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We have not attempted any outdoor enclosures for our lizards. Our summer temps get down to the 50s and 60s frequently so ours would likely have to go out for the day and back in at night. Does anyone have any experience with housing uros outdoors? Would taking them back and forth daily from out to inside be stressful? What type of enclosure has worked for you? Do they become less tame/handleable once house outdoors? Wonder if catching the uro outdoors would be hard.

I personally won't even try it. But, then, I have an igloo in my backyard...

(Yes, I'm kidding. But it's still WAY too cold for the lizards! LOL)

Yeah, we thought it was cold here, I can't imagine what it's like in Canada. Brrrr. . .

I think outdoor enclosures would be fun, but might be stressful, and the lizard can easily escape. So it probably wouldn't be a very good choice.

One of my good friends keep SOME uro species out year round without any heat supplementation.

Temperatures range from 17F to 115F.

I would NOT keep ornates, ocellated, or any of the more "tropical" uros outside in the winter WITHOUT heat supplementation

I think taking them in and out would be stressful if it were on a daily basis.....BUT I would leave them out for the whole summer and keep them inside during the whole winter....unless you have a really good setup outside that you can keep them out year-round.

When housing reptiles outdoors start by considering climate. Research their natural localities and climate data from the that area. If you can mimic that climate outside in an escape proof/predator proof enclosure that also provides proper hiding areas and micro climates (smaller areas that provide different temps and humidity), then in theory you could house them outdoors. But additionally you must consider weather, rain, storms, and flooding. Most Uros come from hot dry climates, too much rain or having a wet enclosure is bad. Lastly, Uros are territorial lizards. Once a territory is established it can be stressful for them to be moved constantly. Uros become very familiar with their home range/cage. They, after a while, "know where everything is" and act more comfortable/relaxed when that familiarity exists.

Other considerations:
Artificial heat
Burrowing and nesting (Uros dig home burrows DEEP and LONG)
Group compatibility
Experience and knowledge of species

If you choose to attempt putting some outside be sure to check on them often to see how they're doing & if they are well.

Regards,

I think it'd be really hard,
- For us to make an escape-proof outdoor pen
- To keep them outside all year long
- Shuffle them in and out like we do with tortoises without really stressing them, as stated above.

I also think it'd be good for them to,
-get lot's of natural sunlight
-be able to forage as in the wild

I know this is an old topic but just wanted to add what I've found in terms of resources for outdoor enclosures.

This outdoor pen is made for around $60 from pvc pipe and coated wire mesh: http://www.herpcenter.com/pvc-knock-down-cage.html.

An outdoor enclosure is something we've been planning on implementing for our uros when the weather is right. The plan above can be modified to be lower and longer with simple adjustments. If we try it out, I'll be sure to let you know how it works out!

The only major thing that worries me is; ants. I'd be scared to death that ants would raid the enclosure and my Uro wouldn't be able to escape them.

We built a large walkin planted enclosure for our Mali uros to live in year around (in AZ). We started them indoors and then moved to outdoor cage the following spring. They just completed their first winter outside and we did have a few cold spells but all are still thriving. They have a deep underground hide that helps keep them warm and loads of above ground sun spots. They are housed with hatchling tortoises and button quail. Making the cage escape proof is not that difficult. I've have an outdoor aviary and it is built with a similar concept of using deep footers, secure doors and small hardware cloth. The ants are the biggest concern and I do treat outside of cage with amdro for ants.