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Mali Uromastyx
Uromastyx dispar
Mali Uromastyx. A robust and thick species. Adult males turn an impressive pitch black on the body, punctuated by massive blotches or bands of bright lemon yellow.
Class:Squamata
Order:Squamata
Family:Agamidae
Subfamily:Uromastycinae
Genus:Uromastyx
Species:Uromastyx dispar
Formerly known as:Uromastyx maliensis
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
20 - 30 %
Day temperature
28 - 32 °C
Ambient temperature
32 °C
Night temperature
18 - 22 °C
Basking spot
55 °C
Adult size
23.2 cm
Minimum enclosure
>= 400 L
UVB
High
Species description
Geographic Origin and Habitat: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about geographic origin and habitat for Uromastyx dispar. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Taxonomy and Genetics: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about taxonomy and genetics for Uromastyx dispar. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Behaviour and Habits: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about behaviour and habits for Uromastyx dispar. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Morphology and Sexual Dimorphism: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about morphology and sexual dimorphism for Uromastyx dispar. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: They require enormous space despite their medium size. Minimum 48x24x24 inches (120x60x60h cm), strictly made of wood (OSB) or materials that retain scorching heat (screen or full glass terrariums dissipate too much heat). They absolutely need a dry substrate to dig in (mix of desert sand, clay, and gravel) and innumerable faux rock hides, or stacks of securely fastened slate slabs (collapses are fatal) to build the basking spot.
Lighting and Heating: THE KEY TO SURVIVAL. The Uromastyx MUST cook under the lamps. The basking spot on the surface stone must register between 120°F and 130°F (50-55°C), a temperature that would kill snakes or geckos. The cool end of the terrarium settles at 82°F (28°C). This massive thermal gradient is achieved only with 100-150W halogen flood lamps. A battery of fluorescent 12-14% UVB tubes over the entire enclosure is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY. Without this infernal sun, they refuse food, turn black, and die.
Humidity and Hydration: Saharan humidity: it must be kept constantly between 20% and 30%. The terrarium must NEVER be misted and A WATER BOWL MUST NEVER BE PLACED (except for malnourished gravid females). If they inhale stagnant humidity, they succumb in a few weeks to Acute Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections. They derive 100% of their water from the fresh greens they eat.
Feeding and Supplementation: Strict and rigorous herbivores. It is a lethal mistake (often made by novices) to feed them crickets or mice: an excess of animal protein devastates their kidneys causing visceral gout and a painfully agonizing death. The daily diet consists of dark greens (chicory, endive, escarole), softened dry lentils, peas, and millet (bird seed) scattered in the enclosure. Calcium supplementation without D3 must be abundant.
Compatibility: Strictly solitary. Males challenge each other in flashy but bloody biting battles. Females may barely tolerate each other, but the golden rule to avoid severed tails and infections is single-enclosure keeping per animal.
Health and Common Diseases: Lethal hydration: do not bathe or mist the Uromastyx. MBD (rubbery bones, jaw malformation, and muscle tremors) destroys the specimen in the absence of powerful UVB rays. Another common problem is severe dorsal burns if the 130°F lamps are placed too close without a protective wire mesh guard and the animal stands up on its legs and touches them.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
This species originates from: Nord Africa.
Origin
Africa and Madagascar
Reptile profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 23.2 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 23.2 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 23.2 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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