# Ackie monitor not eating!



## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

A few weeks ago I got an Ackie monitor from someone who couldn't look after him anymore, this is my first monitor. I've done my research, the viv and heating is all right but he just won't eat, he'd eat a few crickets every 3 days or so and had a pinkie yesterday but I was told monitors have a good appetite, or do some ackies just not eat much? would it be better to feed him something else? If so what? Someone please help!


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## DannyP91 (Apr 25, 2012)

Hi mate I'm not an expert at all when it comes to ackies Ive only had mine for a about 3-4 weeks, when i first got him for the first couple weeks he didn't eat much i did try everyday but no real interest so i gave him a couple of days and he eat a bit, then i bough some dubias roaches and he loves them every other day hell eat as many as i give him normally bout 10-15 and the odd fuzzy, but i think he didn't eat much at first because he was still settling! did you ask the guy before what he was feeding? and how the ackie was doing when he was with him? I would say try some dubias roaches mate, but he could still be settling : victory:


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

Please don't put 'the viv and heating is all right but he just won't eat'. State your temperatures and how everything is set up so people have been keeping them a long time can confirm this.
If he's not eating then I would say something in your husbandry is actually wrong. You've said yourself and correctly so, monitors have good appetites so if it's not eating then something is wrong IMO.

Sorry about the rant, anyway.

What is your set up like?


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## JRUD96 (Oct 24, 2011)

As said above please could you state the setup i.e basking temperatures. Obviously individuals are different however I've never come across a 'fussy' ackie. If it has been a few weeks I would check everything in your setup. 

Ackies are for the most part greedy eaters, I've heard of Ackies eating till they cannot physically eat anymore, basking and then resuming eating.

From personal experience my ackie will eat an aweful lot in a sitting so if yours is eating a few every few days that won't be enough.

For me as a keeper if your ackie isn't eating the most nutritious things atm I would lay off the pinkies etc for a bit too. Until he's eating the correct amounts of the correct foods and then you could offer a treat now and then ie pinky. : victory:


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## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

Chris18 said:


> Please don't put 'the viv and heating is all right but he just won't eat'. State your temperatures and how everything is set up so people have been keeping them a long time can confirm this.
> If he's not eating then I would say something in your husbandry is actually wrong. You've said yourself and correctly so, monitors have good appetites so if it's not eating then something is wrong IMO.
> 
> Sorry about the rant, anyway.
> ...





JRUD96 said:


> As said above please could you state the setup i.e basking temperatures. Obviously individuals are different however I've never come across a 'fussy' ackie. If it has been a few weeks I would check everything in your setup.
> 
> Ackies are for the most part greedy eaters, I've heard of Ackies eating till they cannot physically eat anymore, basking and then resuming eating.
> 
> ...


The viv is a 48” x 16” x 16”, Substrate is reptile wood chips with soil, the basking spot is around 120-130F and the cool side is at about 70-80F, he seems perfectly happy in there and is active but just not too keen on food, it could be him settling but when i got him the guy said his wife had been over feeding him and he does look a bit chubby so could that be it? when i picked him up there were crickets crawling all over him and he didn't seem interested in them at all, should i try something else like roaches or locust?


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## Barlow (Sep 23, 2010)

Can you post photos of your set up? How are you measuring temps? Sounds like the husbandry is not right somewhere. How old is the ackie?


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## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

Barlow said:


> Can you post photos of your set up? How are you measuring temps? Sounds like the husbandry is not right somewhere. How old is the ackie?


I'm not too sure how to post pictures, measuring the temp with thermostat and digital thermometer, i was told the ackie is around 2 years


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

I really do not want to sound like a d##k, but temperatures are meant to be be bang on, or off by a few degree's. When people post saying between 110-120 it makes me, and probably many others, think that you don't have a clue about the temperatures. Many people can pretend they have everything in a 8ft with radiators and this and that but it can be living in a shoe box with nothing and just relaying information off the internet. Details are vital, we need specific figures not guesstimates.

Pictures and Facts will help us more than guessing.


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## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

benjo said:


> I really do not want to sound like a d##k, but temperatures are meant to be be bang on, or off by a few degree's. When people post saying between 110-120 it makes me, and probably many others, think that you don't have a clue about the temperatures. Many people can pretend they have everything in a 8ft with radiators and this and that but it can be living in a shoe box with nothing and just relaying information off the internet. Details are vital, we need specific figures not guesstimates.
> 
> Pictures and Facts will help us more than guessing.


I can assure you that its not kept in a shoe box  all my reptiles are kept properly, i've just checked the exact temperature, the basking spot is at 124F and cool side at 76F, is that too hot/cold?


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## Barlow (Sep 23, 2010)

Perrin93 said:


> I can assure you that its not kept in a shoe box  all my reptiles are kept properly, i've just checked the exact temperature, the basking spot is at 124F and cool side at 76F, is that too hot/cold?


124 is about as low as I would go for ackies. I have mine at 150F. Cool side is a little cool too. I'd say it was underheated by the sounds of it. And you need to get an infra red temp gun, not a thermometer as it is the surface temperatures that are important, not the air temps.


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## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

Barlow said:


> 124 is about as low as I would go for ackies. I have mine at 150F. Cool side is a little cool too. I'd say it was underheated by the sounds of it. And you need to get an infra red temp gun, not a thermometer as it is the surface temperatures that are important, not the air temps.


Okay will do, i'll try it at a higher temp for a few days and see how he is


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## JRUD96 (Oct 24, 2011)

I don't know about what other people would recommend however I would recommend the infra-red temp gun by zoomed on ebay theyre like 20 quid. im sure any temp gun would be good. The trouble with using digital thermometers for finding basking temps is that they will absorb the heat from the bulb and give an innaccurate reading.: victory:

NB. I wouldn't recommend wood chips for ackies. No good for burrowing.


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## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

JRUD96 said:


> I don't know about what other people would recommend however I would recommend the infra-red temp gun by zoomed on ebay theyre like 20 quid. im sure any temp gun would be good. The trouble with using digital thermometers for finding basking temps is that they will absorb the heat from the bulb and give an innaccurate reading.: victory:
> 
> NB. I wouldn't recommend wood chips for ackies. No good for burrowing.


Its a mixture of wood chips and clean soil so he can burrow a bit, he came with it but what would you recommend?


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## Barlow (Sep 23, 2010)

Perrin93 said:


> Its a mixture of wood chips and clean soil so he can burrow a bit, he came with it but what would you recommend?


 Any sandy dirt you can go and dig up outside that is pesticide free.


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## Perrin93 (Jun 6, 2012)

Just to let everyone know, after I raised the temp for a few days and then offered him roaches and locust instead of crickets he won't stop eating, I had to stop feeding him because he almost ate them all! I'm going out to get more today, should I feed him until he physically doesn't want anymore or should I just feed him a certain amount a day? 
Thanks.


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