Ackie help

[Jakee]

Heeeey.

I have a little problem with my ackie. I bought my ackie while it was only 2 weeks old or so and now it is 8months old. It has grown a little bit since ive had it but I feel its to small for its age. It is currently 15cm head to tail. 6cm stv. I feed it on adult crickets and sometimes mealworms. Roughly 45degrees on hot end. What other food should I be feeding him ?? Is he a normal size for his age ??

Cheers.

 

[-Matt-]

How often are you feeding it?

 

[bredli-sli]

hey buddy hes 8 months old?
and only 15 cm head to tail?
that dont sound right mine are about 4 months old i think or maybe 5 months abd are about 20-25 cm?
it can depend on locate to mine are sand fire form.
my temps are 40-55 basking 30-25 on the floor

 

[Jakee]

I feed him every second day. but like i say, i never see him feed. all he does is look at the cricket and runs.
Should I be force feeding him ?

 

[spongebob]

Bake him. Hot spot more like 60-70C.
If there is a good feeding response keep the food up..woodies, crickets,roo mince, jellymeat

 

[Aslan]

I agree with Spongebob - he's too cold...

Your Ackie is far too small for his age. Quite simply, the answer with Ackies is generally 'MAKE IT HOTTER'. He needs to have a basking area in the vicinity of 65*c...

 

[mysnakesau]

My hottest spot in my ackie's cage is 65c and his breeder says even up to 70c is fine so long as he can get move away and still have high warm temps.

I've only had my fella for 6 or 7 weeks now. He was about 2 weeks old when I got him. I found, too, that he would run from the crickets so I killed the crickets an left them in his cage. Not sure if its crucial but I was afraid of them biting LC if they ran off. Afterall, ackies are diurnal while the crickets are nocturnal. And perhaps you can downsize the crickets. They might look too big for him and could be scaring him. Go back to small crickets and see if that makes any difference.

LC wouldn't touch crickets for ages but loves roaches. I buy the small woodies from The Herp Shop and leave them in a dish in his cage. Paint the sides of the dish with floun so the roaches can't escape - woodies (native cockroaches) can't fly but some do still get out when they hitch a ride with LC. But I do see him stroll in and grab one and race up to his hot spot to kill and eat it.

I was told dogmeat, pinkies and the like aren't good for little monitors as they are primarily insect eaters. BUT, I still offer my little guy a treat of roo meat, a newborn pinky mouse or a serve of the dogs dinner and he loves it. Small doses couldn't hurt, surely. What do you eat thats no good for you, and seagulls live on a diet of hot chips so, providing his makes the bugs his staple diet, a bit of dessert now and then I am sure he will love you for it.

 

[pythons73]

Mine was the same,it would run and hide from the crickets,but now i get smaller ones,he loves them.Also i put some bark in his-her enclosure and i didnt realise their was a small penny lizard,garden skink and my little fella grab it and after smashing around a bit he ate it.My hotspot is around 55-65c and he-she loves it.IMO i would up the temperature to atleast 50-60c.As long as there is a nice cool end..

 

[PhilK]

pythons73 - garden skinks are infested with all sorts of filthy parasites.. I would worm your ackie.

Repz - I have 2 baby ackies and their hotspot is almost 80 degrees... I thought that was too hot but I often see them sitting directly below the bulb, in the hottest area. Bump your temps up, and offer smaller food. Try roaches.

Also, I dunno if it helps but my ackies are keener on roaches covered in calcium and vitamin powder.. feeding response is markedly stronger.

Try forceps feeding, too.

 

[mysnakesau]

Rather than bumping the temps up hotter, try stacking more rocks directly under the light so that he can climb up onto them to get hotter if he wants. Rocks soak up lots of heat. Just thought be a safer option than going hotter with the temperatures.

My little bloke is just starting to accept roaches from my tweezers. So i am thrilled that he is starting to actually like seeing my hand coming at him, instead of running for cover. He still does a lot, but if I can move in at the right pace he doesn't go and then gets the goodie on the end of the stick

 

[Southern_Forest_Drag]

pythons73 - garden skinks are infested with all sorts of filthy parasites.. I would worm your ackie.

Repz - I have 2 baby ackies and their hotspot is almost 80 degrees... I thought that was too hot but I often see them sitting directly below the bulb, in the hottest area. Bump your temps up, and offer smaller food. Try roaches.

Also, I dunno if it helps but my ackies are keener on roaches covered in calcium and vitamin powder.. feeding response is markedly stronger.

Try forceps feeding, too.

Wow 80 degrees?
I thought ackies hot end was only around 60.