Fauna Gardens Private Collection

Whilst browsing in one of my local pet stores, I saw a lizard species listed as 'Bells Agama.' They looked very interesting (and were a good price [£14-16]) and decided to do a little research. However, I pretty much can't find anything, and after typing it into google it came up with pages about Red-headed Agamas. It isn't a different name, since the pic of red-heads is completely different to how the Bells look. Could anybody possibly find any caresheets. How readily do they breed, how many young do they have in a clutch, how long do they live and are they good for beginners? Thanks in advance

 

Did it look a little like this?



They are more commonly called Uromastyxs they come in a variety of colors. I am not sure why the pet shop had them listed as that? I remember a book I had them listed as Bell's Mastigures, so hopefully these are it. If not let me know what they look like and I will try to help you with identifying them.

If so here is a care sheet and I'm sure you will be able to find plenty of other info on them if this doesn't cover everything. Care Sheet for the Genus Uromastyx

 

No, that wasn't it. I can't find any pics of what it looked like with a search, but it sort of had an agama body, yet was a plain brown colour with black/dark brown patterning (I think).

 

What about the tail? Whats it like?

 

I can't remember sorry. They appeared to be young and quite skittish, I am wondering if they were Butterfly Agamas (they looked a bit like a picture I saw of the butterflies)

 

Just a word to the wise-please don't take this as a criticism. I note from other threads that you are quite a young chap-please think if you have the time and commitment to offer to this many animals, as well as the money to care for them (including unforseen medical bills).

Even a small collection of exotics can be incredibly expensive to maintain, especially as you should consider pet insurance for them.

Plus, being young, your plans are perhaps a bit more fluid than some older people-do you have people around you can rely on to look after your animals in the event of emergencies?

I'll offer up a cautionary tale-some years ago I was struck down with viral arthritis literally overnight-I was pretty much housebound for 6 months and not able to look after my pets very well-I had at the time 2 cats, 4 rats and a tank of goldfish-so a FRACTION of what you propose to have, and it was very difficult to get other people to help with some of the general maintenance just due to time issues, etc.

Fortunately I got through it, but not without injuring my back permanently-I no longer keep fish as I cannot do the heavy lifting of tanks, water, etc.

You've already stated your rabbit escaped-can you really cope with all these other animals?

It's a nice idea, and I'm not shooting it down in flames, just suggesting you may want to approach it slowly-maybe specialise in one area-rodents, for example, and join any clubs in the area for help/advice. You could start with rabbits (strictly lagomorphs I know), then consider guinea pigs, gerbils, jirds, various hamsters, mice, rats, chipmunks, chinchillas-all need similar requirements for basic housing/maintenance, so that will work out cheaper.

Anyway, just my two pennies worth-good luck whatever you decide.

 

Thanks for the advice, it is certainly true I could never do it straight away due to finances, time etc, but I intend to do this as I get older (hopefully ).

As for my rabbit escaping that was really a one-off, since it was the fault of a dodgy hutch than anything else. The latch was extremly loose (not known at the time, and I always check now) and it slipped down during the night. I've also heard about this happening in a pets at home store with the same make. I've had many pets in the past and not had the same problems.