Biggest info in this is setting up temps before getting your ackie and ambient room temps being different in different areas. Feel like people really undervalue this! Great info dude.
Hey thank you man I have one I'm working one that is specifically about humidity. If you ever need anything let me know. We can have a convo on my ig Scales_13
I rigged my ackie viv with a proheat panel connected to a herpstat. Live in south Dakota and right now snowing almost in the negatives outside. The panels are good tho because they don't effect humidity at all.
@@Scales13 worth looking into tho if you're gonna get a larger viv down the line. A load of larger monitor keepers use them just for keeping that ambient. Really good on a herpstat because you know if the bulb goes also if you're at work one of those panels will be able to keep the viv nice and steady
This is very true. I have a pretty big enclosure I built for My ackie. I gotta do something different. Hottest ambient temperature on my hot side only gets to about 89 and my cooler side gets too 81. He's got two basking spots. One is at 125 on average and the other one only gets to 131. I definitely wanna get those a little warmer
Pretty good videos and info man. I'm gonna make a post on a facebook ackie fan page shortly with details on my enclosure build. It's a 4'x2'x5' (for 2-3 feet of substrate) that only costs $150 and can very easily be scaled up if you want more room for not much more money. It's all melamine and pine construction that's waterproof and can easily be built with just a circular saw and drill.
Nope not a beginner lizard. Its a great first "monitor lizard" but not a great first lizard. You have experience with reptiles though so you could give it a shot as always just do a dont of research and have the enclosure and temps dialed in before Receiving your Ackie.
@@Scales13 I think i'll get a blue tongue skink as my first lizard instead of leaping right into an ackie. I will definitely be doing tons of research beforehand and maybe in the future once i'm a bit more experienced I would wanna get an ackie. Thanks!
@@Alan-bw2sc Blue tongue skinks are a great first lizard. I would recommend buying an Eastern or a Northern Blue tongue skink since they do well in lower humidity and are captive bread in the U.S.
So you use flood lights and not an actual heat bulb? (Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm about to get my first ackie and i wanna make sure i don't make any mistakes with the heat)
@@Scales13 awesome! May i ask about enclosure size? Ours is a rescue with several issues resulting from neglect from his previous owner. His growth was stunted so despite being almost three years old, he's about the size of a six month old (I'm going off of pictures of six month old ackies I've seen online) how big of an enclosure would you recommend (he also doesn't have toes either, his last owner was just awful. Idk how much this would affect anything as far as his enclosure goes because he can still run and hunt just fine)
Well remember I'm not a vet but in suggestion would be to focus on hormonal space for exercise but since it would have issues gripping don't make the enclosure very high because the animal can probably fall easier since it's missing digits. So maybe a 5 to 6 footer with only short climbing branches and plus of areas to dig.
I got a dimmer on mine so I will try to mimic sunset. I dont think its really doing anything though, cause 1 will forget and sleep outside til late. Usually they go hide to sleep.
I think about getting an Ackie. So i wanted to ask a quick question: Can I put the enclosure in my office (at home ) ? I spend a lot of time in there so it should get used to me fairly quickly. I also play PC in there. Enclosure would be directly behind my Back (0,5 m between my chair and the enclosure ) Could the lights and noise form me using TeamSpeak and Discord stress the Lizard ? The other possibility I have would the living Room. But that would also be right next to the TV (which would make even more noise) I also spend a lot more time in my office/gaming room/ man cave. 180x80x100 cm (5,9 x 2,6 x 3,2 feet) 200x80x120 cm (6,56 x 2,6 x 3,97 feet) Those are the two sizes I can easily get (more depth is not really possible due to space limitations) Are these good Sizes for One Ackie (Only One since if heard very mixed things about Cohab and don't have the space for a backup enclosure. Thx for your Videos. They help out allot since information about theses guys is a bit harder to find then for example bearded Dragons.
This is stressing me out. Currently I am making a ackie viv, I'm doing constant research to make sure its done right but.. I don't understand how you control the temps. With my snakes and other lizards I obviously use dimmer stats but I can't find a thermostat that can go to 170f at max in the UK I can find 92f. So is it all about distance and wattage? or am I being silly and looking in the wrong places? Is there ones specifically designed for monitors? Because in the UK we have freezing winters and pretty hot summers. How do I make up the difference? Thanks to anyone who can give me some clarification
The bulbs I use are halogen floods. I got by wattage and distance. Temperatures in the space the enclosure is it does make an impact. Dimmers can be used but ivevmostly see that used for secondary heating elements like DHPs and CHEs.
