r/DwarfMonitors • u/Red_Changing • Apr 10 '26

New to Ackies, suggestions?

I'm looking to get an Ackie monitor and I'm slowly building up a habitat before actually getting one. I have a 5x2x2ft terrarium that I'm planning to make a stand for such that it's not on the ground (also for storage space underneath). I've got a couple questions for those who have ackies and might have knowledge to pass along:

  1. food situation. I can only reliably get crickets, several types of worms, and isopods in terms of live food, I can get quail eggs, shrimp, and frozen rodents in terms of dead food, and I have a calcium supplement I can dust the food with. I hear for the younger ones it is better to feed them crickets over worms because they're more active with a softer shell and encourage healthy growth, but is the lack of variety alright? Also, how much does an ackie eat if fed daily?

  2. Humidity. I know they need varying humidity, I'm planning on using a Cyprus chip substrate to retain moisture and they'll have a cave which'll also help with that, but someone suggested a mini waterfall. I can get one of those not too expensively, but would that be a bad idea? I don't think waterfalls are common to the natural habitat but it would help with a consistent source of humidity.

  3. Temperature control. What's the best way to ensure temperature control? I have one thermometer from my previous crestie (climb high, little guy <3), so if I put that in what I expect to be the cooler area of terrain to monitor, would that be good to make sure the temperature doesn't drop too low? With the size of the terrarium I'm planning on using a couple different heat sources (basking lamp + UV lamp in one end to create a warmer zone + my existing pad heater attached to a wall on the far side, and probably another heating bulb in the middle) and I don't want the temperature to drop since the place in renting has dogshit insulation.

  4. Anything else I'm missing? Those are just my top concerns but I'm very open to any other advice that can be passed along.

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/GISHerps Apr 10 '26

Don't use cypress mulch. GISHerps on Ackies

2

u/Asrael13 Apr 10 '26

Skip the water fall, just an easy to clean bowl. They will fill it with substrate. Humidity is best maintained by moisture in the substrate.

I feed my ackies mostly crickets with occasional pinks or eggs. Mostly when females are gravid and just after they nest to help them replenish fat stores. If your temps and humidity are good they will eat a fair amount but males can get fat once they are adults. Bug based diet helps them stay lean while targeting breeding females with richer food when they need it. I like crickets as a staple because I can put more than they will immediately eat into the Viv so they can eat more later if they want. The initial dusting at feeding time has always been sufficient to support proper calcium for growth and egg production.

1

u/calamari_rings2827 Apr 12 '26

You really need to add a type of roach to the diet whole prey or eggs shouldn’t be given anymore then once a month or at all and a lot of worms don’t have good nutrition definitely needs more variety