Soaking
From UroWiki
Despite what other caresheets may say, uromastyx should never be bathed. This is because they come from a climate which has naturally low humidity, and high levels of humidity should generally be avoided because they have been known to be responsible for medical conditions including respiratory infections and tail rot. All of a healthy uromastyx' fluid intake should come through its diet, and the responsible keeper should have a hygrometer at each end of the enclosure to measure air humidity.
Cleaning an uromastyx
Although have been known to advise bathing to rehydrate an uromastyx, this has often been shown to be the advice of a reptile vet not familiar with uromastyx, rahter than a qualified uromastyx vet, as many reptile vets are unfamiliar with the special environmental requirements of the uromastyx specifically. You should not need to clean your uromastyx, as its continuous shedding will remove any old skin, and if it is getting dusty then you probably need to change your substrate.
If you feel that your uromastyx is in danger of dehydration and you have been advised to soak it, please do not do so. Any dehydration in an uromastyx is more likely caused by incorrect or imbalanced feeding, since this lizard derives all its fluid intake from the greens it eats. To get more fluid into your lizard's diet, all of the following are recommended and certainly much safer than bathing:
- Grapes (a good source of fluid)
- Romaine lettuce (a good source of fluid)
- Rinsing or misting the food before putting it into the enclosure, so that drops remain on the surface
Most importantly, find out what went wrong in the first place to get your lizard into this state. There is no 'quick fix' which will cure bad husbandry or an imbalanced setup; it takes time, effort and monitoring to make absolutely sure everything's fine. If you are unsure, seek help.