I dont use a thermostat for lights. I use them for heat pads and CHEs. I do have digits thermometers built into the enclosures and I just track temps with a temp gun. These bulbs are spot on from 10 to 12 inches.
so im way to hot, its like 84/85 at day and 77 at night in the room temps, thx a lot it's help when ur kinda beginner for this species and u live where it snow and get under 8 celcius at night
77 isn't bad for night. 84 to 85 on the cool side during the day isn't bad either. Just make sure cool side dosent drop into the 60s and you'll be just fine.
Hey i have i question i have new ackie for 12 day's now but it wont eat i tried different kinds of insects the temps are correct he has enough hides and i dont really know what to do , he also sleeps a lot like til 13:00 ( he is a 3 year old male and didn't have problems with eating before and looks healthy ) I couldn't find any thing about eating issues and would appreciatie if anyone may know a solution .
How have you been attempting to feed him. Tongs only or letting your Ackie hunt and chase? Also what food items are you offering and what was he being fead on from the previous owner.
@@Scales13 thanks for your reaction ,i have tried tongs and just letting him hunt but with no succes , i fed grasshopers and mealworms that is what he was fed .
Hmm is the room the your animal in noisy? Also hows is animal manurisms do you notice anything weird. Also is humidity stable what are your numbers looking like for heat and humidity percentage?
@@Scales13 No the terrarium is in my bedroom and I did not play music on my speakers or stuff like that, my temps are on the cold side 79 F / 26 Celsius, and at his basking spot 113 F / 45 celsius but this was measured with an air thermometer and not one of those laser pistols so that will be a bit higher of a temperature (humidity I did not check but I do not spray the cage just a water bowl like the previous owner).
Those hot spot is too cold for an adult. At the very least is must at atleast 130. What type of bulb are you using? The animals metabolism is dependent on those high temps. Your ambients are good but you Must increase that basking temp. Also what material is the surface of the basking spot made out of?
I got a baby ackie and it doesn’t eat mil worms , it only wants crickets and I try roaches but it barely takes those any tips on how to get him eating more food items
Just keep offering and let them investigate the food over and over again. Eventually they will figure out its food. And it's ok tonfive babies one day without food to build the appetite.
If ackies are from Australia and if you look up temperatures over there in winter they are in the high 50’s low 60’s so I’m not sure if they should always have such high temperatures especially in winter they wouldn’t have the 90 degree warm side or 150 degree hotspot. What do you think about that
Are you referring specifically to the regions of Australia where the species is from? Yes is does cool down in Australia but as far as captivity Ackies do no thrive in colder temperatures. Also they have the ability to retreat deeper into the ground in the wild than just 1 to 2 foot of substrate as we have so farm deemed as optimal.
@@Scales13 okay I was just wonder because I wanted to get it closed as I could to temps in the wild so checked the temperature in Western Australia and was curious on weather they should be keep at the same temperature year round
Great video as always. I love how you emphasize that different enclosures need different heat. Everyone needs to figure out what THEY need.
Exactly it only makes sense. If anything thats the fun part.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ackie yawn.
Thank man. He does that every morning when he comes out to bask
Biggest info in this is setting up temps before getting your ackie and ambient room temps being different in different areas. Feel like people really undervalue this! Great info dude.
Thanks man!
Thinking of get a trio been watching your videos. You provide a lot of good info. Some of the best vid.s I seen very professional. Keep them coming
Hey thank you man I have one I'm working one that is specifically about humidity. If you ever need anything let me know. We can have a convo on my ig Scales_13
IG is Instrgram and ill check it out.
I rigged my ackie viv with a proheat panel connected to a herpstat. Live in south Dakota and right now snowing almost in the negatives outside. The panels are good tho because they don't effect humidity at all.
Thats awesome alternative supplemental heat is always good
@@Scales13 worth looking into tho if you're gonna get a larger viv down the line. A load of larger monitor keepers use them just for keeping that ambient. Really good on a herpstat because you know if the bulb goes also if you're at work one of those panels will be able to keep the viv nice and steady
Ok ill defently look into those
This is very true. I have a pretty big enclosure I built for My ackie. I gotta do something different. Hottest ambient temperature on my hot side only gets to about 89 and my cooler side gets too 81. He's got two basking spots. One is at 125 on average and the other one only gets to 131. I definitely wanna get those a little warmer
great video. Thank you.
Thank you! For watching!
AWESOME video! Thanks for making it!
