North African Uromastyx

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Moroccan Uromastyx (Uromastyx acanthinurus) are real sun worshippers, they spend a large proportion of their day basking in the sun. They originate from Morocco, Libya, Niger and Sudan establishing themselves in hilly, rocky areas with good shelter and accessible vegetation. Like many reptiles, these lizards’ colours change according to the temperature; during cool weather they appear dull and dark but the colours become lighter in warm weather, especially when basking; the darker pigmentation allows their skin to absorb sunlight more effectively.

How should I keep my North African Uromastyx?

The Uromastyx need a larger sized environment to be able to meet its need for varied temperatures and active habits.

Uromastyx are very active during the daytime, and not active at night. It’s important their habitat enables them to regulate and manage their body temperature. It needs enough sunlight, in order to raise its body temperature to be able to stay active and consume food throughout the day but ensuring there is adequate shade within the habitat is important to avoid overheating.

It’s important that temperatures are measured accurately using a thermometer. Lighting is not required at night but a small heat-emitting bulb may be needed to prevent the habitat from dropping too low and harming your lizard.

North African Uromastyx Diet

The Uromastyx will consume mainly vegetation with this being sourced from your garden or a supermarket. Its diet can be made up of leafy salad leaves including lettuces, romaine lettuce and loose leaf lettuce. Leaves such as kale and spinach are discouraged from being fed too often to your Uromastyx as they contain calcium-blocking oxalates. A larger range of mixed vegetables can also form part of their diet such as squash, carrots and sweet potato to create a balanced diet.