questions about the wonderful world of ackie monitors!

Hey guys,

I recently acquired a male ackie monitor and though I did numerous amounts of research, I still have a few questions:

For one, does anyone have a specific feeding schedule for their ackie? I read that you're supposed to offer dusted crickets 4 times a week, pinkies 2-3 times a week. Is it healthy to skip one day of feeding? I just want to make sure that I'm not feeding him too much or too little, and that it is the 'right' diet for the species

Also, what ratio of dirt mixes does everyone use? I bought some stupid jungle mix at petco which cost waaay too much, it was a mix of dirt and coconut bedding.

And finally...what wattage of light do you use per how many inches it is above the cage? I am having trouble finding a good medium with heating. I have a fake log in there, which creates a nice basking spot because it curves upward towards the light. However, I measured the spot with a temp gun and it read 150 degrees, which is good for a basking spot (right?), but when I put my hand on the log it was extremely hot to the touch - could this burn him? For the meantime, I moved the light to a lower portion of the log.

Thanks for reading my novel and I hope someone can offer some advice

Ashley

No replies? The Ackie seems to not even use the log anymore. BUT I still have that question of feeding. The biggest question is HOW MUCH of each to feed to him. I am feeding crickets/roaches every day, and 2 days of fuzzies. I just do not know how much of the crickets and roaches I should be feeding, and so far I have been feeding him 2 fuzzies. Thanks.

ok, feed as many crickets and roaches that he will eat in one feeding. this should be the main staple diet, and offer rodents maybe once a week- i have heard that they can be fattening. and you DO NOT need to dust crickets 4x a week!!!-once is probably enough.
and for the dirt, you can buy HUGE bags of dirt at Home Depot or Lowes- the 'substrate' that they sell at PETCO and PetSmart are wastes of money-, just make sure that it has not been treated with any chemicals.

Why not dust the crickets every day? I have been taking care of him for a few weeks now and he just started becoming slightly lethargic and not too excited about food. I just doubted if I was feeding him too many crickets, because he would eat 30 crickets in one sitting. Like he would chase them all down and they would all be gone in 5 min. Now, however, I have been offering him 15 crickets and he only eats two or three and that's it. I left the crickets in there for a few hours and he ate them....just worries me about his change in demeanor.