ackie feeding

[fabregasreptiles]

hey,

i have a pair of 8 month old ackies. i currently feed them 7 medium crickets a day and a pinkie mouse once a week. is this a good feeding reigime??

thanks

 

[blakehose]

Probably best feeding them crickets until they stop eating, rather than a pre-set amount each feeding session. Whilst they are still growing they use all of the nutrients they can get! Maybe try mixing it up with some Woodies aswell.

Blake.

 

[Tristis]

feed them as many crickets as they will eat every day. its almost impossable to over feed young monitors if your heat is right.

 

[fabregasreptiles]

they just keep eating though. they could eat 2 boxes of medium crickets if they wanted to??? should i just let them eat this every day???

 

[Snakester]

Feeding insects all the time can get very expensive.

Have you considered including some cat food into their diet? We find our growing monitors enjoy lean cat food mixed with some calcium and vitamin powders.

 

[jbowers]

One thing to bear in mind, and take this with a grain of salt as this is my only experience, is that my ackie gets pretty lazy when he is super well fed. I've been feeding him enough to keep his belly fat at ALL times, and as a result he has been just hiding and sleeping most of the time. I've decided to not feed him yesterday and today, and he has already become much more active - he has been out and about since about 10:30 today, much earlier than I'd seen previously.

Just my experience!

 

[LadyJ]

Feeding insects all the time can get very expensive.

Have you considered including some cat food into their diet? We find our growing monitors enjoy lean cat food mixed with some calcium and vitamin powders.

I have to agree... they'll set you out of house and home to be buying them all the time (especially if you're purchasing Pieces pet shop crickets - half of them are already dead in my experience!). You could consider breeding them? Pretty basic stuff except they need to be kept warm.

As for cat food, I've found it great (although I use high quality dog food), I hear beef or lamb is best? Can anyone clarify this?

 

[fabregasreptiles]

same as my experience. i bought crickets the other day and more than half the crickets were dead. i just recently bought a kricket keeper... can i breed crickets in here, it holds 150 medium crickets. could anyone tell me what i need to know to breed the crickets and how to start it up. what substrate do they need (is kitty litter good???).

also, could you give me some brand names of dog or cat food that i can feed to my ackies and that i can buy from coles (is supercoat dog food in pellets good coz ths is what i feed my dog). other names of dog or cat foods will be great as i will buy them and try feed them to the ackies. is mince meat ok????

also, can i feed any of this cat or dog food to my beardies. they are yearlings???

thanks

 

[Tristis]

cat and dog food is made for cats and dogs, it will make the monitors crap runny and stink also turns it a grey colour.
crickets and mice(pinkies) wont do this. healthy diet = healthy looking dropping.
ive had pygmy monitors for close to 10 years now and stoped feeding cat and dog food long ago.
stick to bugs and mice and you cant go wrong.
like i said before its amost impossable ot over feed young monitors if your heat is right.
the ackie in the pic is about 8 months old.
cheers
Tristan

 

[jbowers]

What basking temp do you give them Tristis?

 

[Tristis]

basking site is about 70-75c

 

[jbowers]

Those are some very healthy looking 8 month olds, so I'll up mine a few degrees to 70.

How long are they at that age?

 

[fabregasreptiles]

the basking temp for my ackies is about 60-65c. also, tristis, what size mice can your ackies eat??? can i feed them mince meat aswell??? and also, my ackies are living in red sand which i got from reptiles inc. The spotes on their back is always very feint as they are always shedding. but when i bath them, the spotes becom much more clear. is it normal for these ackies (8 months) to always be shedding and will they ever look 'clean' (ie. not in shed)????

and should i try remove its shed on its tail when i bath them or should i leave it alone. also, can i use white play sand as their substrate co i ffd thi red and to be messy on the ackieesan mke them look dull.

lasty, could anyone give me advice on breeding crickets. if you look at my last post, the questions i need were on there

thanks

 

[Tristis]

i think they were about 30-35 cm at about 8 months.
monitors are always shedding its just how they are.
there is no need to bath them, they come from arid areas where there is little water.
giving them a substrate they can burrow in will keep all there toes and tail tips in tack.

 

[fabregasreptiles]

ok. is it normal for them to lose bits off the tip of the tail because of these shedding processes???? also tips off the toes where their claws are meant to be????

also, any ideas on breeding crikets

 

[LadyJ]

ok. is it normal for them to lose bits off the tip of the tail because of these shedding processes???? also tips off the toes where their claws are meant to be????

also, any ideas on breeding crikets

I don't think that's normal... unless the previous shed wasn't fully removed and the pressure caused the tip to fall off - constricting and amputing. :|

 

[Tristis]

you need to fix your set up if there toes are falling off.
post pics of your set up.

 

[jbowers]

Tristis, how often do you feed yours?

I have a 5 month old that was hiding all the time due, i think, to me feeding him often with tweezers, and then just coming out to eat and then going back in the stack and sleeping/hiding. I didn't feed him yesterday or very much the day before, and he came out yesterday for about 3 hours, and then only fed him one woodie today and he came out for about 3-4 hours. The increase in activity is good, but I don't want to stunt his growth or anything. Just wondering why he is so lethargic in general when he is well fed, and even now he is still really sleepy compared to what i hear from other ackie owners.

Sorry to threadjack, thought since it kind of relates it wasnt worth making a seperate response.

 

[fabregasreptiles]

the toes aren't falling off. only the nails, the entire toe is there, only the nail of one or 2 of their toes have gone. i have no pics of the enclosure but will try get one asap. their substrate is red sand, the enclosure is 90cm x 60 x 60. there is a box with many hides and on top of that ia a hot spot which are 2 bircks together which they also hide in the holes. then there is a water bowl and a hide.

are all their claws and nails and tips of the tails supposed to be intact>???

 

[Tristis]

fabregasreptiles
tail tips and nails dont grow back once there gone thats it. if your ackie lost its claws from stuck shed or substrate clumped on its toes something is wrong with your set up and it will start losing toes. your set up sounds ok, but a pic will help use help you.

jbowers
from the sound of it, its doing well. monitors arn't out all day running around, well the hungry ones are....
if hes eating and growing there is nothing wrong. dont take this the wrong way but you wanting the monitor to come out and run around is about you and not the monitor. let him do his thing he knows how to be a monitor. if your lights are 12 hour on 12 hour off coming out and running around for 3-4 hours is the norm. small monitors also hide alot, they fear been eaten by everything bigger than them.