Outdoor Keeping of Uromastyx
Outline
I have received a lot of questions regarding outdoor enclosures for Uromastyx. There is a lot of interest in keeping Uromastyx outdoors and a lot of benefits. Not only is it more cost effective when you have the space available, but animals kept outdoors can be more vibrant than you may ever see in captivity due to natural sunlight exposure.
I have been keeping Uromastyx since 2012 outdoors.
I have kept the following species:
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Uromastyx aegyptia
Uromastyx d. flavifasciata
Uromastyx d. maliensis
Uromastyx nigriventris
Uromastyx o. ornata
Uromastyx o. philbyi
Uromastyx ocellata
Uromastyx yemenensis
Saara loricata
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The following information is a few guidelines and parameters I go by. Please understand this is what works for me and my micro-climate.
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Location & Climate
Know where you live. California in the foothills will be different than California in the Desert. i.e. understand your micro-climate. My location is categorized as a Mediterranean climate.
Temperatures
Summer : June - August high 90F-115F and low 60F-70F
Fall: Sept – Nov high of 80F and low of 60F
Winter: Dec – Feb high 60F-75F and low 40F-60F
Spring: Mar – May high of 70F to 50F
Humidity
My range is an average of 50% during winter and spring. It’s much lower during the summer and fall.
The Average rainfall is only 15 inches between the months of Nov - March
Soil composition:
I have a very high and dense natural soil in my area, it prevents surface water from infiltrating the ground unless excessively and continually watered. The ground is made of a shatruce gravelly sandy loam and fine shatruce sandy loam.
Species Specifics
What species are you keeping?
For Egyptian Uromastyx, they can take the colder climates. You are thinking, they should be fine in 50F weather at night with no issues and will naturally brumate. What works so well for us is the fact even in winter, the sun will still come out during the day about 50% of the time. Even if its overcast, UV is available for the animals who will come out and bask. Cold Blooded animals do reach great internal temperatures even when basking in overcast and cloud covered days. The only time I ever worry is when it’s expected to rain outside.
Animals kept warm and heated can survive being sprinkle or misted on (even just a little).
Cold and wet is where health complications start.
This is not the same as morning dew. Usually, I always leave the Uromastyx uncovered overnight so the animals will wake up with morning dew. This is not something to worry about, and one of the best benefits of having outdoor enclosures. The mist is great for their skin and ties, and the enclosure always heats up and dries off completely by 10 am. This is also the usual time they are almost done eating for the day.
Egyptian Uromastyx have to have a secure “burrow” to sleep in.
Personally, I enclose the entire cage to keep it water free every time it rains. I use 8-foot long plywood with corrugated sheeting on top as a makeshift roof. This keeps the enclosures very dry. On top of that, I also retrofit bus trays with the lids on them as secure individual hides for every Uromastyx. For the Egyptians, I double wall the tray and insulate between the two containers with hay.
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Feeding
My Egyptian Uromastyx always have food available. I make small dry food bowls which will be rotated out as depleted. I personally use microwave safe clay bowls. First, its human grade and used for foods so I don’t worry about chemicals. Second, clay is a great option for natural sunlit enclosures. Clay doesn’t break down and deteriorate like paper or plastic grade pieces. The dry food options I use are dry herbs and flowers, mazuri pellets and legumes.
I feed my animals outdoors daily with fresh greens as long as the sun is out. Even in winter, I want my Egyptians to have food options but that is purely because I am lucky enough where some of my winter days are in the 70F’s during the daytime.
Additionally, during some of the hotter summer days, I will double feed. I want my Uromastyx to have food available because they are burning such an excess of energy due to the heat. Having food available also helps them self-regulate.
If you have gotten this far, and you’re starting to realize you have the area and environment to comfortably house your Uromastyx outside, then the next thing to do is plan the enclosure.
Enclosure Parameters
What works best for your environment? You must understand, I have found using large tubs to work for me and my animals. I specifically use old Vision tubs, which we have had for 30 years (maybe longer now). The tubs are white and easy to clean. They are approximately 3 feet deep with smooth walls and no sharp corners. I have sizes 3’x6’ and 4’x8’. The smooth and rounded corners are especially nice due to the inability of my Uromastyx to cage dance the walls and injure or damage their spines.
