Desert Iguanas

Anyone around here have any personal experience with them? Based on their basic needs (diet, housing, lighting/heating, environment etc etc) I'm thinking about adding a pair since a lot of their needs seem very similar to that of Uromastyx. This would make stocking supplies and food rationing fairly straight forward and uncomplicated.

Thanks in advance!

I don't have any direct knowledge to share, but have been interested in desert igs and chuckwallas. You can check out Melissa Kaplan's site, anapsid.org, it's sort of out of date but does mention the use of creosote plants as being a good addition to their captive environment. It's in her caresheet for chucks & desert igs.

Good luck!

Thanks! I've done my research as well (Melissa Kaplan's caresheet was one of the first articles I read ) and know about their close relationship with the creosote plant (food, protection, shelter). I found it pretty interesting that 'King Clone', a colony of crosote plants, is said to be one of the oldest known living organisms at 11,700 years old. Anyway, the problem is finding them here in NY and then keeping them alive in the enclosure (which I've thought about and came up with a few ideas). It doesn't need much water, but it does need enough space for a root system. Another problem is their size--they can grow to be quite large. I guess it would all hinge on growth rate, which I'm unsure of.

At this point in time I'm in the market for Somali/Arabian/Saharan Uros, Desert Iguanas or perhaps a Sri Lankan Star tort...just need to decide and then, most importantly, find some good specimens

There is a care article in a recent Reptiles magazine... they might have a caresheet on the website: Reptiles: Snakes, Lizards, Turtles, Tortoises, Amphibians, and Crocodilians Resource Center - ReptileChannel.com