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Baby herper with a baby ackie

450 views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  murrindindi 
#1 ·
Hi guys I’m new to owning reptiles. I bought an adorable baby ackie as my first reptile a week ago and I could really use some tips on “taming” the little guy or at least making him comfortable with my presence. By default he’s already very confident for a baby , he eats the first few crickets straight from my fingers and seems generally calm with my hands in his cage and near him (when he’s eating it’s like all his worries completely vanish). However his self assured nature made me a bit overconfident and today for first time when I put my hand close to him he got uncharacteristically spooked 😔 i would just like to know , should I continue to get near to him and even touch him or should tiny baby lizards be left alone. From my research I hear ackies get more confident with age so should I just give him his space till hes older despite him showing natural confidence? I feel bad for having spooked him today and I don’t want to overstep my boundaries but at the same I would like to nurture his innate confidence. Would really appreciate some advice from keepers experienced with baby lizards, i really want to give him a comfortable stress -free life and let him nourish his inner ackie curiosity .
Also side note he occasionally makes these cute squeaky sneezes , should I be worried?
 
#2 ·
Hi, firstly leave the monitor alone, do not attempt to do anything other than place food and fresh water, you need to give the animal time to fully acclimate to the enclosure before anything else.
On that note, can you show the whole setup and give details of the conditions? Can I ask which country you`re in?
 
#3 ·


ok i will leave him alone for now, only feeding and water replacements. as for the set up theres two uvb bulbs which are 2 foot long. The enclosure is 6ft long 2ft high and deep. Basking area is around 60 degrees celsius and coldest area is 25 to 30 depending on the weather. The coldest ive seen it get is low 20s. coconut fibre and play sand mix 70:30 is the substrate, its dry on surface but moist lower down and ive given about 7 inches of depth to the substrate. he has a fresh water bowl and i dust his insects before feeding.
Also, i live in the uk. thanks for ur help, Ive seen ur page u seem experienced with monitors, i would like to ask what are ur top tips for monitor husbandry/care and bonding ? thanks again murrindindi.
 
#5 ·
When he continues to bask, eat and (sometimes) drink in your presence he`s at least starting to settle in with the enclosure and you, being CBB that often means a relatively short time (weeks rather than months or longer).
Your best "weapons" are time, patience and food, no secret formulas other than those.
One very important thing to consider is gender, there`s a 50% chance you have a female, in which case you need to provide suitable nesting at all times, best from the beginning (meaning right now) as this species can go from egg to egg in under 6 months when fully supported.
Can you get a few photos up of the whole enclosure?
 
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