I work at a pet store and fell for the charms of a male mali uromastyx and so did my brother, so we took him home. He was a bit wiggly but calmed down within a few minutes. We realized he needed much more heat and once we got the right set up with the correct temps and food, he has perked up, a bit too much. He's nearly impossible to hold, he has no depth perception so will just step off a hand/arm/table/bed, luckily he hasnt fallen yet and we've managed to catch him in time!

We love this lizard but I'm now not sure if its the right pet for my brother (he's 15) who wants something he can handle for more than a few minutes at a time. It's interesting to watch him eat and feed him by hand, but since my brother has some sight problems, that's not really a lot of fun for him.

Would a bearded dragon be a better choice as far as being able to calm down and be tame? People have come into the pet store with bearded dragons simply clinging to their shirts. The cage would only need minor alteration to house the bearded. Or do you think with more time (we've had the uromastyx about a month and a half) the uro will calm down with more handling? He is super fast and we're afraid he'll hurt himself by suddenly sprinting out of reach.

I might be able to trade the uromastyx for a bearded dragon, but I don't know for sure if my boss will say it's ok. And I wanted to get some opinions. I'm really attached to this guy even though he isnt mine, however if we want to get a bearded, we dont have enough room for two lizards.