Should I get an Ackie Monitor?

[AshtonA]

Hi im Ashton. 17 year old from Melbourne. Im looking to get my first reptile. I love to look of Ackies and was thinking of getting one. I have an area in my house that I can place a nice big enclosure that’s mostly quiet and out of the way of where my dogs can reach. Really my main question is should I get an Ackie for a first reptile? I am quite responsible and will be taking care of it myself. The initial cost is quite steep for me being 17 and on apprentice wages and I just want to make sure that I’m not going to be getting an animal that is too difficult to start out on. I don’t want to be finding out that I haven’t cared for it properly and it possibly getting sick or something wrong with it. I have been doing some research on the husbandry and what not for an Ackie and think that a 4x2x2ft enclosure would be best for a younger animal and then upgrading it to a 6x3x3ft once it grows up a bit. I love the idea of scaping the enclosure to make it look very naturalistic and I think I’d enjoy that process a lot. Some other questions I have are about the husbandry. First is for anyone who keeps Ackies, what temperature have you found that works best for their basking spot? Second is what food do you find is best and how much/often would you feed a juvenile and adult Ackie? Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[user 43767]

Hi im Ashton. 17 year old from Melbourne. Im looking to get my first reptile. I love to look of Ackies and was thinking of getting one. I have an area in my house that I can place a nice big enclosure that’s mostly quiet and out of the way of where my dogs can reach. Really my main question is should I get an Ackie for a first reptile? I am quite responsible and will be taking care of it myself. The initial cost is quite steep for me being 17 and on apprentice wages and I just want to make sure that I’m not going to be getting an animal that is too difficult to start out on. I don’t want to be finding out that I haven’t cared for it properly and it possibly getting sick or something wrong with it. I have been doing some research on the husbandry and what not for an Ackie and think that a 4x2x2ft enclosure would be best for a younger animal and then upgrading it to a 6x3x3ft once it grows up a bit. I love the idea of scaping the enclosure to make it look very naturalistic and I think I’d enjoy that process a lot. Some other questions I have are about the husbandry. First is for anyone who keeps Ackies, what temperature have you found that works best for their basking spot? Second is what food do you find is best and how much/often would you feed a juvenile and adult Ackie? Thanks in advance for any responses.

Hi, if it was needed could you afford vet bills, which can be very expensive?
To answer your other questions; there is no reason a hatchling or juvenile can`t start in a larger enclosure from day one, rehousing is usually very stressful, apart from that, they can reach sexual maturity in a few months when fully supported (they can go from egg to egg in under 6 months) so if you have a female she would require suitable nesting at all times, that means a substrate depth of at least 25cm, that doesn`t leave much "above ground" space if it`s only 60cm high, and it`s obviously also more expensive to build another enclosure.
Many keepers do house them in 4L x 2W x2H (feet) enclosures but that`s more about saving space, not what the animal would prefer (thrive in).
Basking surface temps should range between approx. 50 to 65c.
There is no set amount of food to offer, it`s mainly about offering an amount of energy in comparison to that being used. Hatchlings/juveniles can be fed daily, as much as they can eat because most of the energy is going on growth, as they reach maturity you can cut back somewhat (females will require more when gravid).
Feed mainly inverts, but they will also take vertebrate prey now and again (I will go into more details when you respond)..

 

[AshtonA]

Hi, if it was needed could you afford vet bills, which can be very expensive?
To answer your other questions; there is no reason a hatchling or juvenile can`t start in a larger enclosure from day one, rehousing is usually very stressful, apart from that, they can reach sexual maturity in a few months when fully supported (they can go from egg to egg in under 6 months) so if you have a female she would require suitable nesting at all times, that means a substrate depth of at least 25cm, that doesn`t leave much "above ground" space if it`s only 60cm high, and it`s obviously also more expensive to build another enclosure.
Many keepers do house them in 4L x 2W x2H (feet) enclosures but that`s more about saving space, not what the animal would prefer (thrive in).
Basking surface temps should range between approx. 50 to 65c.
There is no set amount of food to offer, it`s mainly about offering an amount of energy in comparison to that being used. Hatchlings/juveniles can be fed daily, as much as they can eat because most of the energy is going on growth, as they reach maturity you can cut back somewhat (females will require more when gravid).
Feed mainly inverts, but they will also take vertebrate prey now and again (I will go into more details when you respond)..

Hey, thanks for the reply. I definitely would have enough money if any vet trips were to be needed as I do have savings I can tap into when needed. Your tip on starting big so as to not have to move and create unnecessary stress sounds like a good idea and I’ll definitely follow that. Now that I’ve sort of measured it out I do agree that 60cm high will be pretty low with having a deep substrate and I’ll definitely go for something taller. As for the sex I’m leaning more towards a male so I won’t have to worry about eggs. I’m not busting to get the animal as fast as possible so even if I can’t find a male to buy I’ll most likely just wait until there is one. I’ll still be providing a nice deep area to dig and keep it more humid than the rest of the enclosure to help with shedding. Thanks for the tips on feeding and basking temp. I think I’ll take a trip to my most local reptile shop Amazing Amazon and get a full cost list of everything I’ll be needing for it.