I currently have 15 lizards, have had tons of other lizards over the last 30 years with tons of uromastyx. But Egyptian uromastyx were ones I did not have. I now have 3. I honestly have never seen such friendly lizards. My iguana was crazy friendly and like a dog, never thought I would see friendlier then him. But these guys....omg....DEMAND attention. So much in fact, I have 2 additional areas around my house that are set up outside their enclosures with basking lights, etc just so they can sit right next to us. They love to cuddle up on laps and throw arms back, they love kids and playing what looks like game of peek a boo with them. They love being hand fed, enjoy soft blankets and get right up into our faces to lick us and nuzzle us. They even follow commands and are trained to sit where we put them, yet they are very active and enjoy their outside time when weather is nice. I have no words if this is normal behavior or not, but for those watching this video just know these are big lizards, some with amazing personalities BUT they can take a TON of time and NEED a very large enclosure and the right husbandry to do well. In my case my Egyptians, the 2 Older ones I have which are wild caught are the ones who are crazy friendly and my 1 captive born one is friendly but strangely way less then the other 2. I honestly am just so surprised how much they love to the extreme interaction. I come down every morning to my one sitting by her enclosure door waiting to come out, its nuts!
Hello Phil and Arids Only, Great video post about the required husbandry of Egyptians. I could not agree more with your assessment. They are badass lizards! Really surprising the distinctive personalities of these animals. Some are retriever tame, others whip tails, hiss and threat posture!(serpentine display for Andi) Looks like you have a great set up there! Wish you much success with all of your animals. Hope you are breeding these and others, and reduce the need for imports. Love seeing great information and appreciate the cautions for anybody considering these for pets. Your comment on space is critical. They need HUGE amounts of space. In hindsight I know I couldn't give them the proper square footage they really needed, and I suspect that lead to husbandry issues, and fungal / bacterial infection. Still feel bad about that. It was a painful lesson. Grover was amazingly tame, and even though his treatment, never lashed out. Hopefully his offspring are still out there in some proper housings. My breeding female, Oscar(Acquired from Lindsay Pike as a baby) was much like your Porkchop, and required careful handling. Keep up the great work. Look forward to more great vids!
Hi Ed, man I haven’t heard from you in years! I had a couple of your CB Egyptians back in the day. Hope all is well man. You’re absolutely with what you said above!
I agree these lizards need major space, but in all honesty it depends on the personality of the lizard. If the lizard is aggressive or likes their solitude then massive amounts of space are needed because they would rarely be outside of their enclosure. For my 3 Egyptians only my 1 captive bred one will need the most space, because she is super sweet and loves to be held but enjoys her time in her enclosure. For my other 2, they don't want to be in their enclosure, ever, they refuse to hide, always want to be out, sit by their enclosure door demanding to be with us. They are ridiculously friendly like dogs and they love their people. So they stay with us all day and are only in the enclosure when we go out or to be put back in to go to sleep for the night. So a massive huge enclosure for these 2 isn't really as important, though they will have a big enough one for the short clips of time their in it. Instead, I have had to modify 2 rooms in my house where we spend our time as a family to incorporate the husbandry they need so they can be with us. So I have basking lights, heat pads, UVB, even heat the remaining room to the temperature as needed to mimic what they would get in the wild from day to night temps. Obviously conditions in that room need to be changed constantly depending on season, outside temps, etc. The 2 rooms we have them in the entire day are very sunny as well so they naturally stay warmer most of the year which they love. But, I will say it's time consuming to have 2 lizards who demand attention nonstop, and enjoy their true enclosures (our 2 rooms) so those rooms are theirs, meaning they are set up just the way THEY like it, complete with ramps, places to climb and explore built in as well ( think cat walks but instead for lizards, though no hides needed for them as they hate hiding ironically but they do bury themselves in their cat beds to nap at times as they love soft blankets and their main basking spot which has their cat bed turned lizard bed on it as well ). But do they want us there, yes. So come summer, we like to travel a bit so all we can do is day trips, vacations are out unless they can come with us...though we plan to buy an RV in the future so we can travel, well at least for up to 3 days as we still have 17 lizards, most will be at home while we are gone ( well the ones who are ok staying back that is) The rest would need to have travel accommodations built into the RV as the lizards who would refuse to be left home more then a day would die if we weren't there as they are super attached to us. Guess what I am saying, is if you have the time, space and devotion to care for potential Tegu style lizards in a Uro body, these are great pets and we absolutely love and recommend them. But, if you want a solitary type more display animal instead, choose carefully the personality of these lizards, it really matters. Some Egyptians are more social then others, some love to hide, while others will never hide. Some demand attention like a toddler, all day, everyday, where others are more chill or ok with solitude and hiding. Our over the top social ones , both bio siblings came home with 1 being puppy dog tame day one and the other 1 being crazy skittish but not a tail whipper but she did sort of do a nip at us 2 times, but she never hid and was always eager to watch us from a safe distance. The 1 skittish one ironically, the wild feral crazy one is now the most tame of any lizard I have EVER owned since I began having lizards over 30 years ago. She is so tame and is fully trained understanding everything I say to her, a lizard like her could be a therapy pet or emotional support animal as she loves being pet and loves people, especially children who hug, touch and get in her face, though the negative is leaving her for more then a day would stress and kill her as her insatiable desire to be on someone's lap or right next to them in their face, means she can not be left alone for very long. My hubby always sits back in awe and says the mean, crazy one, she is like this? Its shocking, but true. Hubby was scared to get her but now holds and pets her daily in awe as I told him I saw something in her eyes, the way she never hid and studied people, but super scared, but I just knew somehow she and (her brother too) were going to be exactly who they are. She is eager to rub up against us like a cat would do, come in close with hands open to get up on us to hug us, her brother even mimicked a kiss we caught on the camera given to my hubby. Just incredible lizards! Egyptians can vary in needs and personality but they are amazingly smart and some of them need a major commitment of time, so before purchasing make sure if anyone is reading this, that you have what they need.
