New Owner Checklist

Uromastyx (say "yoor-oh-MAS-tix") are desert lizards from North Africa and Arabia. They eat salad, love heat more than any other pet lizard, and can live 15 to 20 years or longer.

The three rules

1. Hot. The basking rock must read 120–130°F (49–55°C) on a temperature gun, with a cool end around 80–85°F (27–29°C). Night can drop 10–15°F (5–8°C); most keepers keep it above about 65°F (18°C).
2. Dry. Humidity about 10–30%. Damp enclosures cause tail rot and can make them sick.
3. Bright. A 14% T5 HO desert UVB tube over the basking side, plus a bright daylight LED, on 12–14 hours a day. A UV index meter is the best guide to when to replace the tube. The maker of one desert T5 tube rates it for about 12 months, and one care sheet says every 4–6 months; replace sooner if the basking-spot reading falls below about 4.5–6.

Before your uromastyx comes home

• Enclosure at least 4 x 2 x 2 ft (122 x 61 x 61 cm) for ornate, Saharan, Mali and Omani; 8 x 4 x 4 ft (244 x 122 x 122 cm) for an Egyptian
• Two or more halogen flood bulbs over a flat basking rock, on a dimming thermostat (not just a dimmer)
• Infrared temperature gun and a probe thermometer
• T5 HO desert UVB tube (14%) and reflective fixture, on a 12–14 hour timer
• Probe hygrometer, and a dehumidifier if your room is humid
• Paper towel for the first two months; then 4 in (10 cm) or more of packed sand or sandy soil to dig in
• A dark hide at each end and a dig box
• Phosphorus-free calcium powder and a reptile multivitamin
• A scale that weighs in grams
• A reptile vet's phone number

Food

• Every day for babies, 4–5 days a week for adults: a chopped salad of dark leafy greens (collard, mustard, dandelion, endive, bok choy, spring mix) and edible flowers (dandelion, hibiscus, rose, nasturtium; never florist flowers)
• A little: chopped squash, carrot, green beans
• A pinch, once a week at most: dry millet, lentils and split peas; many keepers skip these for babies under 4 months
• Almost never: insects. They are herbivores, and too much protein harms their kidneys
• Fruit: once a month at most
• Supplements: sources disagree. One care sheet dusts salad with phosphorus-free calcium 2–4 times a week and adds a multivitamin once a week to twice a month, depending on age; ReptiFiles uses calcium and a multivitamin about twice a week. Pick one routine and do not stack extra D3 on top

Water

• Your lizard gets water from its greens and may never drink
• A small, shallow dish is fine as long as humidity stays low
• Mist the salad, not the enclosure
• New or thin lizards: a 10-minute soak in lukewarm water no deeper than the lizard's elbows, a few times a week. Stay with it the whole time, then dry the tail

Handling

• Leave a new lizard alone for two weeks except for feeding and cleaning
• Then hand-offer a dandelion flower every day
• Lift from below, never from above, and never by the tail
• They can bite, though most never do
• One lizard per enclosure. Adults fight

Call a reptile vet if you see

• No eating after 2 weeks at the right temperatures
• Soft jaw, shaky limbs, or trouble lifting the body (a calcium or UVB problem)
• Bubbles at the nose or open-mouth breathing
• Tail tip turning dark or soft
• No poop for 10 days, a swollen belly, or runny or bloody poop

Weigh your lizard at least monthly. Steady weight is healthy weight.

Wash your hands

• Wash your hands with soap and water after touching your uromastyx, its enclosure or anything in it
• Keep it and its gear out of the kitchen
• The CDC says children under 5 should not touch reptiles, and reptiles are not recommended for homes with children under 5, adults 65 and older, or people with weakened immune systems