Desert basking lizard

Uromastyx

Kept the same way as the bearded dragon and collared lizard, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

Build an Uromastyx setup See the gear

Photograph of a Uromastyx — Photograph by איתן פרמן, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Uromastyx is not one animal. A genus. U. aegyptia, U. geyri and U. ornata differ enough that a keeper should be asked which they have. The figures below span the group, so ask us which one you have before you buy the heating.

Basking surface: 49 to 55°C Measured on the surface the animal lies on, not in the air.
Daytime air: 25 to 38°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air: 16 to 25°C
UV index at the basking spot: 4.5 to 9.5 Zone 4. Mid-day sun basker, thermoregulator
Humidity: 20 to 35%
Daylight hours: 14 h in summer, 10 h in winter
Winter: Cooling A cooler period: activity and feeding drop, but the animal stays awake.
Where it lives: Fossorial, Rocks, crevices, or burrows, Grassland or savanna
Adult length: 28 to 75 cm
When it is active: Diurnal
How it lives: Terrestrial

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue