My ackie will latch onto a hornworm like it holds a grudge; but, instead of eating it, he just sits there staring into space like he just ripped a bong.
Got my ackie a couple of days ago and I'm obsessed, I love her. I've had her a couple of days and she'll already let me handle her, and that's with me tryna take it slow and let her take the pace.
@@Scales13 She's 5 months old from Blackpool Reptiles and Aquarium in England! :) Question - is it normal for them to be either v active of just completely dead to the world like super sleepy?
@@felixhenson9926 For most lizards that is, at least in my experience. They are full octane, until its nap time, and they just curb out almost on the spot it seems.
Just go my first ackie a couple days ago! I like plastic tongs, I also have biodegradable bamboo tongs, but they are so difficult to pick up the insects.
@@Scales13 Absolutely. We had a good conversation about a month ago. Talked about my concerns and what not even after countless hours of research. Dudes been doing it for about 18 years so ive taken notes from him. Im sure i'll have more questions before they are due to hatch in July.
Do me a solid favor. Get a the very least a 4x3x2 enclosure so you can put a full 12inches of substrate in the bottom. They grow fast all im saying is be smart than me. Now I'm have to make a dig box so we'll will have enough space to dig deep.
@@Scales13 One step ahead of you. I got a 5x3x3 from Kages. I have almost everything i need for the little guy. One the enclosure comes in, i'll be experimenting with temperatures and getting the husbandry perfect before i get him. Temps is gonna be the biggest difficulty i assume. Got 2 100 watt Arcadia basking light and 2 80 watt halogen floodlight. Wont be using them all at once lol.
@@Fikeyou Wonderful news with that enclosure and the prep work your doing before your animal is born im sure you are gonna have a great experience with your Ackie!
Whats your thoughts on Kevin's way (from NERD) of socializing? He does force handling at a young age and goes by the "nothing is sacred" rule, so that the monitors never develope an understanding of you giving them space.
How much does it cost you to feed them? Do you buy all your insects and if you don't how much do you usually feed him in a day, or each session. I have little experience with monitors and I know their feeding habits are very different from geckos
I breed most if my insects at this point. Only thing I'll order begrudgingly every now and then is crickets. It's only not to expensive once you can breed your own insects.
Very cool video! How big is thunder now? He looks pretty big. And do you know for what high proteins are good ? And on which days do you feed thunder and how much? Really nice helpful video! Keep it going😉👍
Thank you so and at the moment he just hit a year old and he's 15 inches. So basically for the majority of his feeding crickets and dubais are the bulk of what I feed. Dubias are gut loaded and crickets get vitamin powder once a week. Now as far as worms I don't feed those as much ill do superworms twice a month and mealworms twice a month. However as he gets older I will only feed mealworms or superworms once. Money because as adult there metabolism slowa and they will only need to eat about 3 to 4 days per week. For more nutrition facts on feeders look at the nutritional Guide I linked in the description. All the info you need is there. All you need to do after that is balance it based off what I said.
Just do alot of research first. This guys are alot different than other animal ive kept. On facebook there's an Ackie fan page thats pretty good. But I suggest reading there care guides don't just go by what people say in the post there's a alot of back and fourth and a bit of miss info from time to time. Talk to Darren Oliver he is great, also Jeff easter.
I own a bearded dragon and tortoise, 2 dogs as well, getting birds soon etc etc, I’ve done a lot of research on ackies, do they NEED to eat small lizards and rodents?
Need no, can they yes, do most enclosures and keepers provide the activity space and exercises level needed for these animals to process those higher calories fatty food..nope. Also, most of the mice you find commercially available are higher in fat and lower nutrition than those in the wild. Only positive is little to no parasites.
@@Scales13 oh you spotted me out lol. You know its funny he’s not looking so fat to me anymore. I have him only a week but when I got him he just looked huge. If i feed this guy 2 worms and some crickets 3x a week i really dont know but he’s going to be an unhappy lizard. Thanks for your reply as always.
@@jv122798 health is wealth my friend best way to do an animal a service is the make sure it's healthy first. Gaining trust and making him happy come second.
