Ackie questions....

[672]

For my birthday, I am asking for an ackie, but before I do get it, I have a few questions...

1) How deep should the substrate be? How can I keep it "borrowable"?

2) I am going to start with one ackie, but I would like to get a second in the future, could I introduce them to each other without hazard?

3) Could I feed an all rodent diet when they are adults? What size rodents would be the biggest I could feed?


thx...

[SHvar]

1) I wouldnt use less than 6 inches, 12 or more if you can ackies love to dig and tunnel.
2) Its always a best bet to get 2 as hatchlings and let them work out any possible relationship, if they will get along.

3) Ackies eat smaller sized foods, if you feed mice Id say pinkies or hoppers, but mine eats almost completely lobster roaches, with crickets, and occaisional waxworms.

[NiagaraReptiles]

1 - I keep babies on only a few inches of substrate. Mostly so I don't have a hard time finding them ;) It is very important that adults have a deep substrate of at least 10". Burrowability (is that a word? ;)) is one of the key aspects to be considered when choosing a substrate for your monitor. Also, the age of the animal and sex can have an effect on what type of substrate you should use.

2 - You can get one ackie now and add another later, but whether you will have problems introducing them can not be answered until you have them and are putting htem together. It may go ok, it may not. It is common place for ackie that haven't been rasied together to be more incosistant breeders than ones that have been raised with eachother from hatchlings. That being said, if breeding is your goal, start with a pair of hatchlings.

3 - I would strongly advise against an all rodent diet for <i>any</i> monitors of the <i>Odatria</i> subgenus. I feel that 80-100% of thier diet should be comprised of insects (I feed only crickets and pinkies to my monitors).

Best wishes,

JonK

[reptiguy123]

If you wouldn't feed anything to a monitor, it would be rodents. Not that they're bad. Insects should just be staple. And what a better monitor to make a meal out of them than ackies? What type ackie do you plan to get? Good luck!:D

[672]

I want to get a yellow ackie... and maybe a second one for x-mas....

[reptiguy123]

Damn, I'd hate to have to give you that for a present.:D