Starter Kits Special Offer! -50% OFF ALL LIVESTOCK

Due to it immense popularity in the summer we will be running our amazing starter kit special again where you can get 50% OFF ALL LIVESTOCK when purchased with one of our full starter kits. This covers any animal/group of animals up to £300 in value, for animals over £300 you still get £150 off their standard price when purchased with a full starter kit. Offer valid 01/10/25 until 10/01/26.

Ornate Uromastyx are native to the Sainai peninsula in Egypt and southern Israel down the West coast of Saudi Arabia as far as Northern Yemen. There are two recognised subspecies, Uromastyx ornata ornata that is from the northern part of their distribution range around the Sinai Peninsula and Uromastyx ornata philbyi which occurs further south. The individuals that we have are Uromastyx ornata ornata.

Ornate Uromastyx live in very arid environments consisting of sandy or gravelly deserts interspersed with rocky outcrops and gully’s up to an elevation of approximately 1000m. It is blisteringly hot during the day but the temperature drops rapidly at night at these altitudes and with the seasons, in parts of their range during winter it can even get cold enough to have ground frost. To avoid these extreme temperature swings Ornate Uromastyx will shelter in gully’s and under rocks to avoid midday heat but they are also known for digging their own burrows up to 1m deep.

Their social structure in the wild is to either live solitary or in small groups consisting of a single male and multiple females, although not as territorial as some other Uromastyx species care must always be taken if attempting to house multiple adults together as even males and females can sometimes show aggression towards one another.

Primarily herbivorous by nature they will eat a wide variety of plants but if the opportunity arises, they will also eat insects, however these make up a comparatively small part of the wild diet in adults. Seeds also make up an important part of their diet and there are well documented reports of a slightly grotesque behaviour where Uromastyx have been recorded scratching through the feaces (poo) of larger herbivores to eat any seeds that have passed through the digestive tract intact. It’s clearly a tough environment for them to live in…

Uromastyx are perfectly adapted to this desert lifestyle and have almost zero requirement for water, they obtain all the water they need from their diet, so they are the only group of lizards for which we do not routinely provide a water bowl. Elevated humidity within their environment can lead to skin problems so we tend to keep them bone dry except for areas of deep slightly moistened substrate for them to dig burrows in.

Ornate Uromastyx, as the name would suggest are intensely colourful as adults, it is however only the males that get the truly stunning colouration which is a mixture of bright blues, oranges, reds and yellows.

Although capable of moving at speed when alarmed they are normally very chilled out and are incredibly popular due to their personable nature. Captive bred Ornate Uromastyx are innately tame from the point of hatching and all Uromastyx have a hugely popular fanbase within the reptile keeping hobby.

Ornate Uromastyx are a medium sized species attaining a size of around 10-12in (25-30cm) as adults and due to their active nature and requirements for blisteringly high temperatures they will need a relatively sizable enclosure to live in, a 4ft x 2ft would be the bare minimum but larger than this should really be provided for them when adult.

With the correct environment and a good diet of varied plant matter, seeds, bee pollen and a treat of occasional insects they are incredibly hardy pets. They are bordering on the “bulletproof” category in terms of hardiness. The only thing to be wary of is that babies can potentially get stressed from over handling but as juveniles and adults they can be frequently let out of their enclosure and handled.

Uromastyx take a long time to mature and are only normally capable of laying a single clutch of eggs each year following a complex series of steps to condition them for breeding. This means the demand for Uromastyx always outstrips the supply, so they are one of the more expensive beginner species of reptile. That said, they are worth every penny given their stunning appearance as adults and their outstanding personalities, they are literally some of the friendliest reptiles in existence. We have several different breeding projects for Uromastyx in an attempt to make them more readily available for people to enjoy.