittish, but such is true for many lizards...
 

dragonmetalhead

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I read the Egyptians get about 2.5 feet, which is quite a bit bigger that other uro species. I have a nearly 13 year old Mali who is most unpleasant. Normally uros are nice and friendly, but mine is cranky and sometimes aggressive. They're vegetarian, which makes feeding relatively simple. BatGirl1, it's horned lizards that eat only ants not uromastyx.
 

BatGirl1

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Really? Hmmm. Cuz I looked it up and more than one site said ants. That it was their primary diet. Strange..... :/
 

Little Wise Owl

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Uromastyx diet consists of leafy greens, vegetables, some fruit, seeds, and lentils. I would advise finding a captive bred one.
 

Little Wise Owl

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You can. I've never had an Egyptian (I had a Saharan) but I know they're the largest of all the Uros and are usually (not always) docile.
 

kim86

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With Uromastyx lizards, you have to be very careful when taking them out of their enclosures as they need high temps (120F+ for basking) and taking them out of the heat can cause issues, if left out too long or if it's a lot cooler in the room you have them in, it can kind of shock them. Plus, they're more of a "look at" pet. They'll interact with you through the glass and be cute, but they can run pretty dang fast if you spook them and if they get stuck under a piece of your furniture, and you can't get them quick enough, that can be fatal because of the low temperatures.

I had a baby Egyptian, like a BABY, and it died after 2 months because I received it already sick from the supplier. I was really sad about it, its name was Little Foot. It ate and acted fine for those 2 months, and then one day it slowed down, and was dead by next morning. Kale, bok choy, spring mix salad minus spinach are good to go with. Bird seed is good to have in their enclosure, minus sunflower and niger seeds. The Repashy "super veggie" dust is perfect to dust on their salads.

Uros need large enclosures with lots of floor space since they are active lizards, doesn't matter about height. Lower is better, usually, to help achieve the very high temperature needs. Not to mention the UVB etc. They love to make burrows and tunnels, so using a substrate like Excavator Sand by Zoo Med is great as you can sculpt hides and tunnels for them, and they can do it themselves too. They're diggers, so all rocks need to be on the very bottom of the enclosure, maybe even glued.

They're vegetarians, so no bugs! :)
 

BatGirl1

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Oh ok! Wow! What was I reading then??? Haha. Must have been a site that was not, in fact, maintained by a knowledgeable keeper... :/ good to know 'in case ' i decide to make an addition in the future. :)
 

Little Wise Owl

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Kim86, I got a Uro not too long ago and within two weeks it passed away. We didn't even know she was dead until I poked her. She was fat, "healthy" looking and honestly just looked like she was sleeping. Eyes weren't even sunken in. I've heard that they're notorious for hiding health problems. Also that they're almost always extremely dehydrated from the import process. I would love another in the future but I would never get a wild caught ever again.
 

Dubya

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BatGirl1 said:
Really? Hmmm. Cuz I looked it up and more than one site said ants. That it was their primary diet. Strange..... :/

I looked it up too. They eat vegetable matter. It was definitely horny toads you were thinking of. (horned lizards)
 

BatGirl1

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Yeah I figure that must be it. Silly me. Must be my old age, i forget a lot these days... i... what were we talking about? ;p
 

tupinambisfamiliaris

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I know that this is an older thread, but as someone who's owned and Egyptian uro for almost 5 years, I thought I'd provide some thoughts from experience.

First, I bought mine from a very reputable source. DR Doug Dix at Deer Fern Farms has a great website and sells terrific uros of several different species. He's also very helpful/accessible. I received a very healthy animal. All that said, the attitude and experience since arrival has been somewhat less than what I had envisioned when I decided to buy an Egyptian.

The animal I keep is of a Saudi strain and goes by the taxonomic name u.a. microlepis. They are slightly smaller and more ocellated than the larger aegyptius. As far as behavior, it's been rough going. The uro is unbelievably skittish. She will whack me with her tail at every opportunity. She used to attempt to bite, but that has subsided over the years. I've adopted a hands-off approach with her for this reason and only handle when necessary. Even spot cleaning can be rough if a mess is made near a occupied hide. I never thought much of the spiked tail, but once she grew past 18 inches she was more than capable of drawing blood. Also, this species will disappear for months at the end of summer. My reptile room gets very warm in summer months. Once the ambient temp drops, no matter what I do with heat sources, she will go into hiding for 3 months or more. As in you won't see her until after Christmas. She comes out as good as new around January, just when you're ready to start checking to see if she's still alive.

As far as letting one roam, I would not even think about it. A: It's a uromastyx. These lizards can squeeze into tiny creases and are incredibly difficult to remove when they get comfortable. You risk great injury to the lizard by forcing it out of a tight space. B: These guys are much faster than you might expect. If my girl gets spooked, she's under the hide before I can close the door to the reptile room.

For food, I've always fed mine a diet consisting mainly of greens. My go-to staple is endive. I also use dandelion greens, collards, bok-choy, turnip greens, and spring mix. I also keep a leopard tortoise, so I offer Mazuri tortoise chow to the urn a few times a week. She loves it. Her cage has a few live spineless opuntia cactus, which she mostly ignores. She will accept chopped pads, however.

Hope this helped if the thread has any life left in it.
 

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