I recently purchased, but haven't picked up, a trio of 'yellow' ackies. I've been very interested in getting a BW tegu, but the opportunity to get these guys came up and I'm very excited. They are my first monitors and while I've read as much as I can about them, I still have some questions.
My initial caging is a Showcase 3x2x2. I'm only going to run (again, initially) about 4-5" of soil/sand substrate. I've bought wood and plan to create a Retes stack for basking which will be beneath a dual light setup to allow for a larger basking spot. I've also got a few different hides and I'm planning on putting one of my radiant heat panels up to ensure ambient cage temps remain at least 75 on the cool side even in winter.
I've talked to the current owner and I plan to follow his lead for feeding: crickets, pinkies, roaches. I have access to all locally.
I really want to get into breeding (and I've even reserved a trio of reds somewhere else - though those will be babies so breeding them is some time off), but I've been told the male will eat the eggs almost immediately if he's not separated from them. So...how can I do that? Most of the posts I've seen about gravid females say it's pretty hard to tell when they are gravid. I have extra caging to move the females to when they are ready (or the male). I plan to keep them all together as that's what the current owner has done.
So, my questions are - does the setup sound good for the beginning? I will move them to a 6x2.5x2.5 as soon as I can, but it will be a few months. Will the substate work in the depth I've planned? I went to a shop recently where they have a 10 year old pair on about 1" of substrate and they produce regularly. Are my plans for heating sound?
For lighting, I know there is a debate about whether UV light is needed, and then within the camp that says it is, at what strength and distance. I was going to add, in the slot provided for in the Showcase, a 36" tube - but T8/T12/T5? Which is best and why?
I will have all the pieces in place for a few days before I go pick them up - which I'd like to do very soon. So any help you all can provide, especially if it comes from actual experience, would be greatly appreciated.
My initial caging is a Showcase 3x2x2. I'm only going to run (again, initially) about 4-5" of soil/sand substrate. I've bought wood and plan to create a Retes stack for basking which will be beneath a dual light setup to allow for a larger basking spot. I've also got a few different hides and I'm planning on putting one of my radiant heat panels up to ensure ambient cage temps remain at least 75 on the cool side even in winter.
I've talked to the current owner and I plan to follow his lead for feeding: crickets, pinkies, roaches. I have access to all locally.
I really want to get into breeding (and I've even reserved a trio of reds somewhere else - though those will be babies so breeding them is some time off), but I've been told the male will eat the eggs almost immediately if he's not separated from them. So...how can I do that? Most of the posts I've seen about gravid females say it's pretty hard to tell when they are gravid. I have extra caging to move the females to when they are ready (or the male). I plan to keep them all together as that's what the current owner has done.
So, my questions are - does the setup sound good for the beginning? I will move them to a 6x2.5x2.5 as soon as I can, but it will be a few months. Will the substate work in the depth I've planned? I went to a shop recently where they have a 10 year old pair on about 1" of substrate and they produce regularly. Are my plans for heating sound?
For lighting, I know there is a debate about whether UV light is needed, and then within the camp that says it is, at what strength and distance. I was going to add, in the slot provided for in the Showcase, a 36" tube - but T8/T12/T5? Which is best and why?
I will have all the pieces in place for a few days before I go pick them up - which I'd like to do very soon. So any help you all can provide, especially if it comes from actual experience, would be greatly appreciated.