I breed red ackies cary boyd tucson. I love ackies. I feed them other small lizards, hamburger, chicken, but mostly crickets, and dubia. I am 65 and kept every kind of reptiles. I am really more of a field collector and observer. Even though I breed Ackies. I dont do it to make money. Perhaps I should. : )
Because my Ackie has a high output T5 UVB. UVB allows reptiles to synthesize vitamin D3 on there own. Too much vitamin D3 in a reptiles body can result in the animal suffering from the same symptoms as Metabolic Bone disease. Basically you can have too much of a good thing. So I choose to you either 1 or the other.
I found out recently my ackie has a taste for beef gravy. I wanted to test out how she would like meat chunks as a treat since she was battling illness since I got her and needed some fattening up. Got some pouch kitten food in gravy. She wouldn't eat the actual beef chunks but would lick it dry and drink all of the gravy.
Stick with pinkys and fatty worms my friend cat & dog food is no good for ackies. They are opportunistic and it may smell and taste good to her however in the long run it will be bad for her healthy specifically if she's already struggling.
@@Scales13 I know that. That's why it's only a rare thing. She struggles to eat a lot of things still though during her recovery so I wanted to find something she would get an appetite for. It's all well and good saying she should just have feeders, but when she still has a low drive to feed, supplies are low and more local pet stores are closing down constantly, you gotta keep eyes out for short term alternatives. I tried giving her plenty of other things but she just won't eat them.
Mine is 6 months old and right now he's getting mostly crickets and superworms. He doesn't really care about dubias 😭 And he also gets a weekly horned worm. I'm going to order BSL and hopefully he eats them. Adms a treat he has gotten scrambled chicken egg and next treat will be quail egg
Dont worry my didn't like dubias either when he was young didn't even know what they were I guess. Whats BSL? And remember to keep those treats like egg and any meats including pinkys just once a month.
@@Scales13 I meant BSFL, black soldier fly larva. And yeap, I give treats only every few months. Something big like a pinky I offer one once a year. I know this is a tough question for most, so I hope this not something that makes you upset. What do you think about giving feeder lizards to Ackies? Full grown Ackies of course
To be 100% honest with you no feeling attached I think its OK once a month since they will take down an occasional small lizard in the wild just like collard lizards, However I love ALL lizards I'm a lizard guy.. so personally I just won't do it. Thats just my personal preference.
@@Scales13 it's completely understandable. I was thinking about it a lot with my Collared Lizards. But I did came to the decision that once a year they will get a feeder lizard. And once my Ackie is full grown the same will be for him
Is there anyway to keep an Ackie with minimal crickets? The crickets escape and seem to smell more and I want to put the Ackie in a main room display case.
You can also feed multiple species for roaches like dubias. I usually tong and hand feed mine so they don't escape and it works just fine. They can't climb as easy as crickets or jump. Superworms, mealworms, hornsworms, black soldier fly larva are all good occasionally as well. Just mix it up.
@@Scales13 - I used to have bearded dragons and bought these huge boxes of crickets but they would often escape before I even got them into their terrarium. Also, the dragons didn't get all of them, so they would die in the cage and smell it up. The roaches don't bother me or the worms. Not saying I wouldn't get crickets if I got an Ackie, I just don't want them to be the main thing. I really want a Caiman Lizard but my wife is not a fan of lizards needing aquariums and thinks that water will smell more. I am concerned if I go on vacation finding someone to feel the Ackie for a week, especially if it involves live bugs.
@@stephenstaedtler6902 all you need is a friend you can trust to come by and feed them twice for a week and check water no worries there. Also with Caimen lizards just make sure filtration is high then you'll be good.
@@Scales13 With Caiman Lizards, I guess the thing is, my Dad used to have turtles, but they smelled. But the thing was, he had too many turtles in one aquarium and I don't think he had a great pumping and filtration system. Plus, some of what he chose to feed them stunk as well. So my wife is scared a Caiman Lizard will smell. I think if I can convince her the smell won't be terrible and it won't be too hard to clean, she might give in.
@@stephenstaedtler6902 that's another thing not only does the tank need filtration but good old fashioned benefitcial bacteria helps keep water chemistry balanced. Adding some if that keeps the smell down as well.
