Description
- Common Name: Nidua Fringe-toed Lizard
- Scientific Name: Acanthodactylus scutellatus
- Locality/Morph: Wild Type
- Sex: Unknown
- Age: Unknown
- Source: Wild caught in Egypt
- Native Range: North Africa – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and surrounding arid regions
- Natural Habitat: Sandy deserts, semi-arid plains, dunes, and scrubland
- Diet: Insectivorous – small invertebrates and occasional vegetation
- Basking Temperature: 35–40°C hotspot
- Ambient Temperature: 26–32°C (night drop to ~15–24°C)
- Average Adult Size: 16–20 cm
The Nidua Fringe-toed Lizard (Acanthodactylus scutellatus) is a small, agile desert lizard found widely across North Africa. Its common name comes from the distinctive elongated scales and fringes on its toes, which help it run quickly over loose sand. Highly adapted to hot, arid conditions, these lizards are active during the day, spending much of their time basking and foraging for small invertebrates. Their slender build, striped or spotted patterns, and quick movements make them a fascinating species for experienced keepers.
In captivity, A. scutellatus requires a hot, dry desert setup with a basking hotspot of 35–40°C and a daytime gradient around 26–32°C. Strong UVB lighting is essential to maintain health and vitality. A sandy, well-draining substrate should be used, ideally with some rocks, flat stones, and scrub-like décor to mimic their natural environment and provide basking and hiding spots. These lizards are highly active and need an enclosure with plenty of floor space.
Their diet should consist of small live insects such as crickets, fruit flies, roaches, and mealworms, dusted regularly with calcium and vitamin supplements. While primarily insectivorous, they may occasionally nibble at soft vegetation in the wild, so offering small amounts of leafy greens can be beneficial.
Fringe-toed Lizards are a fast, active species that is not typically suitable for handling. With the correct care and conditions, they can thrive in captivity and display their natural behaviours, and can live for up to 10 years.
Livestock Delivery:
Livestock is delivered in our own heated reptile courier vans. Delivery time from ordering will depend on your location and when we next have a van in your area, this will usually be a maximum of 2 weeks. You will receive a date and time slot by phone or email, so please ensure you enter these correctly at checkout. Delivery fee for livestock depends on location, prices start at £45. Livestock orders over £500 (+VAT) are delivered free of charge.
Livestock Sale Terms:
If multiple animals are in stock then not all will be pictured, so the photo above may not be exact animal available.
All prices are per individual unless otherwise stated. All livestock is subject to availability, whilst we try to keep the website as up to date as possible errors may happen, in this situation you will be contacted to arrange a refund/alternative.
Errors can happen with sexing and morph identification. Should this be discovered before leaving us you are entitled to a refund. After the animal leaves us it is the customers responsibility to inform us within 48 hours of the animals arrival. Failing to do so may lose the customers eligibility for a refund.
It is the customers responsibility to have the correct setup available and ready for the animal, if you need any advice please do get in touch. We have the right to request proof of setup at any time, failure to provide an image of an appropriate setup or any image at all, may result in a full order cancellation and refund.
Guarantee for all inverts & amphibians is 24 hours. All other livestock is 48 hours. If issues/concerns are notified upon delivery, then this may be extended. All health related queries will be subject to a full investigation should an issue arise. Failing to provide us with the information we request may void any form of guarantee. If we find reason from the information that its injury or death was caused by negligence or incorrect husbandry then the guarantee may be void. Should death or abnormalities occur then you must inform us as soon as possible. In the unlikely event that an animal passes away please photograph the dead body and freeze until you have heard from us. If death or illness occurs after 7 days, and no health issues were reported, then Ridgeway will not be held responsible.
We have the right to refuse any sale, refund or guarantee at any time if we feel it is necessary.
Livestock sales are for customers aged 18+, if under this age you must have prior parent permission. If we have any reason to suspect this is not the case we will contact you before the animal is released.
When purchasing an animal from us you automatically agree to these terms of sale.
