Ackie or Gillens?

[reptilefan95]

Yes but now where neart the need of an ackie.... heheh mr reptilefan

 

[reptilefan95]

Ok guys so anymore help there has to be more varanus keepers and lovers out there

 

[reptilefan95]

any one else have experience with these monitors?

 

[TWENTY B]

That's right, Mr Reptilefan. I house gillens in a cage 1/3 of the size needed for adult acanthurus. Still pretty big cages tho, about 100x50x70cm for the gillens.

the coffe table my pair of ackies live in is 100x50x50. they are happy but you would never go smaller

 

[mysnakesau]

I love my little ackie. Still a runaway baby but I don't care. I wouldn't trade him for another. I love watching him he is just too cute. Easy heating their basking spot. Thanks to SweetAngels who gave me the idea, build up a stack of rocks, timber or slate, going up to the light. The highest point can be 70 but the whole area doesn't have to be. The temperature goes down a little, with each step down so he has lots of varient temperatures to pick the spot he wants. It isn't fancy, neat, perfect but it works. I have seen 'LC' sitting on the first rock on top of the slate but never seen him on the top one. Trying to get new pics of LC but he is still very shy. Doesn't come out for long either. Long enough to fill his belly and gone back to bed. He took a piece of food from my fingers last night for first time, so this season might the start of "taming".

 

[herptrader]

I do like the accies. Everyone I have ever had has been easy to handle and feed from my hand.

They are most entertaining to watch which is their most endearing characteristic.

They are also trouble free captives and easy to breed.

I have attached the setup I have for what I intend to be my next family group of breeders. It is 3 females and a male. I have found that providing two basking spots seems to help the harmony of the group. The double 50 watt halogens on the right hand side only come on for a couple of hours per day where as the single one on the left is on during daylight hours... along with the NEC blacklight which is out of sight.

Alas they will soon grow out of this setup but if I can I will duplicate it on a larger scale.

 

[reptilefan95]

thanks mysnakes yea i was thinking about not going with an ackie stack and using this piece of wood i found in an aquarium, it has a lot of little crevices and a flat part on the top so im thinking it would provide a nice heat gradient, if that doesnt work im getting a really ince peice of rock backgound, much like crocdoc's but obviously alot smaller with alot more crevices so i could use that as my "ackie stack"

 

[reptilefan95]

Thats a nice looking setup herptrade he is just sticking his tail out of that piece of pipe!!

 

[herptrader]

Thats a nice looking setup herptrade he is just sticking his tail out of that piece of pipe!!

Lots and lots of hiding places. I have found that stiffer cardboard tubes are a great way to go. The don't look all that great but the accies love them.

 

[reptilefan95]

yeah thats the thing i was going for a natural look, ill see if i can post a few pictures of that peice of wood any way here is the link to the rock background i want to get (would it be good) the code is Aqua -024

Universal Habitats
Ill also be getting another piece of background for the other sides of the enclosure, but probably just a cut size of that roll stuff

 

[Red-Ink]

yeah thats the thing i was going for a natural look, ill see if i can post a few pictures of that peice of wood any way here is the link to the rock background i want to get (would it be good) the code is Aqua -024

Universal Habitats
Ill also be getting another piece of background for the other sides of the enclosure, but probably just a cut size of that roll stuff

Why don't you make your own mate, it'll be cheaper. I'm sure there's a sticky on here in one of the forums somewhere on how to make your own as a step by step guide. You could always get those tubes and cover them with grout to give it a more of a natural rock like look to them.

 

[reptilefan95]

red ink, im pretty sure i could try and make one but it would probably look terrible, this stuff isnt made out of polystiren its coated with sand and rock flakes which makes it extremely realistic, which is somthing i most likely couldnt repilcate

 

[mysnakesau]

Sounds great Charlie. Natural would look reall good. So long as achieve the temperatures to suit your friend, and kept clean it don't matter what you use. My little guy likes the tunnels between the slate on mine. I also have bits and pieces between the slate so he can squash into places and that log at the front of his enclosure is hollow. Haven't seen him inside it but he certainly looks proud as punch up on top of it.

 

[reptilefan95]

Yea ive made sure that the specifice rock peice has TONS of crevices for him to wedge himself up tight in! cant wait to pick up my enclosure sometime this week from brett!!

 

[grimbeny]

My ackies were always out, never bit me ever and were like beardies to handle. Although i didnt really handle them that much when they were small.

 

[reptilefan95]

sounds good grimbeny but im still leaning towards gillens only because of size the tank is a custom 70cm by 70cm by 40cm H with opening doors and an adjacent entire glass panel so that its better to look in to...

 

[mysnakesau]

Why the gillens? I don't know much, ok.....I don't know ANYTHING about monitors except how to look after my gorgeous friend. Would that tank not suit an ackie? Or you just like the look of the gillens better?

 

[reptilefan95]

Well its the size a tank that big is too small or so i have heard for an ackie, ackies get around the 50 to 60cm mark whereas gilleni only get 40cm max

 

[Red-Ink]

Well its the size a tank that big is too small or so i have heard for an ackie, ackies get around the 50 to 60cm mark whereas gilleni only get 40cm max

Have you looked at varanus storri? Their just as big as Gillens and look a bit better IMO, they look more like ackies but smaller.

 

[reptilefan95]

yea storri are cat 2