What type of Uromastyx?

[Little Wise Owl]

My 8 year old sister wants a pet of her own but she doesn't like bugs. I figured a Uromastyx would be great for her... but WHICH ONE? There are so many. She wants a colourful one. lol

Keep in mind that this lizard will be partially kept by myself as well as my sister.

[simpleyork]

get an ornate from Deer Fern Farms Though I did pay a handsome fee, it was in perfect condition.

I auctioned for one this past week from another vendor, and you get what you pay for. Though I think it will do okay in the long run, it wasn't in pertect condition, eating great though.

[Little Wise Owl]

Do they ship to Canada?

[simpleyork]

not sure, you can call them or send an e-mail.

[Little Wise Owl]

Anyone else keep uromastyx?

[StudentoReptile]

I used to keep them. Saharan (the ones falsely marketed as Nigers or Nigerians), a few Malis and one Egyptian.

In general, Uromastyx can be a little more fidgety and squirmy than the typical bearded dragon or blue-tongued skink, which is why I tend to suggest either of the latter over a Uro for children. There are a couple species, and some individual specimens that do calm down. If you are dead-set on a Uro, I would recommend a Mali; they are typically the calmest of the more "readily available" species.

According to Doug Dix of DeerFern Farms, whom I have spoken with a few times, Moroccans are pretty mild as well, but I personally have no experience with them. I also have no experience with the Ornates.

Saharans are among the smallest types, along with ornates, but they can be a tad shy and have that aforementioned "fidgetiness" I mentioned earlier. They might give you a few irritated tail-whacks before calming down. But if you're strapped for size, you may want to consider this species.

[Little Wise Owl]

Thanks for your reply.

I'm still sort of considering a BTS for her but she says she doesn't want to feed anything bugs (and I'm not a huge fan of feeding dog food to a lizard). Know of any other vegetarian, smallish lizards (No Crested Geckos!)?

[Gungirl]

You don't need to feed a BTS any bugs at all.. You can use ground turkey and pinky mice along with veggies and fruit. I don't feed mine any bugs at all and that is part of the reason why I got a BTS instead of another lizard.

[simpleyork]

Just talked with Douglas Dix today, forgot to ask him if he ships to Canada or not, he did mention he stopped trying to kep Saharans as they tend to have constant health issues compared to other species.

[Little Wise Owl]

I guess saharans are out of the question.

On the topic of BTS's and feeding them turkey... That just doesn't sit well with me knowing all the things I do about nutrition. By my natural urge, I'd want to feed it more species appropriate foods (vegetation + whole prey items only). I'm not even a fan of feeding turkey to monitors and tegus either. There's nothing really nutritious about it.