How to Identify Uromastyx Lizard Injuries

When looking for an uromastyx to purchase, and when you have your uromastyx at home, you need to check its body for injuries. If you see injuries on an uromastyx in the pet shop, you should purchase a different lizard. If you see them at home, you will need to treat these injuries quickly.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Triple antibiotic ointment or povidone iodine if treatment is needed

1. Know that while the uromastyx lizard does like heat, it cannot tell when it is too hot. This can easily cause burns, which will cause damage to your pet. If your uromastyx suffers a burn, you need to remove the cause of the injury from the vivarium.
2. Realize that if uromastyx are with other uromastyx in the same vivarium, they will probably bite and scratch each other. Infection can set into these injured areas very quickly. If your uromastyx suffers these injuries at home because it is in a vivarium with another lizard, you need to separate them immediately.
3. Treat injuries with a triple antibiotic cream or apply a povidone iodine solution immediately to speed healing. The injuries will heal best when exposed to air, so it isn't necessary to cover them with bandages.

Tips & Warnings

• Use preventative measures to protect your uromastyx possible injuries, as these animals can't fight off infection very well, and will usually die if the infection is allowed to set in.
• Don't purchase an uromastyx that appears to have sustained an injury while in the pet store. You won't have any way of knowing whether the injury is seriously infected or is potentially fatal.
• Don't use a heat pad inside your uromastyx vivarium to heat it.