Additionally, Waterland tubs also creates tubs similar in both white and black options. Waterland also has fitted screen tops for the enclosures which provides the easy security for your animals. With the tub setup, you have to remember there is no drainage so absolutely make sure to cover the top with a fitted roof. I use a large ¾ plywood 8’x4’ panel. Then I affix corrugated sheets over the top, so the wood won’t be damaged by water. The corrugated sheets are sun resistant and clear (greenhouse quality).
It is important to remember, whatever you do use is completely enclosed on all sides. I also add shade roofs on ¼ of the top, usually by just simply covering 1/4th of the cage. This adds a shaded area for your Uromastyx to get out of the heat when they want to, but additionally, this creates shade, your vegetation will not wilt throughout the day. Although Uromastyx love dry leafy food, it will never be as nutritious as fresh greens.
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Substrate
I keep all of my Uromastyx separate. None are permanently housed together. Egyptian Uromastyx need very large enclosures when you house them together. You’re thinking 50 ft by 50 ft if its anything more than a trio (1.2.0). In the wild, Egyptian Uromastyx are recorded as having 100's of feet of separations between burrows. They make territories. They dig and have intricate tunnel systems.
There is one thing to understand about any reptile outdoors with natural sunlight. When sunlight hits their third eye, a Uromastyx will be triggered to go into a fight or flight mode. Most of the time that is flight. Egyptian Uromastyx, which are fully sun bleached, are also very fast. Overall, don't be shocked a docile and hand tame reptile suddenly sits outside and seems to have forgotten the bond you have. They didn't forget it; they are only triggered by shadows and sudden motion due to how much more aware they are in the natural sunlight.
There are a couple reasons I personally do not want my Uromastyx being on the ground / soil.
-Egyptian Uromastyx dig up to 2-feet deep when they make their tunnel system. This means if you don’t have a footer for the enclosure your Egyptian Uromastyx will dig right out of the enclosure.
Vermin can dig into your enclosures even if you lay down wire or screen or weed barrier.
-A wood enclosure with a screened in wall will have even Egyptian Uromastyx climbing the walls. Uromastyx when in flight mode will “go straight” even if straight is up. They will climb and the likelihood of you Uromastyx falling is very high. When Uromastyx fall they can also become paralyzed or have other serious spine complications. Remember, Egyptian Uromastyx have a very long torso and its relatively unprotected like their tail. The risk of their possible injuries is not worth it in my opinion.
-Soil holds bacteria and contaminants. What was on the soil prior to the enclosure? Bearded dragons? If so, they are most likely going to be infected with devriesea agamarum which is nearly impossible to cure and in the small chance it does get better, will cause permanent damage to the formation of scales and future shedding. Wild rodents (possums, raccoons, rats and other vermin local to your area)? All these vermin can carry different types of bacteria which may cause your Uromastyx to get sick or have bacterial infections.
-One of the biggest reasons I don’t personally keep Uromastyx in enclosures on the ground is due to the inability to handle your animals. Uromastyx ‘pits’ are great for observation. They are beautiful and very nice to watch. But, just know, if you do go this route you will have to do a lot of work to capture a sick or injured animal. I may worry too much, but I don’t want anything to happen to them. I personally like the ability to handle and take photographs and measure and weigh my Uromastyx regularly. I take them out and do body assessments, help them remove shed from their mouth area (sometimes it gets stuck on their saliva) or even shed from their toes.
-Finally, they just don’t shed as cleanly as they do in hay Substrates. I found the best shed is when I keep my Uromastyx is on hay as 75% of their substrate with a sanitary dig box available to females for laying season.
These are all things I am not willing to take a chance on. I do twice as much work to keep them clean and enriched compared to creating a ‘Uromastyx Pit’ but it is worth it.
Decor & Additional Thoughts
For substrate, I keep is simple. I use dry grasses, i.e. Timothy Hay or Bermuda Grass. I use a thick layer (approximately 6”) of hay in the enclosure, and I burry the bus trays into the substrate. The Egyptians love to dig and burrow, the hay holds structure enough to allow them the option to dig as much as they want to. The dry grasses are also sanitary and easy to change out or clean out.
Once a year I do full substrate changes.
Additionally, once the Uromastyx becomes comfortable inside the enclosure, I have found they make bathroom locations in one corner of the enclosure. I only see this with Uromastyx who are kept alone for a majority of the year (except breeding season). This is very convenient to clean and sanitize. Any time I use cleaners inside the enclosure, I leave it empty for one whole day in the sun to ‘sun-bleach’ the enclosure prior to the Uromastyx going into the enclosure again.