Absolutely not. Old researches used to do that because thats all they had. But its very bad for Ackies. Dog food is more for a Blue tongue skinks diet as they are omnivores. Where Ackies are opertunistic predators more specifically insectivors.
Just do a 100% insectivor diet trust me you'll thank yourself later. Food like pinkies,worms and certain fishes can be offered to pregnant females that need to recover from laying. Other than that do insects and your ackies health will be in tip top shape.
Good question they "can" but dwarf monitor don't technically need actual meat. They get a sufficient about of protein from insects. To much high protein can cause gout in reptiles in general.
Rodents are not a good staple food for Ackies. Only as a once in a while meal about once a month. Otherwise they could die of obesity. Keep in mind in captivity these animal are not roaming the outback burning of all the excess fat. On top of that rodents breed for food are far for Fatty than wild rodents. Also majority of the animals diet in the wild is insects. You could feed dead insects if that's what you choose but they have far less nutrition than live insects. Insectivor diet is the best for Ackies.
I can't really find lobster roaches where I'm at. Also don't those fly? At the moment I only breed supersworms and mealworms. Ill do roaches when I have more space.
No they can’t fly, but they can climb glass so if you keep them in a container put vasiline on the edges so they can’t escape. Go to rainbow mealworms you can get all your feeders dirt cheap compared to what you spend at the pet store....
I really aprecciate you not feeding this lizard rodents, in my opinion its really sad to see people feeding animals like rats to this reptiles considering how intelligent and loveable rats can be
I pray that my mangrove monitor will one day allow me to stare at him for more than 10 minutes😂, awsome vid
Thank you
My ackie will latch onto a hornworm like it holds a grudge; but, instead of eating it, he just sits there staring into space like he just ripped a bong.
Lol thats normal mind used to do the same. If you give small hornworms it shouldn't be a problem.
Got my ackie a couple of days ago and I'm obsessed, I love her. I've had her a couple of days and she'll already let me handle her, and that's with me tryna take it slow and let her take the pace.
Thats awesome new its rare to get a bold one when they are very young. How old is your Ackie? And where did you get it?
@@Scales13 She's 5 months old from Blackpool Reptiles and Aquarium in England! :) Question - is it normal for them to be either v active of just completely dead to the world like super sleepy?
@@felixhenson9926 For most lizards that is, at least in my experience. They are full octane, until its nap time, and they just curb out almost on the spot it seems.
Just go my first ackie a couple days ago! I like plastic tongs, I also have biodegradable bamboo tongs, but they are so difficult to pick up the insects.
Thanks for the feedback. Will keep that in mind when I get more.
I use chopsticks
Cant wait to get mine in August from Brandon (Rare Earth). Appreciate all your videos and information.
No problem man. Just remember this is all comprehensive. The main person to talk to is Brandon he's the man.
@@Scales13 Absolutely. We had a good conversation about a month ago. Talked about my concerns and what not even after countless hours of research. Dudes been doing it for about 18 years so ive taken notes from him. Im sure i'll have more questions before they are due to hatch in July.
Do me a solid favor. Get a the very least a 4x3x2 enclosure so you can put a full 12inches of substrate in the bottom. They grow fast all im saying is be smart than me. Now I'm have to make a dig box so we'll will have enough space to dig deep.
@@Scales13 One step ahead of you. I got a 5x3x3 from Kages. I have almost everything i need for the little guy. One the enclosure comes in, i'll be experimenting with temperatures and getting the husbandry perfect before i get him. Temps is gonna be the biggest difficulty i assume. Got 2 100 watt Arcadia basking light and 2 80 watt halogen floodlight. Wont be using them all at once lol.
@@Fikeyou Wonderful news with that enclosure and the prep work your doing before your animal is born im sure you are gonna have a great experience with your Ackie!
That is one healthy monitor!
Thank you thats my Goal!
Great video
The updated version just dropped 2 days ago. It's my most recent video.
Whats your thoughts on Kevin's way (from NERD) of socializing? He does force handling at a young age and goes by the "nothing is sacred" rule, so that the monitors never develope an understanding of you giving them space.
