Native to: The Mali Uromastyx is native to most of North Africa's desert regions, the Middle East and across south-central Asia and into India.

Adult Size: The average adult size is between 13" to 16" for males, and between 11" to 14" for females.

Appearance: Males are primarily jet black with bright yellow markings, while females tend to be more of a uniform brown or tan in color.

Diet: The Mali Uromastyx is primarily a herbivore. They will eat crickets occasionally but too much protien in their diet can lead to medical problems including kidney failure and gout. Majority of the diet should consist of greens like turnip greens, endive, lettuce, dandelion greens, as well as other vegetables such as carrots and alfalfa. A variety of beans, lentils, peas can also be offered. A vitamin supplement can be added to the food twice a month. In addtion to the veggies, baby mali uromastyx and juveniles should be given a calcium supplement twice a week. Mali Uromastyx should be fed daily, allowing it to eat until full. You should remove uneaten food within four hours to prevent spoilage.

Ease of care: The mali uromastyx is very active and is also known to throw its vegetables around its cage. They do require some picking up after. Also, their cage needs to be cleaned daily, refreshing the water bowl and removing uneaten food and fecal matter from the cage. With proper care, the mali uromastyx can live between 15 and 30 years.

Habitat: For an adult Mali Uromastyx a 45 gallon aquarium or larger should be adequate. The substrate can be made of newspaper, samd or a mixture of sand and soil. To avoid sand impaction baby Mali Uromastyx should always be kept on newspaper. (Sand impaction can cause serious health problems.) A box or cave for hiding is also a good addtion to the habitiat for your mali uromastyx. Also adding a few rocks will help keep your mali uromastyx occupied. The mali uromastyx are very active animals, so the larger the enclosure the happier your lizard will be. As for the heating and cooling of the habitat, the enclosure should have a constant day time temperature of between 82 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with a basking zone of betweeen 115 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Night time temperatures should range between 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperatures should be slightly cooler during the winter months.

Drink: Mali Uromastyx are very dry lizards that can go for long periods of time without water. Although they get mojority of the water that they drink from the plants that they eat, you can offer a water dish to them and mist them twice a week to help with shedding.

Temperament: Mali Uromastyx are very docile lizards. They are very common pets among lizard owners. When properly raised in captivity, this species is seldomly known to bite, and becomes very trusting of its owners. Mali Uromasryx will lash out with its spiny tail when it feels threatened.