I've owned three, and all have been very friendly lizards. They really seem to like attention and are easy to take care of as long as the heat gradient is right.
I fed my Egyptian Uro stuff I had in the yard - cactus pads, dandelion greens and flowers, mallow in season, and hibiscus blossums. I supplemented with greens, dried beans and tortoise pellets. I disagree with daily feeding. I fed my lizard 3x a week and a snack once week, so they never went more than a day without food, but they do like to eat a lot.
Great advice, thanks!! Owning big lizards is no small thing, and I've had to re-home more than my fair share for people who just didn't think before committing. "My kids will love it!"... no, they really won't. At least not all the time. Kids are often the worst to pets, so parents listen up! 50 years!!
Have you considered breeding for temperament? Seems like there are huge variations in personalities. It would be awesome if someone selected for calmer more friendly attributes
He is really gorgeous! What a handsome fella! I had a breeding pair of malis back in the day, the female was a male-mimic and she was a jerk. My male was the sweetest thing. They produced a few clutches together and even the hatchlings had discernible personalities. After being out of the pet game for over 10 years, I'm looking to get back into it again. I had been considering an Egyptian uro and I still think they are beautiful but I think I'll hold off for a bit until things settle down and I can figure out where I can put this guy. In the meantime, I'm going to go ahead and get an ornate to start over.
Hey. Nice to see you again. I have a question about your cages. Could you speak about size of enclosures for subspecies? Maybe you can show as ;) Greeting from Poland
Hi Pawel, thanks very much. So I don't have any pens smaller than 3ft x 3ft for even the smallest species. For anything larger than princpes, thomasi, ocellata, I have minimum of 5ft x 20 inches. I am working on a caging/setup video, but I also have quite a few images I've posted on Instagram and Facebook of my interiors. If you don't have those, you can email me and I will send them to you! :) my email is aridsonly@gmail.com
Let's say I use a vapor bulb at the back end of the cage and it reads 125 on the spot. How many inches away does the other heat bulb need to be for the entire back end of the cage to read 125??
i'm wondering the same thing. i'm guessing online would be the best option, unless there is a pet shop or breeder that has one in your area? good luck on finding one :)
Hi Phil, thanks for the videos. I'm shopping around right now and I'm wondering if you have any leads on captive bred Egyptians for reputable breeders in August 2020?
Phil, thank you for all your education on Uromastyx. Are you selling any baby Uromastyx yet? if yes, would you let me know your website to order one or a pair?
*LOL, maybe he doesn't like how you hold him, tap his tail, or go face to face close up?* *I like to hold lizard shaped herps with one hand under the front, as you were, and the other hand on top, over the hips.* *With the front hand, my index finger, and middle finger, are on either side of the neck, in front of the legs, and my ring finger, and thumb, are behind the legs.* *My back hand is over the hips, with my middle and index fingers in front of the legs, and my ring finger and thumb behind the legs, on either side of the tail.* *If I'm not concerned about a whipping tail, or defecation, I have both hands underneath each side, to the animals weight.* *This method is especially effective for avoiding claw lacerations, getting bit, shit on, or going into a roll, by monitors, Iguanas, baby crocks, etc.* *Total control of the head, tail, and all limbs, in a supportive, more natural orientation, the herp, and I feel safer.* ------------------------------------------- *Porkchop is very cool, and looking good!... His wild-like behavior should make him an excellent breeder!* *I've been out of it for a while, and dealing with what I've got....I didn't know Egypt was even open, let alone know that a big shipment of Eros came in!* *I would love to get a gravid Egyptian female, (who wouldn't) young male, or even babies.* *Were the babies you purchased relatively inexpensive?.....(any sign of parasites?)* *Your friend Kamiel Hamers, thought it best that I contact you, in my quest to obtain Uromastyx Aegyptia.* *Thanks for the informative video, and any help you can give me.*
Hey, my mom is an expert at uromastyx lizards. Reach out to me if you are interested in her set up or sciences. She has a lab catered to her lizards. She just got one of these lizards and is going to make me take it after she dies.
Hello quiestion I'm looking into get a egyptian uromastyx would a 75 gallon tank be good for its whole adult life when it grows up? And were can I find a breeder for these guys ?
Would I possibly be able to buy one of your Egyptian uromastyx I'm looking for a male one can we work something out? Let me know thanks take care. And again for the inconvenience for asking.
Yo this guy is over exaggerating about everything about this animal they are not that big nothing compared to a monitor or an Argentine Tegu the thing is just like five times bigger than a bearded dragon
As with any animal, there is a spectrum of care. Some take better care than others. The better the care, the better the life expectancy. Many people don't even give their dogs (an animal we know almost everything about how to care for) heartworm preventative, which ultimately kills them years before they would otherwise die. The conditions for reptiles (animals we know less about than dogs) are typically much worse. This dude is doing what he can to make sure people understand what kind of money it is going to cost and what to expect in the animal if you want to give the animal the best chance at thriving. It is incredibly sad when you see a massive apex predator living in a tiny terrarium where it can't move about freely. Most people have no business owning any kind of reptile because they simply arent willing or arent able to put in the work to do it right. For example, almost no one unless they are an accredited zoo has any business owning a nile monitor, and yet i see clueless people all over the forums talking about how they just got a baby one. At the end of the day, it's all about what is best for the animal.
