Enclosure size

From UroWiki

Contents 1 Size of enclosures 2 Bare minimum 3 Best size 4 Misconceptions

Size of enclosures

The size of your enclosure depends on the size of species of uromastyx you are planning to obtain, and there are very few 'hard and fast' rules; however, there are general guidelines you can follow.

• When it comes to uromastyx enclosures, the bigger the better!
• Uros are free-roaming reptiles and often have acres of land in which to run. Anything we replicate in captivity will pale in comparison. The best we can hope for is to provide a safe, comfortable environment that will provide for all the necessary needs of this heat-loving lizard for many years to come!

Bare minimum

A nice common size recommended regularly is 4x2x2 feet (48x24x24" or 122x60x60cm). This size will provide a nice temperature gradient and room to run. The height works well with mercury vapor bulbs as well as fluorescent bulbs for providing UVB. Uros will climb if given the opportunity; they are very active lizards when their temperatures are correct.

This size is good for housing a pair of the smaller species (ornate, ocellated, benti, etc) or a single specimen of the larger species (Malinese, Moroccan, geryi, etc). This size is not good for an Egyptian uromastyx once it passes the 20 month mark; a 60cm (24") Egyptian will need a 2.45 x 1.22m (8x4x4 feet) enclosure as the bare minimum, and a 90cm (36") specimen will certainly need an even larger enclosure still.

Best size

Bigger is always better! If you can provide a larger enclosure, that will be wonderful; everything discussed on this page references the absolute bare minimum sizes you should consider for your lizard.

There is a "rule of thumb" with uromastyx: cage length should be three times the length of the body (tip of nose to tip of tail), and cage width twice the length of the body. This is minimum. If the uro's body length is, for example, 30cm (12"), then the cage's footprint (base) should be a minimum of 90cm x 60cm (36" x 24"). Again this is an absolute minimum, not a recommendation of size, and should be larger but absolutely not smaller.

Misconceptions

A 40 gallon breeder - which is often recommended - is not an acceptable size for an uromastyx of any genus. A smaller enclosure may work as a temporary housing for a few weeks while you build something bigger, but not as permanent enclosure: anything below the specifications laid out above will be way too small for a proper temperature gradient.

Many new owners are told that since their uromastyx is just a baby, it will be fine in a small-sized enclosure until it grows up. This is wrong; there is no better way to damage a young uromastyx then to start it off with improper husbandry, an imbalanced temerature gradient or lack of proper thermal zones, and not enough room to move around in (not to mention the stresses of acclimitisation when moved into a new enclosure).