Undersized Ackie Monitor?
 

Hello all, was wondering if I could get some opinions on my ackie. I acquired Droma early January in 2016, presumably he (or she, looking more female to me) was already a month or so old before I received him. I estimate he is about 16-17 months old, and is about 90 grams and 12 inches long (would be a little longer, had an incident where he lost a bit of his tail). Based on what I've seen of ackies, that seems to be a lot smaller than normal for his age.

He is housed in a custom AP cage, measuring 4ft by 2ft, by 3ft deep. His substrate is a sand/dirt mixture which is 12 inches deep and is moistened regularly so it can hold burrows. I have lots of cork bark to provide hiding and enrichment. His hot spot is about 140 F and the ambient temp gradients from 90-80 degrees, provided by a ceramic heat emitter. UVB is provided by a 36 inch ReptiSun T8 10.0 bulb. He is very active and goes between basking, digging, exploring, and hiding in his burrows. I feed him mainly dubias (with pinkies/fuzzies as an occasional treat), as much as he can eat in a sitting, but he usually needs a few days before he is hungry again.

I am looking for any advice or comments on my ackie's size and what I could be doing differently to promote growth. Thanks!

Would be more than appreciated if someone chimed in! 134 views and no replies.

Hi,
I never kept an ackie, so I cant comment on his lenth or size for its age.

You can try young adult or adult mice, something with more bone, meat and fat then a pinkie or fuzzie, which has nothing really developed on it yet.
Maybe that will bulk him/her up a bit.

Your set up sounds pretty good. Bob

Your input is much appreciated Bob. I will be sure to get some adult mice with my next frozen feeder order and try it out.

Well - I agree feeding more will help it bulk up and gain some length. It's also possible that you just have a runt of the litter. Still even if that is case - you have at least 6 months of good solid growth(for a typical Ackie). Make the most of it by feeding lots of insects - with at least 2 or 3 fuzzie mice per week. And you should end up with it being about 16" long(with it shorten tail) and weighing about 200 grams - by the time it reaches 2 years old.

Whole prey food, even chopped up, is the ideal diet. I believe it greatly promotes growth and good health.

Have you tried offering food daily? My ackies will gorge themselves daily if given the opportunity.

Yeah when I first got her and for the first year I offered food pretty much daily, but she rarely wanted to eat every day. Even now she doesn't want to eat every day. This thread is a bit old now, she has grown somewhat but I've come to accept that she won't get huge.

Heh sorry, didn’t intend to necro.

Yeah, sometimes runts happen. They can be perfectly healthy and live long lives, they’re just small. She looks nice and healthy in the picture.

Here's a pic of her today.