Piña
New member
I thinking in buying a monitor but i have 2 chooses but i need help. Its between the Yellow Ankie and the Blue Spot Timor. Can anyone help me making my decision on which one is good.
-
Responding to email notices you receive.
**************************************************
In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.
-
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed
=====================
Posted 08/15/2025
=====================
Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.
Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."
Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....
=====================
Addendum: 01/10/2026
=====================
Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....
Buying a Monitors !!HELP!!
- Thread starter Piña
- Start date
Jungle Gems
Useful Idiot
If this is indeed your first Varanid (and you are wise to begin with a "dwarf" species), I would certainly recommend that you opt for the Ackie over the Timor. Any Acanthurus available for sale in the United States will be Captive-Bred, although very few Timors are produced in captivity (even though they may be advertised as Captive-Bred, you should always be skeptical of "CB" Indonesian Monitors and require some form of evidence to substantiate this claim). Ackies are more forgiving should you make husbandry errors (and you will... everyone does), are less reclusive and very personable, and just beautiful, fun animals overall. Ultimately, the decision will be yours but I believe as a newbie you will be very happy learning with your Ackie and familiarizing yourself with typical Varanid behavior and attributes before graduating to more demanding monitor species (i.e. Euprapsiosaurids and such).
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
Piña
New member
Yea i like them both, but i guess the ackie is little nicer. LOL, how big do they get?? Someone told me that they get 2ft for the ackie and the Timer 1ft 1/2.
my ackies are about a year and a half and around 15 inches. reds get larger and more fiesty, while yellows are smaller and more docile. Ackies are better "pet" monitors if you could call any monitor a pet.
Piña
New member
Does anyone know the care for this monitor, it should be the same but i just want to know what is the best setup for the monitor, like subtrate, light, cave,etc.
Jungle Gems
Useful Idiot
I'd recommend that you visit the Frequently Asked Questions section at www.ProExotics.com. Robyn has taken a good amount of time and thought to assemble detailed and more than adequate husbandry information regarding Acanthurus and many other Monitor species.
I work with mostly Indonesian Monitors, but I'd say it's the same across the board that the most important aspects of Monitor husbandry are hides, heat gradient, space, appropriate humidity and workable substrate (this is not taking into account the enclosure height needs of arboreal animals and submersion needs of aquatic animals). Robyn details each of these in his FAQ's.
I work with mostly Indonesian Monitors, but I'd say it's the same across the board that the most important aspects of Monitor husbandry are hides, heat gradient, space, appropriate humidity and workable substrate (this is not taking into account the enclosure height needs of arboreal animals and submersion needs of aquatic animals).
Robyn details each of these in his FAQ's.
Piña
New member
Aight, it looks like i going with the Yellow Ackies, they so active. So the Ackies get bigger than the Timor, thats what some1 told me. Is this true? And that they get tamed easier? Please let me know before i buy it. Thanks
SHvar
Varanophile
Amazing how many get this backwards..
Red ackies (V.acanthurus) are smaller on average than yellow ackies (V.a.brachyurus). The red produces larger eggs but less of them, the yellow produces smaller eggs and more of them.
In fact the yellow can grow to 30 inches with some local versions getting 3ft or more. Ive seen more than a few 28-31 inch yellow ackie males, but Ive yet to see any red ackies beyond 26 inches, most are 21-24 inches total. I have 2 pictures saved of yellows that are big, both were wild ackies, one is 37 inches and one is 39 (1 meter). They are someone elses pictures from their website so I wont post them. One was just posted by the owner of the pictures on a website he partners in.
My reds were 5 inches at hatching time, at 4 months old they are 14 inches long. Their mother is very very close to 24 inches, her old mate was 24 inches long.
Red ackies (V.acanthurus) are smaller on average than yellow ackies (V.a.brachyurus). The red produces larger eggs but less of them, the yellow produces smaller eggs and more of them.
In fact the yellow can grow to 30 inches with some local versions getting 3ft or more. Ive seen more than a few 28-31 inch yellow ackie males, but Ive yet to see any red ackies beyond 26 inches, most are 21-24 inches total. I have 2 pictures saved of yellows that are big, both were wild ackies, one is 37 inches and one is 39 (1 meter). They are someone elses pictures from their website so I wont post them. One was just posted by the owner of the pictures on a website he partners in.
My reds were 5 inches at hatching time, at 4 months old they are 14 inches long. Their mother is very very close to 24 inches, her old mate was 24 inches long.
everyone told me that yellow ackies were smaller, unless you buy "western giants". Mine are at 15 inches and are at 15 months or so. Make sure you can get lots of feeders, because they eat like crazy. My ackies eat so many crickets a day. They just love them, and they especially love the mice feedings I do weekly.
SHvar
Varanophile
In fact most yellow male adults Ive seen for sale that were taken..
Good care of were noticeably bigger than reds, from 24-30 inches. Both seem to have one problem with adults for sale, especially males, overweight from improper husbandry.
My reds eat hundreds of crickets every few days, as well lobster roaches, soon to be replaced by turkish roaches. Sometimes fuzzy mice (1 or 2), but not with any consistancy.
Then again Ive never had a problem with any monitor except 1 in 15 years eating and growing pretty fast, unless they were good sized adults when I got them. When I got my male red ackie he was 1 yr old, he was already a few inches shy of 2ft, maybe 20-21 inches.
These are newly hatched reds, 24-36 hours out of the egg.
Not quite 4 months old already in the picture..
Good care of were noticeably bigger than reds, from 24-30 inches. Both seem to have one problem with adults for sale, especially males, overweight from improper husbandry.
My reds eat hundreds of crickets every few days, as well lobster roaches, soon to be replaced by turkish roaches. Sometimes fuzzy mice (1 or 2), but not with any consistancy.
Then again Ive never had a problem with any monitor except 1 in 15 years eating and growing pretty fast, unless they were good sized adults when I got them. When I got my male red ackie he was 1 yr old, he was already a few inches shy of 2ft, maybe 20-21 inches.
These are newly hatched reds, 24-36 hours out of the egg.
Not quite 4 months old already in the picture..
SHvar
Varanophile
Yellows start smaller, but get bigger than reds.
Reds have less eggs, larger eggs, hatch larger, but stay smaller. Ackies are great for any level of keeper. Mine are now 14 inches plus and in their new permanent cage.
Reds have less eggs, larger eggs, hatch larger, but stay smaller. Ackies are great for any level of keeper. Mine are now 14 inches plus and in their new permanent cage.
Jake The Snake
New member
Invest in a large breeding colony of non climbing roaches. I like my colony of Discoid roaches I got for my sav. They get about 2" or so and are a non climbing species. I have yet to get them to breed because i can't keep the temps high enough which is soon to change. A full grown ackie should be able to eat full blown adult roaches with no problem. My 2' sav eats 2 dozen every other day with mice, rats, crickets, and various worms added in every so often