With hatchlings, an aggressive one could cause others to become aggressive. This is why the aggressive ones should be removed as soon as possible from a hatchling group.

I believe that you are talking about your geryi? In my experience, the defensive displays directed at you are not often shown towards other uromastyx with this species.

Are you saying that it’s taken a few years for your geryi to trust you enough to handfeed? Is that skittishness reserved for geryi only? Pogo’s been back and forth on this trust thing, she can be great for awhile then she’s back to being skittish. Maybe I shouldn’t feel too bad that she’s still skittish then. I have noticed that she "hears" when I call her name, twisting of the head and trying to locate the "sound". Is that possible?

Sorry to go off topic but what you said surprised me. I didn’t realize it would take years sometimes for them to trust the hand that feeds them. :)

You are not off topic. Starting a post about something not being discussed or totally unrelated (such as whistling wind) would be off topic. Skittishness and trust falls right into the discussion on aggression and attitude.

In my opinion, geryi are one of the more skittish species. Definitely the most skittish of the species that I keep and I keep six different species. I do not attempt to make my animals into true pets or ‘hold’ them on a daily basis but I do interact with every one of them daily and would say that most of my animals are handled with the same frequency. The four geryi that I mentioned have been more reserved than most of the wc adult geryi. With the same frequency of handling, one enclosure calmed down much quicker than the other due to the willingness of the male to trust me and the female following suit. Had I wanted to get them to eat out of my hand, I am sure that I could have accomplished this much sooner if I worked on it. Probably not as quickly as with a mali or ornate but it could be done.

I do believe that uromastyx recognize voices and possibly visual characteristics. This is apparent to me when someone new comes into my reptile room. The behavior of the animals change immediately with some even retreating to their hide.

Frocto,

It sounds as if you have things pretty much under control with the enclosure. There are a variety of millets but your feed store is probably referring to pearl millet or possibly proso- either would be fine. You may want to check the grade of seed due to the fact that this is being used for planting. My feeling is that it may be a lower grade which is usually less clean with contaminants such as sticks, small stones…ect

Uro12303,

You wrote:
“uro_fans uro’s are more skittish because she has so many of them and spends so little quality time with just one of them”

Hmmm…In my opinion, quality time is watching and enjoying my reptiles not stressing them out with excessive handling and picking them up all of the time. I would be willing to bet that every one of my reptiles agree with me on this definition of quality time.

Here is my soapbox spiel on the subject….

Although long term domesticated animals such as dogs and cats make great pet-pets, a few reptiles appear to ‘deal with’ this type of handling (frequent holding) much better than others. In my opinion, uromastyx (overall as a genus) are not one of these reptiles. This is why when I wanted a reptile ‘pet’ that I could work with daily without stressing it to the point of illness, one that could be allowed to free roam without running to the nearest crevice, one that would not try to escape when held, and one that interacts and actually comes towards me when placed on the floor- I chose a tegu not another uromastyx.
Most people confuse a uromastyx with a lower than optimal body temperature with being a good pet as it stays calm when held. I don’t care how long you have worked with taming your uro – bring its body temperature up to 105F or so and see how calm your uro is when placed in your lap.

No need to apologize. I did not take your comments as my not caring about my animals. In fact, I actually chuckled when I saw your statement as I realized that we had a big difference of opinion on what quality time with a reptile meant. :)

You gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about something that I feel very strongly about- uros as pet pets. Most people out here know that I believe that the majority of uromastyx die in captivity because of excessive stress from poor living conditions and the opportunistic pathogens that take advantage of the situation. I strongly believe that one of these major factors is stress from over handling.

The mistake quite a few people make is believing that their uromastyx is tame and not stressed because they take it out of the enclosure and it becomes calmer after handling it for a while. In all actuality-the calmness is probably due to the lowering of the animal’s body temperature. Uromastyx have a much higher potz (preferred optimal temperature zone) than most other reptiles. They become lethargic rather easily as conditions outside of their enclosure usually results in a rapid and excessive drop in this high body temperature. As the body temperature drops, the animal becomes more sluggish giving the appearance of calmness. Although this is an extreme analogy- think of falling through a crack in the ice. Your body movements and actions will become drastically slower and your struggling will cease after a minute or two- this does not mean that you are comfortable or not stressed in the ice water; your body is just reacting normally to the drop in temperature. This does not happen as quickly to our uromastyx when taken from a properly heated enclosure, but it is the same principle. It is my opinion that uromastyx are a little more susceptible to this process due to their higher than average body temperature. An even bigger problem is that the majority of owners (my opinion) keep their uromastyx in too cool of conditions (my opinion of #1 poor living condition mentioned above) to begin with so some uromastyx may appear calm in the enclosure and when handled. But, I am getting off track and that is a whole different discussion by itself.

A large percentage of my animals are quite tame (not dog tame) and will not only approach my hand but climb on it when I am working in their enclosures. The love stops when they are removed from their comfort zone. I do interact with them in the enclosure and enjoy that interaction as I know that the animal is not overly stressed and can walk away from me if they so desire. The fact that they have the option and do not run to the hide makes the interaction so much more enjoyable. Whole different story with the geryi. I have one moderately tame red female which will come to my hand instantly, will sometimes allow (depends on mood) head and chin scratches and will permit me to pick her up without a big fuss as long as I do not approach the enclosure door. She has laid several clutches for me so she and I have had a lot of one on one contact. She is my tamest geryi but still not as tame as my wildest mali.

Geryi and mali have been in the trade for roughly the same number of years. Both are relatively new comers being imported for the last 8 years or so I really did not choose geryi because they were newer in the trade.
I got into geryi a little over three years ago after some discussion with Doug D. The fact that the mortality rate was so high with this species and none at that time had been successfully hatched in the US (happened that year I believe) made this a perfect reptile to work with. The beautiful coloration of the animal certainly did not hinder this decision. My goal was (and is) to have the beauty of a geryi with the personality of a mali a few generations into breeding. My focus is now shifting towards other species but I will always keep breeding pairs of geryi. Although I find geryi one of the most beautiful species, they have never really been my favorite due to the standoffish personalities- they were just my first breeding focus.

I need to clarify what I mentioned earlier with my comments on uromastyx not making great pet-pets. I stated that in my opinion, uromastyx as a genus overall do not make good pets. I am sure that there are some uromastyx that have adjusted to daily handling and could be considered rather tame. I know of a few people that own some of the larger species (aegyptia) that report docile animals that free roam. Overall, my opinion is that they do not adjust well to excessive handling but I am sure that the degree of this may very well depend on the species and the individual animal.

This is the easiest question....

As far as having a reptile pet to handle for a large amount of time as much as I like our bearded dragon, our Mountain Horned Dragon is by far the best. She will climb onto your shoulder and ride around for hours while you do stuff, at times she climbs down onto the floor and wanders around. You can go pick her up and put her on her hang out spot and she just watches everyone around the room.

I have 40+ uros because I am working on breeding a few different species.

Frocto,