No problem more to come
Pretty good videos and info man. I'm gonna make a post on a facebook ackie fan page shortly with details on my enclosure build. It's a 4'x2'x5' (for 2-3 feet of substrate) that only costs $150 and can very easily be scaled up if you want more room for not much more money. It's all melamine and pine construction that's waterproof and can easily be built with just a circular saw and drill.
Thank you and ill check out your video.
Could you link this enclosure
www.diycages.com/collections/critter-condo
Do you use a thermostat with your bulbs? This is my first lizard, I’ve only had snakes before this
No I use a heat gun and control temps by distance and wattage.
Hey there, I know you said Par 38 flood light is it the halogenated ones?
Yup if you can still find them.
@@Scales13 I think on Amazon I can haha thank u
@@diegosaenz7965 buy them quick they are getting more expensive.
Will a floodlight like this work in a dome/clamp lamp fixture?
It should just pay attention to the volt and wattage labeled on the fixture. If the fixture dosent state what the limits are then don't use it.
@@Scales13 Thanks so much
would you recommend an ackie as a beginner lizard? I have snakes and a tortoise but never kept a lizard.
Nope not a beginner lizard. Its a great first "monitor lizard" but not a great first lizard. You have experience with reptiles though so you could give it a shot as always just do a dont of research and have the enclosure and temps dialed in before Receiving your Ackie.
@@Scales13 I think i'll get a blue tongue skink as my first lizard instead of leaping right into an ackie. I will definitely be doing tons of research beforehand and maybe in the future once i'm a bit more experienced I would wanna get an ackie. Thanks!
@@Alan-bw2sc Blue tongue skinks are a great first lizard. I would recommend buying an Eastern or a Northern Blue tongue skink since they do well in lower humidity and are captive bread in the U.S.
So you use flood lights and not an actual heat bulb? (Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm about to get my first ackie and i wanna make sure i don't make any mistakes with the heat)
Not a dumb question. Yes because they last longer and have a wider beam so the animal can bask for efficiently.
@@Scales13 awesome! May i ask about enclosure size? Ours is a rescue with several issues resulting from neglect from his previous owner. His growth was stunted so despite being almost three years old, he's about the size of a six month old (I'm going off of pictures of six month old ackies I've seen online) how big of an enclosure would you recommend (he also doesn't have toes either, his last owner was just awful. Idk how much this would affect anything as far as his enclosure goes because he can still run and hunt just fine)
Well remember I'm not a vet but in suggestion would be to focus on hormonal space for exercise but since it would have issues gripping don't make the enclosure very high because the animal can probably fall easier since it's missing digits. So maybe a 5 to 6 footer with only short climbing branches and plus of areas to dig.
@@Scales13 awesome, thank you!
@ghostface_1999_ no problem feel free to msg or comment again with any further questions.
I got a dimmer on mine so I will try to mimic sunset. I dont think its really doing anything though, cause 1 will forget and sleep outside til late. Usually they go hide to sleep.
Yes does the same sometimes fall asleep before lights go out then after the lights switch off I hear him crawl to bed.
I think about getting an Ackie.
So i wanted to ask a quick question:
Can I put the enclosure in my office (at home ) ?
I spend a lot of time in there so it should get used to me fairly quickly. I also play PC in there. Enclosure would be directly behind my Back (0,5 m between my chair and the enclosure )
Could the lights and noise form me using TeamSpeak and Discord stress the Lizard ?
The other possibility I have would the living Room. But that would also be right next to the TV (which would make even more noise)
I also spend a lot more time in my office/gaming room/ man cave.
180x80x100 cm (5,9 x 2,6 x 3,2 feet)
200x80x120 cm (6,56 x 2,6 x 3,97 feet)
Those are the two sizes I can easily get (more depth is not really possible due to space limitations)
Are these good Sizes for One Ackie (Only One since if heard very mixed things about Cohab and don't have the space for a backup enclosure.
Thx for your Videos. They help out allot since information about theses guys is a bit harder to find then for example bearded Dragons.
The office would be a perfect place. Also long as the animal is where you spend most of your time.
This is stressing me out. Currently I am making a ackie viv, I'm doing constant research to make sure its done right but.. I don't understand how you control the temps. With my snakes and other lizards I obviously use dimmer stats but I can't find a thermostat that can go to 170f at max in the UK I can find 92f. So is it all about distance and wattage? or am I being silly and looking in the wrong places? Is there ones specifically designed for monitors? Because in the UK we have freezing winters and pretty hot summers. How do I make up the difference?
