im getting an ackie next weekend!

YES!! we went to the serpentarium today and my mom said i can get an ackie next week! i already have everything i need except for the dirt and my dad is bringing a 5 gal bucket of dirt from our property for me so i have that covered. here's a pic of the cage im gonna use:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...a/100_1965.jpg
i only have one question; temps aren't supposed to drop below 80 at night and i know i cant leave the light on and i was wondering if i can use a red infrared heat bulb to keep the temps up at night. i know you're not supposed to do this for a bearded dragon because it bugs them when they are sleeping, but i was wondering if you could do this for an ackie.

P.S. im gonna build some cool retes stacks for it.

Red bulbs are no problem. I know monitor keepers that use white lights 24/7 with no problems.

Congrats on your Ackie btw!

really? all day and night?

i know, before i knew i could get one but now i know when! yaay! lol.

Yes.. I was researching blackthroat monitors some months ago and asked some experienced monitor keepers. They said that as long as they have a dark hide to go into, it makes no difference.

wow, cool. the dirts gonna be deep enough for them to burrow so it'll be fine. thanks April.

ooh, one more thing. when should the ackie outgrow a 30in x 1ft x 1ft cage? im thinking me and my dad will build it a nice 3ft x 2ft x 2ft cage.

That may be big enough for it as an adult.. they recommend a 30g long as a minimum.. that is a few inches longer (3') but I'm not sure. You may want a longer and deeper (for burrowing) cage eventually.

I would not use a daylight 24/7.. Monitors will need a proper photoperiod just like a ball will:) I would take a look at www.proexotics.com

thanks Matt. ive been using proexotics caresheet and FAQ. so would the red bulb plan work out?

Matt - the guy who told me that breeds monitors and has a bunch of them so I dunno.

I can't imagine any animal doing well with a 24/7 light cycle. That just doesn't sound right to me.

That's what I thought at first too, but the guy has great luck with his monitors. *shrug*

Congrats on the ackie, take lots of pictures when you finally get it home!

My only guess on the photo period would be that it would be fine on 24/7, however I would want to know longterm effects; but it's definitely not natural to have constant lighting so personally I'd go with the red bulbs.

hhmmm, im gonna see what proexotics says. i emailed them and asked.

oh yeah, update: i might go to east bay vivarium tomorrow and get one.

Sure any animal can "withstand" a 24/7 daytime period but it not natural.. Any monitor will need a basking spot.. I always used halogen with my kims.. Works great but they went off at dusk:)

cool! thats what i have, a 45 watt halagon flood light.

i just went to east bay vivarium. i cannot believe how rude they treated me. some guy was tryin to tell me that sand was the best for an ackie, the basking spot should be 115 F MAX (completely wrong) and i NEEDED a full sprectrum light for my ackie. he thought i was buying it out of impulse which offended me. yes, i am 13 but that doesnt mean i dont know how to research an animal before i get it. little did he know ive been researching them for MONTHS! he wouldn't give me the gueruntee because i told him i was gonna keep it on dirt and the basking spot would be 130-150 degrees F (WHICH IS CORRECT!!!). WTH IS THAT!!!! that's just rediculous.

their animals were in good condition and everything was clean, but i would NOT reccomend them. they were trying to push false information on me, atleast one of their employees was.

im going to order an ackie from www.ProExotics.com.

Sorry to hear they were so rude to you.. it can be hard when you're mature for your age. Pro Exotics is a good choice. They have always been courteous to me answering my e-mails and quick to send supplies when I ordered from them.

Matt - you have kimberly rock monitors? Any pics?

Sorry you got treated so rudely just because of your age.

He wasnt entirely wrong though, while sand isnt the best subtrate for them a sand/dirt mix works real nice. Also basking temps he cave are only slightly off for a hatchling ackie and depending on cage size. I kept my hatchlings at a basking temp of 120-125 when they where in the 20L (any hotter and its nearly impossible to give them a thermal gradient) now that they are in a larger enclosure I bumped the temps up to 130-140 as any hotter and they stopped basking and eating.

really? thanks Sean. i thought they needed a small area of intense heat then for example with each retes stack or slope on a rock/branch it got slightly cooler so they could pick where they wanna bask.

i was planning on having a rised up basking spot on a retes stack or something like that so it would be a lot cooler then the hot side.

I would get a monitor from Jason at Rare Earth. This gentleman knows his monitors and they are top notch!! http://www.rareearthinc.com/ I dont have Kims any more I sold them about a year ago.. Awsome animals.. Emeralds would have to be my favotie but they are super hard to keep, for me anyway..lol

ok, i got the dirt from my dad and it is awesome... very moist, and it loks like it's gonna tunnel great.

i have one question though: for a basking temperature proexotics says 120-130, reptiles magazine says 130-150, another one i got off the web says 120, and the serpentarium i went to (not east bay vivarium) said 120-150. i was dialing in my temps just now and it came to 130-135 on the basking site (about a 6 sq. in. area) and on the cool side it was about 75. is that gonna be ok? i figure the cool side will raise up to about 80 when the dirt comes to room temp, because the dirt was really cold from being wet and out at night but the hot side will stay the same because it's on a rock. i'll take a pic of the encloser when i get more batteries for my camera.

Matt, ive already been to that website but i cant figure out where to enter or lok at the pricelist or anything. i did sign up for the mailing list though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr~python

Matt, ive already been to that website but i cant figure out where to enter or lok at the pricelist or anything. i did sign up for the mailing list though.

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His site has been a work in progress for like a year now..lol.. Email him and he will send you a price list..

whats his email? i couldnt find that either.

I actually didnt save it.. Sorry cant help ya there:(

about the 24/7 light. this is a direct copy and paste from Robyn at ProExotics response to question about it:
as long as the animals have a completely dark area to retreat to, it is fine. but they can't be in the inescapable light all the time : )

Yes.. Marshall that's what the guy told me.

so i guess it just depends on whats more convenient for you. my ackie is definitely going to have a completely dark place to retreat to, and the dirt i got from my dad is deep enough for it to burrow.

wow, this is gonna be awesome. i cant find a place in the bay area other then EBV that sells baby ackies though. i know that the lodi serpentarium had a pregnant red ackie that bred with a yellow. maybe ill end up getting a hybrid. oooh, that sounds exciting, lol.

well, i cant find anywhere that has them available in the bay area so im gonna build a rack for vanessa and zulu because there cages are way to big and take up a lot of room. i didn't know you could go "to big" for a ball python when i built zulu's. they're also kind of hard to heat too. so figured in the mean time since i have a lot of money ill get some tubs from www.reptiletubs.com and me and my dad will build a rack.

maybe ackies will have to wait till this summer or fall, oh well.

That's too bad.. why don't you order one online and have it shipped to you?

well this rack thing is actually something ive been wanting to do and now i have the chance i think i'll take it and be patient on getting an ackie.

Sounds like a good decision.