Picking out a uromastyx

[Calciferskeeper]

Hello!
There's an old thread on this that no one answered. I'm interested in acquiring a uromastyx but want to have a full understanding of the care. I know that it depends on the species. I'm primarily interested in the oscellated uromastyx, but I can't find a lot of information that looks reliable. Does anyone have any good, reliable resources?

Also, any breeder recommendations? All of the online stores look iffy to me. I would love to be able to pick out my animal in person, but Texas seems short on breeders.

 

[Gormagon]

Hello!
There's an old thread on this that no one answered. I'm interested in acquiring a uromastyx but want to have a full understanding of the care. I know that it depends on the species. I'm primarily interested in the oscellated uromastyx, but I can't find a lot of information that looks reliable. Does anyone have any good, reliable resources?

Also, any breeder recommendations? All of the online stores look iffy to me. I would love to be able to pick out my animal in person, but Texas seems short on breeders.

I looked into them about a month ago and, the information on them seemed a bit sketchy to me as well. The prices that breeders have on them is crazy so, I didn't go that route!!!

 

[Claudiusx]

Breeders are few and far between. I wouldn't be able to recommend one to you, you'll be pretty in the dark on that one but that's just how the uro hobby is really. They are not popularized at all like bearded dragons so not as much effort has been put into their care like we have for bearded dragons.

I only ended up getting a uro as a rescue from a petshop. And from their all the information I learned orginally came from http://deerfernfarms.com/ and after that, from personal experience. At one point we had a couple other uro owners here on the board all at the same time, but I believe we all had saharans and ornates. For the most part I'd say all uros have the same basic needs, with some little tweaks potentially required for certain species.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

Hmm you're right, just did some quick searching and general care sheets do seem a bit sketchy for them.

I will give you my advice, and what worked for me and everyone else on here at the time.

Hot basking spot. Much hotter than a dragons. I kept mine at 125 or higher.

Good UV light like we suggest for dragons.

I only fed greens, never insects. Some fed insects on occasion but it wasn't a staple at all.

Bird seed was the protein source. In fact, my substrate (and others) was bird seed.

No water, no misting. They get their water from their greens. (I saw one sheet recommend misting the inside of their hide, I would strongly suggest not)

They do require hides, and try to get hides/caves that are sized appropriately so that they can feel their back up against the top of the hide while they are in it. This helps them feel more secure.

My Uro, Calcifer, ws an adult by the time I got her. But after a few months of my husbandry, she had actually started to grow (full body sheds) her color got better, she was much more active, her color was better, and she was generally a much happier healthier lizard. So thats all I can say as for my experience. Their isn't much of it in the uro world.

-Brandon

 

[Richiestylin73]

I've been getting everything set up for a couple of weeks in preparation for aquiring a couple Uros. My concern is actually finding someone that's a reputable breeder. I saw a link on this forum, but when I go to that site, there are errors on the uromastyx stuff. Also, since I live in El Paso, the closest Reptile Show is scheduled in Phoenix in July! A local pet store has two female uromastyx geyri(yellow) at $170/ea which I know is way overpriced. Any help would be much appreciated.

This is my update 25Jan2019: I got a 75g tank from Petco on sale they were 50% off! I also got the lighting between Petco and Petsmart and excellent prices by using price match. I've cemented some ornaments to pieces of ceramic tile and covered most of the floor with Excavators clay (made a burrow hot, mid and cool side). Gonna fill tank with white millet. Driving 8.5 hours to Repticon in Austin in a week. Hopefully a vendor has either ornate, ocellated or mali.

 

[Calciferskeeper]

From what I understand, it's not breeding season yet, so there just aren't a lot available right now. I've been following Phillip Lietz on Instagram (name is aridsonly), and his website is aridsonly.com. He posted two for sale recently on Instagram; don't know if they are still available. His animals seem really beautiful and cared for. I also reached out to Deer Fern Farms personally, and he told me that he's waiting for his hatchlings to reach maturity before he gets the website up and going again. My local store, S & S Exotic Animals, had a few babies about a month ago, but I don't know if they are still available. It looks like they do ship. I've talked to them a few times, and they seem to know what they are doing. I'm sure there are others out there.

I'm waiting a bit longer before I consider getting one.