Thanks to anyone who can give me some clarification
The bulbs I use are halogen floods. I got by wattage and distance. Temperatures in the space the enclosure is it does make an impact. Dimmers can be used but ivevmostly see that used for secondary heating elements like DHPs and CHEs.
Hi could you please answer this question what type of reptile basking lamp should I use to achieve like 140 to 160
I use par38 put flood lights. They sell those in hardware stores. Not technically made for reptiles but they work great and all the pros use them.
Okay thanks
@@WinnerMentality7 no problem I have links in the enclosure tour video.
@scales13 what type of thermostat do you use for it? Sorry for asking so many questions
I dont use a thermostat for lights. I use them for heat pads and CHEs. I do have digits thermometers built into the enclosures and I just track temps with a temp gun. These bulbs are spot on from 10 to 12 inches.
How long can they go without food my Ackie monitor hasn't eaten in 3 days and I have offered her food
They can go quite a while but have a faster metabolism than most lizards. So yours refuses to eat?
@@Scales13 Yes mine was refusing to eat I finally found some roaches she actually took them but she won't take the super worms or anything else
Try scenting the other food items with the roaches let the insects crawl around in a container together that will boost your ackies interest in them.
@@Scales13 on awesome thank you I will try that
Quail eggs are a good choice for a treat. Much healthier than common chicken eggs. Just don't feed everyday,once a month.
so im way to hot, its like 84/85 at day and 77 at night in the room temps, thx a lot it's help when ur kinda beginner for this species and u live where it snow and get under 8 celcius at night
77 isn't bad for night. 84 to 85 on the cool side during the day isn't bad either. Just make sure cool side dosent drop into the 60s and you'll be just fine.
Hey i have i question i have new ackie for 12 day's now but it wont eat i tried different kinds of insects the temps are correct he has enough hides and i dont really know what to do , he also sleeps a lot like til 13:00 ( he is a 3 year old male and didn't have problems with eating before and looks healthy ) I couldn't find any thing about eating issues and would appreciatie if anyone may know a solution .
How have you been attempting to feed him. Tongs only or letting your Ackie hunt and chase? Also what food items are you offering and what was he being fead on from the previous owner.
@@Scales13 thanks for your reaction ,i have tried tongs and just letting him hunt but with no succes , i fed grasshopers and mealworms that is what he was fed .
Hmm is the room the your animal in noisy? Also hows is animal manurisms do you notice anything weird. Also is humidity stable what are your numbers looking like for heat and humidity percentage?
@@Scales13 No the terrarium is in my bedroom and I did not play music on my speakers or stuff like that, my temps are on the cold side 79 F / 26 Celsius, and at his basking spot 113 F / 45 celsius but this was measured with an air thermometer and not one of those laser pistols so that will be a bit higher of a temperature (humidity I did not check but I do not spray the cage just a water bowl like the previous owner).
Those hot spot is too cold for an adult. At the very least is must at atleast 130. What type of bulb are you using? The animals metabolism is dependent on those high temps. Your ambients are good but you Must increase that basking temp. Also what material is the surface of the basking spot made out of?
I have a bearded dragon and I'm planning on getting a green anole and Tree Frog do you think ackie monitor is a good addition to my collection
Can't make that decision for you my friend the choice is all yours.
Okay then thanks definitely planning on still getting in a ackie monitor
Just take your time and do all the research you can. Enclosure setup is the big first stem have that setup first thats half the battle.
Okay for me the hard part to reptiles is lighting and ackie monitor hiding seems fairly easy to me
I meant lighting
I got a baby ackie and it doesn’t eat mil worms , it only wants crickets and I try roaches but it barely takes those any tips on how to get him eating more food items
Just keep offering and let them investigate the food over and over again. Eventually they will figure out its food. And it's ok tonfive babies one day without food to build the appetite.
If ackies are from Australia and if you look up temperatures over there in winter they are in the high 50’s low 60’s so I’m not sure if they should always have such high temperatures especially in winter they wouldn’t have the 90 degree warm side or 150 degree hotspot. What do you think about that
Are you referring specifically to the regions of Australia where the species is from? Yes is does cool down in Australia but as far as captivity Ackies do no thrive in colder temperatures. Also they have the ability to retreat deeper into the ground in the wild than just 1 to 2 foot of substrate as we have so farm deemed as optimal.
@@Scales13 okay I was just wonder because I wanted to get it closed as I could to temps in the wild so checked the temperature in Western Australia and was curious on weather they should be keep at the same temperature year round
Thanks you
Thanks really helped
No problem glad I could help
Great vid!!!!!!!!
Thank you
@@Scales13 No probs!