Husbandry and Care Requirements
Phrynocephalus mystaceus are found throughout Uzbekistan and are spread out in neighbouring countries Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan and even southern Russia and western China, information and behaviour suggests they prefer loose sand dunes exclusively, considering the destination they are found they like it very dry and very hot and would eat local insects and possibly vegetation like most agamas
before acquiring your agama it is best to have the equipment and enclosure already set up, I will include a list of equipment which is important to have in order to provide the correct husbandry, the brands I suggest are not compulsory but they are what I prefer and have faith in
The agamas are very communal reptiles and as such prefer to be in groups, a good ratio would be 1 male to every 3 females, more dominant males may want to be housed separately and always keep an eye on the groups you decide to house, make sure you look out for bullying and/or make sure the more submissive individuals are getting enough food and space.
You want a loose substrate and sand is where they are most comfortable, they burrow especially when threatened and always retreat into the sand at night time when they go to sleep, you want at least 6 inches of sand in an enclosure
Temperatures are very hot so you want the hottest point of the vivarium (under the basking light) to be nearing 45c, cool end can be between 27 and 30 and will be achieved by finding the perfect point of placing the probe from the stat, night time temperatures should be cooler but not drop below 22c and for this I suggest using a seperate stated heat mat or ceramic bulb turned on at night, this species love and thrive under intense UV so I have suggested the Arcadia UV +D3 flood bulb
Like all reptiles they will require a humidity spike in the morning so a good spray or misting will suffice, they have a very interesting way of drinking, there is a video of the female stretching her cheek flaps below
Feeding will be your usual insects at a size the reptile can manage, these include medium crickets, medium locusts and small Dubia roaches, mealworms, morio worms, wax worms and others will also be offered along with 2 helpings of vegetation per week, all of this will be dusted in calcium, vitamin D3 weekly and verm x monthly, click the link below the video to learn more about verm x
- 4 x 2 x 2 vivarium or enclosure (per 3 or 4 agamas)
- Arcadia UV +D3 flood
- Basking lamp
- Heat mat or ceramic lamp
- Loose substrate, decor and hiding decoration
- Microclimate Evo digital stat
The agamas are very communal reptiles and as such prefer to be in groups, a good ratio would be 1 male to every 3 females, more dominant males may want to be housed separately and always keep an eye on the groups you decide to house, make sure you look out for bullying and/or make sure the more submissive individuals are getting enough food and space.
You want a loose substrate and sand is where they are most comfortable, they burrow especially when threatened and always retreat into the sand at night time when they go to sleep, you want at least 6 inches of sand in an enclosure
Temperatures are very hot so you want the hottest point of the vivarium (under the basking light) to be nearing 45c, cool end can be between 27 and 30 and will be achieved by finding the perfect point of placing the probe from the stat, night time temperatures should be cooler but not drop below 22c and for this I suggest using a seperate stated heat mat or ceramic bulb turned on at night, this species love and thrive under intense UV so I have suggested the Arcadia UV +D3 flood bulb
Like all reptiles they will require a humidity spike in the morning so a good spray or misting will suffice, they have a very interesting way of drinking, there is a video of the female stretching her cheek flaps below
Feeding will be your usual insects at a size the reptile can manage, these include medium crickets, medium locusts and small Dubia roaches, mealworms, morio worms, wax worms and others will also be offered along with 2 helpings of vegetation per week, all of this will be dusted in calcium, vitamin D3 weekly and verm x monthly, click the link below the video to learn more about verm x
http://www.verm-x.com/product/reptiles/21/verm-x-for-reptiles.php