Dwarf Shield-Tailed Agama — Fact Sheet

Xenagama taylori · Dwarf Shield-Tailed Agama

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• House one adult, a compatible pair, or a carefully watched small group.
• Minimum for one adult: 90 x 45 x 45 cm; more floor space helps reduce conflict.
• Dry, bright, highly ventilated arid vivarium or secure tub-style setup.
• Quarantine on paper or another monitorable surface before deep substrate.

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Broad basking stone, fixed securely.
• Several single-animal hides, cork or stone cracks, and visual barriers.
• 10-15 cm compactable sandy soil after quarantine.
• Shallow water dish and feeding dish or flat stone.

💡 Lighting

• Linear UVB is required.
• Ferguson Zone 3; target measured UVI about 3-4.5 at basking height.
• Bright daylight LED improves activity and feeding.
• Photoperiod: 10-12 h; seasonal reduction only for healthy adults.

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 40-45 °C

• Warm zone: 25-30 °C

• Cool zone: 23-27 °C

• Night: 18-24 °C

• Measure surfaces with an infrared thermometer.

• Use overhead heat only.

• Winter cooling to about 13-18°C nights is only for stable adults.

💧 Humidity & water

• Ambient humidity: 40-60% with good ventilation.
• Keep the surface mostly dry; keep lower burrow zones slightly moist.
• Provide a shallow water dish.
• Light morning misting may trigger drinking; avoid a wet enclosure.

🪳 Feeding

Feed regularly:

• Small crickets, roaches, locusts, black soldier fly larvae, dandelion, plantain, clover, endive, hibiscus, and safe weeds

Use in moderation:

• Mealworms, grated carrot, squash, quality herbivore pellets, and small seeds

Avoid:

• Oversized prey, fatty larvae as staples, sprayed plants, wet salad left to spoil

Supplements:

• Calcium on most juvenile insect meals; multivitamin lightly according to UVB and label

💤 Seasonal rhythm

• Keep juveniles, thin animals, sick animals, and new arrivals warm and active.
• Cool only robust adults after weight, appetite, hydration, and feces are stable.
• Reduce light, heat, and feeding gradually; restart gradually.

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Sunken body or dry retained shed → dehydration or poor burrow humidity
• Bite wounds or missing tail tips → social conflict
• Tremors or soft jaw → UVB/calcium problem
• Weight loss despite feeding → parasites, stress, or chronic disease
• Wheezing or nasal discharge → cool damp housing or respiratory disease

Persistent or severe signs require a reptile- or exotic-animal veterinarian.