Hes a veteran in the hobby who has been doing this a long time. His methods are his methods and if they work. Who am I to argue.
How much does it cost you to feed them? Do you buy all your insects and if you don't how much do you usually feed him in a day, or each session. I have little experience with monitors and I know their feeding habits are very different from geckos
I breed most if my insects at this point. Only thing I'll order begrudgingly every now and then is crickets. It's only not to expensive once you can breed your own insects.
@@Scales13 thank you
Very cool video! How big is thunder now? He looks pretty big. And do you know for what high proteins are good ? And on which days do you feed thunder and how much? Really nice helpful video! Keep it going😉👍
Thank you so and at the moment he just hit a year old and he's 15 inches. So basically for the majority of his feeding crickets and dubais are the bulk of what I feed. Dubias are gut loaded and crickets get vitamin powder once a week. Now as far as worms I don't feed those as much ill do superworms twice a month and mealworms twice a month. However as he gets older I will only feed mealworms or superworms once. Money because as adult there metabolism slowa and they will only need to eat about 3 to 4 days per week. For more nutrition facts on feeders look at the nutritional Guide I linked in the description. All the info you need is there. All you need to do after that is balance it based off what I said.
I’ve had a few leopard geckos and chameleons also a few other reptiles would it be a good idea if a got one
Just do alot of research first. This guys are alot different than other animal ive kept. On facebook there's an Ackie fan page thats pretty good. But I suggest reading there care guides don't just go by what people say in the post there's a alot of back and fourth and a bit of miss info from time to time. Talk to Darren Oliver he is great, also Jeff easter.
I own a bearded dragon and tortoise, 2 dogs as well, getting birds soon etc etc, I’ve done a lot of research on ackies, do they NEED to eat small lizards and rodents?
Need no, can they yes, do most enclosures and keepers provide the activity space and exercises level needed for these animals to process those higher calories fatty food..nope. Also, most of the mice you find commercially available are higher in fat and lower nutrition than those in the wild. Only positive is little to no parasites.
Cool video! Very informative 🤙🏼
Thank you! It was fun to make
Awesome very informative video!!!
Thank you!
Nice video Reptiles. Good pets animals reptiles Monitor 👍
My ackie accidentally killed a hornworm just by scratching it when it was checking out the tongs
Haha thats how they learn once your Ackie figures out they are food its gameover!
What type of enclosure is this?
A 4x2x2 PVC
@@Scales13 What Brand pvc did you go with?
This is a DIY critter condo.
Can they eat other protein sources occasionally such as meat chunks
They can but whole prey is the best way to go.
I really wanna get a ackie so bad i got everything lined up to get one i just gotta find one
Are they find the find where you are?
How many super worms are good to feed an adult ackie at once?
If that's in one setting normally about 3 to 4. In your case from what we've talked only 2 for now. They are high in fat.
@@Scales13 oh you spotted me out lol. You know its funny he’s not looking so fat to me anymore. I have him only a week but when I got him he just looked huge. If i feed this guy 2 worms and some crickets 3x a week i really dont know but he’s going to be an unhappy lizard. Thanks for your reply as always.
@@jv122798 health is wealth my friend best way to do an animal a service is the make sure it's healthy first. Gaining trust and making him happy come second.
I breed red ackies cary boyd tucson. I love ackies. I feed them other small lizards, hamburger, chicken, but mostly crickets, and dubia. I am 65 and kept every kind of reptiles. I am really more of a field collector and observer. Even though I breed Ackies. I dont do it to make money. Perhaps I should. : )
Greeting. Are you from Australia?
I live in cali… how much do ackies go for
About 350 for Yellow 450 for reds
When did you get Thunder? Like how old was he?
3 weeks old upon acquiring him. I've had him about 3.5 years now.
How are those rocks hes on at the start Supported
Magnetized
Just wondering why do you use a multivitamin without d3
Because my Ackie has a high output T5 UVB. UVB allows reptiles to synthesize vitamin D3 on there own. Too much vitamin D3 in a reptiles body can result in the animal suffering from the same symptoms as Metabolic Bone disease. Basically you can have too much of a good thing. So I choose to you either 1 or the other.
