The Red Headed Agama is named due to the colour of its head, which is a red to orange colour. They live in groups consisting of one dominate male with several females and younger not dominate males.
As the name suggests, these Agamas are brightly coloured with a red head. This is true for dominate males, they have an orange to red head with a blue body with some white speckles along the back. Under the males throat, black is present, this could be the whole throat or a small area towards the neck/chest. Their colour will fade if frightened or not in breeding colours, males tend to go a shade of brown, however, their head still has a slight tint of orange on it. Females generally have a grey background colour with speckles of red along their back, some white markings may also be present.
They reach an adult length of around 12 to 14 inches head to tip of tail, males tend to be slightly larger than females.
The Red Headed Agama can be found in most parts of Africa such as Tanzania and Kenya. They are a semi desert dwelling species that live within rock crevices. If close to man, they may even live within their huts or gardens.
Red Headed Agamas should be kept in groups of at least three and provided with plenty of space, they are an active species.
To house a trio (1 male, 2 females) you will require a 48x24x24 inch vivarium, the more space you can provide the better. Use a soil/sand mix for the substrate and position rocks around the vivarium to make hides, ensuring these are sturdy and will not trap your lizard. You can also use cork bark, sand blast branches and artificial plants to decorate the enclosure.
Red Headed Agamas require high UVB rays within the enclosure, we recommend a 10% desert lamp. A basking light will be required to heat the enclosure. You can use a clear basking bulb during the day with a heat mat for background temperatures throughout the night. Red basking bulbs can be used day and night along with ceramic heaters. The enclosure needs to have a basking area of around 35C (95F) with a ambient temperature of around 26-29C (80-85F). Allow night time temperatures to drop to between 23-25C (74-78F). The use of a Thermostat is essential to regulate the enclosures temperature day and night.
Feeding Red Headed Agamas is pretty easy with plenty of live foods being readily available. Crickets, locusts, mealworms, butterworms along with many others can all be fed to your Agama. Youngsters require daily feeding where as adults can be fed every other day. Providing gut loads insects along with a dusting of vitamins will help keep you Red Headed Agama in good health. Provide fresh clean water every day.
Lots of people have contacted us recently due to the press coverage of the "Spiderman Lizard" (due to their colours).
When looking to own any animal, it is important that you do all the necessary research and understand the requirements of the species in question. Do not purchase this lizard because it is the "in thing to do and own". They require special equipment, lighting and heating all designed for keeping exotic pets in captivity.
Although they do tame down in time, they are not a species for regular handling, they are mainly a display lizard. They can run pretty fast and easily escape when maintaining their enclosure or feeding.
Please think about how long this lizard will live, the cost involved for food, lighting and heating of the enclosure. You must also have someone who is willing to look after your new pet and have a knowledge of their requirements if you were to go on Holiday.
