Housing
You can use Custom Wooden Enclosures, Plastic Enclosures, PVC Enclosures, Aquariums, Tubs, Metal Stock Tanks, Etc. The main thing is the more room you can provide your Uromastyx the happier it will be. Approximately 2 Ft X 4 Ft for one animal, 2 Ft X 6 Ft for two to three animals.
Above is a picture of Elizabeth Lynch, Animal Plastics Uromastyx enclosures.
Debb Wolfram Design
"The Uromastyx/Bearded Dragon Cage"
I house most all of my Uromastyx separately 100 percent of the time. Most Uromastyx live alone in the wild in cracks on rocky cliffs and some species live in borrows but most wild Uromastyx do not share living quarters. I find with 90% of my Uromastyx that I have better growth rates and healthier animals when I house them singly, but you also need to pay attention to your Uromastyx. I noticed that my Philbyi male is feeding and basking more now that I have added a female to his cage so I may try housing them together for awhile. If you do house in pairs make sure you have two complete cages set up, in case you witness aggression and have to separate the Uromastyx. Make sure to offer at least one hide per Uro to be housed together. I keep a hide in the hot end of the cage and one in the cool end of the cage. This gives the Uromastyx a choice of temperatures that they can hide under. I keep 120-140 degree basking and a gradient of 75-85 degrees on the cool side. I use a good UV florescent type light and reflector type light for the basking spots. If you have a big enough enclosure and are housing 3 or more Uro's you may even want to provide two basking lights just make sure to give a gradient so they can escape the heat if they want.
Above are a pair of my vision 422 enclosures purchased off craigslist.com for $150-$200.00
I have switched all my Uromastyx enclosures to bare floor and or tile floor. I was using Zilla White Proso Millet as a substrate and it works great for Uromastyx that are not scheduled to breed. Female Uromastyx that lay there eggs in Millet cause a nightmare. It is almost imposable to dust off the Millet off the eggs and once the eggs are placed in the incubator and left for a few days the Millet will sprout and damage the eggs. I had one of my WC U. O. Ocellata lay 6 eggs and she just laid them on top of the millet which stuck to the eggs. I was afraid to wash them off in water so I dusted off as much of the millet as I could and put the eggs into the incubator and several days later the millet sprouted and I ended up loosing the eggs.
Above is a bare floor Vision 622 I purchased off craigslist.org for $150.00.
I highly discourage anyone using sand as a substrate. Elizabeth Lynch pointed out that most playsand and pool filter sand is made up of 93.2 - 93.6% silica. Elizabeth Lynch wrote: "Inhalation of Silica can cause Silicosis. Silicosis is a serious lung disease that can lead to pulmonary failure. The frequency and amount inhaled Silica can effect the severity, but it is certainly a real risk with using these substances in our hot and dry enclosures. I know a lot of people say the pool filter sand has no dust, but the problem is- the particles of silica may be so fine that you cannot see them. Silicosis can happen regardless of how much dust you can see, or not see." I already have asthma and breathing problems and as much as I love sand it is not worth it to me.
Here are some photos taken at the Fort Worth Texas Zoo and they have a cage set up for the U.acanthinurus.
The U. Acanthinurus were hiding during our visit but the above pictures give you an Idea of the Zoo's set up.
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