@@Scales13 Okay thank you, I’ll have to do some research but not totally sure if I should supplement with D3
Depends on your UVB exposure
I found out recently my ackie has a taste for beef gravy. I wanted to test out how she would like meat chunks as a treat since she was battling illness since I got her and needed some fattening up. Got some pouch kitten food in gravy. She wouldn't eat the actual beef chunks but would lick it dry and drink all of the gravy.
Stick with pinkys and fatty worms my friend cat & dog food is no good for ackies. They are opportunistic and it may smell and taste good to her however in the long run it will be bad for her healthy specifically if she's already struggling.
@@Scales13 I know that. That's why it's only a rare thing. She struggles to eat a lot of things still though during her recovery so I wanted to find something she would get an appetite for. It's all well and good saying she should just have feeders, but when she still has a low drive to feed, supplies are low and more local pet stores are closing down constantly, you gotta keep eyes out for short term alternatives. I tried giving her plenty of other things but she just won't eat them.
@@Faliat ah i see, well this is a special case
Try weruva next time it’s mostly meat
I feed that to my blue tongue
Beautiful lizard
Thank you!
Mine is 6 months old and right now he's getting mostly crickets and superworms. He doesn't really care about dubias 😭
And he also gets a weekly horned worm.
I'm going to order BSL and hopefully he eats them. Adms a treat he has gotten scrambled chicken egg and next treat will be quail egg
Dont worry my didn't like dubias either when he was young didn't even know what they were I guess. Whats BSL? And remember to keep those treats like egg and any meats including pinkys just once a month.
@@Scales13 I meant BSFL, black soldier fly larva. And yeap, I give treats only every few months. Something big like a pinky I offer one once a year. I know this is a tough question for most, so I hope this not something that makes you upset. What do you think about giving feeder lizards to Ackies?
Full grown Ackies of course
To be 100% honest with you no feeling attached I think its OK once a month since they will take down an occasional small lizard in the wild just like collard lizards, However I love ALL lizards I'm a lizard guy.. so personally I just won't do it. Thats just my personal preference.
@@Scales13 it's completely understandable. I was thinking about it a lot with my Collared Lizards. But I did came to the decision that once a year they will get a feeder lizard. And once my Ackie is full grown the same will be for him
@@jpslizards its your choice no judging hear my friend
Is there anyway to keep an Ackie with minimal crickets? The crickets escape and seem to smell more and I want to put the Ackie in a main room display case.
You can also feed multiple species for roaches like dubias. I usually tong and hand feed mine so they don't escape and it works just fine. They can't climb as easy as crickets or jump. Superworms, mealworms, hornsworms, black soldier fly larva are all good occasionally as well. Just mix it up.
@@Scales13 - I used to have bearded dragons and bought these huge boxes of crickets but they would often escape before I even got them into their terrarium. Also, the dragons didn't get all of them, so they would die in the cage and smell it up. The roaches don't bother me or the worms. Not saying I wouldn't get crickets if I got an Ackie, I just don't want them to be the main thing. I really want a Caiman Lizard but my wife is not a fan of lizards needing aquariums and thinks that water will smell more.
I am concerned if I go on vacation finding someone to feel the Ackie for a week, especially if it involves live bugs.
@@stephenstaedtler6902 all you need is a friend you can trust to come by and feed them twice for a week and check water no worries there. Also with Caimen lizards just make sure filtration is high then you'll be good.
@@Scales13 With Caiman Lizards, I guess the thing is, my Dad used to have turtles, but they smelled. But the thing was, he had too many turtles in one aquarium and I don't think he had a great pumping and filtration system. Plus, some of what he chose to feed them stunk as well. So my wife is scared a Caiman Lizard will smell. I think if I can convince her the smell won't be terrible and it won't be too hard to clean, she might give in.
@@stephenstaedtler6902 that's another thing not only does the tank need filtration but good old fashioned benefitcial bacteria helps keep water chemistry balanced. Adding some if that keeps the smell down as well.
Getting one this July
Congratulations! They are great pets
Have you ever tried Locusts?
Cant get live ones here in the U.S. unfornately. I wish I could get a hold of them.