As always, be aware of harsh chemicals. They can be noxious, and if you put an animal (any animal) inside of a freshly sanitized enclosure you can have exposure issues and toxin symptoms from said animal.
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Something I avoid using: concrete cinder blocks, thin tree branches, and broken tile.
Concrete blocks are too porous, and they have rough edges. If you have ever watched a Uromastyx in full sunlight, you would know their flight response is so high. Which is what you want in outdoor enclosure for their own safety.
But the bad thing is when a Uromastyx sprints, they run face first, possibly straight into the concrete blocks. It is just not a risk I am willing to take.
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Your décor does two main things for your Uromastyx. It creates enrichment and it also creates visual barriers for your Egyptian Uromastyx.
Egyptian Uromastyx can be kept relatively simple. Sanitary is better. Low laying barriers are better. Egyptians, especially when they are over 25” long, aren’t the best climbers. They are also really heavy. If you have a lot of vertical space, their strength and size can easily knock down or make objects fall on top of them, which is always bad. I keep it low laying. Mainly, I focus on adding large square tiles for my Egyptian Uromastyx. I use 2”x4” wood blocks to lift the tiles and create apartments by stacking layers if possible. I always make sure the textured side is the side facing up for the Uromastyx to get traction on. I never use broken Tile, or tile with cut edges. Tile / ceramic dust is sharp. If you slide your finger along the edge, you will most likely be cut yourself and it hurts. Just think of what that would do to a Uromastyx who may run into it or run along it. Another great option is roofing tile, clay pots or clay saucers. I try and stay away from wood and other items which hold bugs or can cause breeding conditions for certain types of bugs. Usually, I add basking platforms, which is under direct sunlight; rocks or stones like slate are great. Overall, the thing to remember with Egyptian Uromastyx is, keep it low laying and secure.
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Breeding Season Specifics
The final question is, what I do for breeding pairs of Uromastyx?
My Uromastyx are kept separately for most of the year, especially Egyptian Uromastyx. I always use my largest cages to pair up the Uromastyx on days I will be home all day. I will take the burrow box of the male Egyptian Uromastyx and place it into the female’s enclosure. Usually this happens before sunrise so both animals will warm up, wake up, and come out to discover the other. This is where the visual barriers are important. They need the option to ‘find each other’ throughout the day.
Breeding is a stressful endeavor. If the female is too stressed throughout this ordeal, the female may hold onto the eggs. Especially in outdoor enclosures, Females can reabsorb their clutches even after you observe a successful lock. Egg bound females are also another worry. This can be caused by stress. It can also happen due to a lack of nutrition and due to poor muscle strength. When Uromastyx are outside, you rarely have to worry about their muscle strength due to Vitamin D3 in natural sunlight. A gravid female will bask openly on hotter days and take a while before moving to the shade to really maximize the sunlight absorption. It is one of my favorite things to see; a female stretched out basking and baking her little buns in the oven. In conclusion, the biggest worry is always stress on the females. That is why I take so many precautions.
-Males go into my female’s enclosure.
-Females keep their scented objects.
-I don’t handle females as much as possible.
-The gravid females always get the first choice of flowers.
For my outdoor enclosures, my females always lay from late August to early October. This is due to their natural brumation cycles they experience outdoors. I pair up my Uromastyx all the way into July, just in case. Heat and temperatures have a big impact on the viability of sperm. Usually, the heat can kill the sperm count of any male reptile. Early July is where we start to feel those extreme temperatures consistently over 100F.
This is also where I begin to see follicle development in my females. A gravid female will bask longer under the sunlight. I make sure to always provide many basking rocks for my girls. The sunlight seems to actually help the egg development in the girls. All the females I have had lay ate consistently until the week they laid their eggs. That last week is where they started to use their fat storage, and you will notice. That last week is also where I introduce fresh lay box substrate. I use 50/50 of play sand and soil.
Depending on when your spring starts to warm up, expect these time times to vary and change. I believe I am right on the edge of being acceptably warm early enough in the spring where this, just, works. April is where the farm begins to warm up (consistent 80F+ days). Females laying in August and September, which gives the females about 45-60 days to recover after laying their clutches. Realistically, I wish they had more time. But the great thing about my area is through winter, we have random heat spells which the animals will come up for, eat, then go back to brumation.
If I believe my female is not ready to brumate after laying their clutch, I will house them indoors for the entire winter and bring them out the following spring.
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So, is keeping your Uromastyx outside right for you?
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