Thinking about Getting a Monitor

Hi there,
So over the past couple years my boyfriend and I have dove head first into the reptile world and it has been so much fun! After spending a lot of time in reptile stores and attending several expos I have found myself becoming more and more drawn to monitors. There is something very interesting about them. So after doing a little bit of research (very little I just started reading today!!) I believe that an Ackie would be the best one to begin with and probably the best size for me. I was wondering if you experienced owners could give me some pros and cons about owning them as well as tips on habitats, proper diet and anything else you would like to add. I like thoroughly researching animals before purchasing then ensure I will enjoy them. I haven't been able to find too much online and I always like hearing opinions from actual owners.
Thanks for reading!!

I'm afraid I don't have any experience with ackies, so I can't help ya much in that regard. But wanted to say "Welcome!!!" :handshake It's always heartening to hear from folks who research carefully first before buying their animals! :gj:

You may have to wait a little bit longer for an experienced ackie person to come along, but we do have several. Be patient! :)

An ackie is a great choice for a first monitor. Are you planning on getting just one or several? Frank Retes of the Goanna Ranch lives in Az. so you might want to look for him at a herp show. I think he lives in the Tucson. He would have some great info as well as some very nice ackies.

For an ackie, an 4' x 2' x 2' enclosure would work, but the bigger the better. These guys love room to roam. They also like to burrow in soil, so if you can provide a deep substrate(12"). You could also use a nest/humidity box as a soil replacement.It really depends on what you want to do and what kinda space you have.

My ackies get crickets and occational pinky mice. Nothing too complicated in terms of diet.

Pro exotics has a decent writeup on their site: http://www.proexotics.com/care_ackie.html

Hope that helps. Monitors are a 'thinking' kinda reptile.......you have to observe them and change things to suit their needs. Not as easy as just following a caresheet.

I was hoping to get a trio of babies. Sometime this year we are going to start breeding our snakes (which is mostly my boyfriend's project) and I would like to have the option to breed Ackies; once I, of course, fully understand how to take of them! The more I read about them the more interested I become!
I actually just read the Pro Exotics page and it was very helpful. What size cage do you think would be best for 3 adults? The site said not to use aquariums and I definately don't have a problem with building an enclosure, I would just like to see some examples first. Most pictures are close ups mainly of the Ackie, so if anyone has pictures of their full set up I would love to see them! Also are there really any differences between red and yellow besides size and color? Could they be housed together?
Also, I have read that it is extremely hard to sex monitors. If a trio of babies purchased all turned out to be the same sex, how would you go about introducing a different sex, or new trio, or even single to the already established group? I'll stop there for now! Thanks for any advice!!

The cage size question is tricky. I would say 4' long x 2' wide minimum. But the bigger you go the better...a 8' long x 2' wide would be awesome. The more room you give monitors the more behaviors you will see. The height of the enclosure depends on what you are putting in it. If you put 12" of soil in the bottom, you will need something that can hold the weight.

Red and yellow ackies are different subspecies. No real difference in behaviors though. Some people say that yellows are a bit more friendly, but that line is very thin. They are both great animals. Personally, I would not want to house reds and yellows together. They are different subspecies and I wouldn't want to mix them.

It is hard to sex monitors when they are young. When they are older, the physical differences become relatively easy to see. You have a long way to go before you worry about introducing new animals ;) For now, I would just concentrate on getting your enclosure ready and finding someone with some quality babies for sale. When you know the sex of the ackies, then I would worry about the introducing of new animals.