Are you refering to super worms?
Yup. Misspoke
How about Hisser roaches?
I'm think about keeping a small colony. We shall see.
@Scales13 only thing you need extra is a heating pad underneath. I've got hundreds after just 3 months.
Or i can ust stick em on top of one of monitors enclosures
@@Scales13 smart man 👌
I can't find any information on how much they eat. Everyone always talks about what they eat but not how many.
I found someone saying that they feed them 10 to 15 crickets every other day but not anything on any of the other feeding insects.
Thats because it varies depends on the individuals age and size.
Thats not a bad rule of thumb depends on the age. You could also give an equivalent amount but with different insects.
Can you feed earthworms?
I've never tried them personally.
Metal tongs for snakes but for others wood
Ok what's the reason to use different ones? Just want a good explanation so I can fully understand.
Do Ackies eat dog food?
Absolutely not. Old researches used to do that because thats all they had. But its very bad for Ackies. Dog food is more for a Blue tongue skinks diet as they are omnivores. Where Ackies are opertunistic predators more specifically insectivors.
Scales13 how about raw liver, chicken or pork liver? Thanks
Just do a 100% insectivor diet trust me you'll thank yourself later. Food like pinkies,worms and certain fishes can be offered to pregnant females that need to recover from laying. Other than that do insects and your ackies health will be in tip top shape.
I hate the rubber tips!!! I have the hardest time grabbing the insects with them. I absolutely prefer bamboos tongs!!!!
I see your point. I have issue grabbing things like mealworms and wax worms. Dubia and larger prey items are a bit easier.
Do you order your roaches online
Nope I get them from a petstore I used to work for.
Do most pet stores have them
More pet stores have them nowadays they are becoming a popular feeder if not you can order online.
Ok good, when I try to look at them online they look very expensive
Pretty expensive pet. But a blast to keep. They are amazing creatures.
Is he full grown?? that s how big he gets?
Nope not full grown yet. They can grow quickly until about 2 to 3 years. Then after that they grow a little every year.
@@Scales13 oh ok but they do stay small tho...not like a water monitor dont want to get one and it grows bigger than I expected😆😆😆
@@mackman5692 nope defently dosent get that big. Around 2 foot.
@@Scales13 oh ok perfect 👌
One of the many reason I think they're a good first monitor.
Can they eat mice
Good question they "can" but dwarf monitor don't technically need actual meat. They get a sufficient about of protein from insects. To much high protein can cause gout in reptiles in general.
But they can eat them as treats right
Yes but I don't offer those
Can't they be fed anything other than live animals. Like can't they be fed with frozen rodents and stuff like that?
Rodents are not a good staple food for Ackies. Only as a once in a while meal about once a month. Otherwise they could die of obesity. Keep in mind in captivity these animal are not roaming the outback burning of all the excess fat. On top of that rodents breed for food are far for Fatty than wild rodents. Also majority of the animals diet in the wild is insects. You could feed dead insects if that's what you choose but they have far less nutrition than live insects. Insectivor diet is the best for Ackies.
@@Scales13 Ok thanks alot.
@@abishek8076 no problem
Lobster roaches are a much better source, but I breed all kinds of roaches and crickets and worms
I can't really find lobster roaches where I'm at. Also don't those fly? At the moment I only breed supersworms and mealworms. Ill do roaches when I have more space.
No they can’t fly, but they can climb glass so if you keep them in a container put vasiline on the edges so they can’t escape. Go to rainbow mealworms you can get all your feeders dirt cheap compared to what you spend at the pet store....
But your ackie monitor is amazing. I have a yearling female
Also Red runner roaches are soft bodied and great source too
Thats awesome and thanks. I need to get a bin setup. I plan on doing more feeders when I have the space. If your female a red or yellow.
Yo
Sup?
I really aprecciate you not feeding this lizard rodents, in my opinion its really sad to see people feeding animals like rats to this reptiles considering how intelligent and loveable rats can be
Yes rats are very intelligent. I also don't feed rodent because they are not good for these types of monitors. Way to much protein and fat.
@@Scales13 i totally agree with you, take care
Thanks later