This little guy is a Mali Uromastyx named Tank! We adopted him on October 19, 2019, when he was two years old.
also known as
Uromastyx lizards are also called Dab lizards, Spiny Tailed lizards, Uros, and Agamids. They originate from hot, dry areas in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia and India.
personality
Tank tolerates being held and is really social. He’s curious and likes to explore his habitat. Like most Uromastyx lizards, Tank is docile and has a very gentle personality.
habitat
Tank lives in a 150 gallon habitat. The minimum habitat size for a Uromastyx is a 40 gallon breeder, but we try to make everyone’s enclosures as large as we can. We use paper towels for the substrate in Tank’s habitat because it makes cleaning so much easier. Tabitha replaces the paper towels every day.
enrichment
Tank’s favorite thing to do is sit on his basking rock, soaking up all the heat he can. He also loves exploring his habitat and licking everything in sight. Uromastyx lizards are like toddlers. When toddlers explore their environment, they put everything in their mouths. For the same reason, Tank licks everything.
For enrichment, Tank has rocks for basking on, caves to explore (and to sleep in), and things to climb. He also has a millet dig box on the cool side of his enclosure. In the wild Uromastyx lizards burrow in sand to keep cool and to help them retain moisture in their bodies. The millet dig box is an enrichment that fulfills Tanks’ natural urge to dig. And it gives him something to snack on.
hot, dry climate
Uromastyx lizards need to be kept warm to replicate the hot, dry environment they come from. Tank’s enclosure is 90-95 degrees on the warm side and 80-90 degrees on the cool side. His heat bulb keeps his basking spot at 110-130 degrees and is kept on for twelve hours every day. Since Tank lives in the basement, his enclosure stays around 70 degrees at night which is perfect because nighttime temperatures for these guys can’t be below 65 degrees.
In addition to his heat bulb, Tank also has a linear UVB light across a third of his cage. The UVB light is important because it helps prevent calcium deficiencies. It also helps replicate the sunny environment Uromastyx lizards originate from.
Like Max, our bearded dragon, Tank can’t have a lot of humidity in his habitat. Too much humidity can actually kill Uromastyx lizards. Tabitha keeps Tank’s humidity at 10-35%. The only humidity in his enclosure is in his humid hide. His humid hide helps make shedding easier on him. The humid hide is 40-45% humid.
diet
Tank is our only vegetarian lizard so he doesn’t get any animal protein. There is some debate between experts about whether or not Uromastyx can have a cricket once a week. So far, the debate hasn’t been settled, so to be safe Tank doesn’t get any animal protein.
Tank’s daily diet consists of millet, Mazuri small tortoise pellets, dark leafy greens, vegetables, and fruit. Tabitha mists Tank’s salads with water instead of giving him a water dish because a water dish would increase the humidity in his habitat too much. There are times when a very small water dish is necessary for Uromastyx lizards, but since Tank isn’t laying eggs and he’s not a hatchling, he doesn’t need one.
As far as supplements go, five times a week Tank gets calcium (without vitamin D3) sprinkled on his salads, and twice a week he gets a reptile multivitamin called Herptivite.
