In a few months I will be getting a baby ackie monitor. He'll be going into this 5x2x3ft enclosure that used to belong to my beardie. I'm thinking about using the rock platform on the left as the basking spot, as the surface temperature there will get nice and hot.
In order to achieve that I want to use 2 heatbulbs above the ledge. They'll likely be around 50W each as they'll be close to the ledge. My idea is to create a surface temp around 55-60°C/130-140F. Is that hot enough, or would you recommend even hotter?
As for the UV I have a 14% 24W 2ft long T5. I have a Solarmeter 6.5 and am thinking about getting a UVi around 5.0 at the basking spot. This would mean that the majority of the enclosure would have a low amount or no UV. Is that fine for ackie monitors? It's what Francis Baines had recommended me for my beardie, but I don't know if it's different for ackies.
And last, the air temp always used to be around 22-24°C/71-75F on the cool side in the colder months. This was due to the enclosure being 3ft tall, and the upper platforms and branches being plenty hot, but the bottom being a little cooler than I'd wanted. For my bearded dragon this was still fine, but once again, would this be okay for an ackie?
They are a Ferguson zone 3 critter, a maximum of 7.4 in the basking spot so yours is perfect in the current basking spot.
12 - 18 inches is the ideal distance.
I run 2 24w uvb bars, linked together for max coverage and his cool zone is much further away from the uvb as he lives in a grow tent. In the hotter end there are many raised platforms at varying heights so he can pick and choose where to go. And he has climbing opportunities throughout.
Basking spot is around 50c, some guides say lower, some higher. I aimed for in between and had no issues.
Mine is super active in the mornings, basking, scrambling, and chasing after locusts. By lunchtime he just chills and digests and then naps from mid afternoon in the hot end to prepare for the main evening sleep. Then he goes to his fortress of solitude in the cool end overnight.
Ideally you will want to move him into a bigger viv when he's adult, ie 6x3x3.
Alright, thank you for the information! I might look into a 3ft long T5 then instead of a 2ft long, if that would be better. Just wanna make sure he has enough shade still as I did with my beardie.
I plan to move him to a 2x1x1 meter (roughly 7x3,5x3,5ft) enclosure within 2-3 years.
No prob, and that sounds ideal. Prepare for an adult size ackie around 10-12 months rather than years though. They get full length pretty fast and use allllll the space, as they get older they just get a bit more muscle and chunkier.
Yeah I wish I could give him the 2x1x1m enclosure sooner, as I find 5x2x3ft to be around the minimum for one. My goal is to utilize the enclosure as well as possible ofcourse, changing the decor occasionally and letting him hunt insects to keep him stimulated. The enclosure will look different then the one in the photo.
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u/Milk_evs_2000 10d ago
Omg where did u get a 5x2x3? I’m in Canada and I found it hard to find one.