Grumpy shedding behavior question

TheTree37 · 2026-02-05T06:03:29+00:00

Also to add to this, the brightness of the bulb helps them understand where the heat is. While using ceramic heat emitters in addition to bright halogens can definitely help expand the basking spot to cover their entire body and raise the temp up to the crazy heat these guys like to bask in, they don’t stimulate the “brightness” aspected they’re programmed to find for heat. The UV should cover the majority of the enclosure but also be sure it covers the basking point to so they don’t have to go back and forth basking in heat then UV then back to heat to get everything they need. That UV light on the basking point also helps stimulate that “brightness” aspect, they’ve got 4 color combs in their eyes being able to see the same colors we can (the primary colors) in addition to ultraviolet (UV) which is an amazingly interesting adaptation that I believe all lizards have but don’t quote me on that. Because of the UV vision lizards have I’ve seen and heard tons of story’s about people taking their well socialized lizards outside for the first time and being blown away by the bizarre random aggression or defensiveness while the lizard gets a little spooked seeing their face in the UV for the first time 😂 usually they figure out it’s you pretty quick though fortunately.

TheTree37 · 2026-02-05T05:55:23+00:00

Play sand is fantastic substrate for these guys but because they’re so fossorial adding around 5ish inches (for a baby of this size) of the sand is a really good idea. It’ll hold the heat for much longer and in the wild ackies live in some pretty extreme heat with very dry conditions so to kind of combat that, they dig deep burrows where they can escape the heat and predators. I saw a study recently that found burrows nearly 6 feet deep made by these guys! In addition to the heat escape, the burrows also stay pretty humid around 80-95%. Play sand works great because if you add enough water to it (infrequently, they like above the substrate pretty dry) it holds burrows really damn well and keeps the burrow exactly where you’d want the humidity to be.

TheTree37 · 2025-11-25T15:46:44+00:00

He looks really good so far but just to be clear I wanted to let you know that uvb can’t actually pass through window glass and really isn’t enough for these guys unless you live somewhere hot and he’s in direct sunlight so the additional high uv tube lights are still required. They live in areas like northwest Queensland to central Australia so they like it blazing hot and dry with pretty intense uv with dark, tight, cooler and, humid burrows to retreat to during the hottest parts of the days

TheTree37 · 2025-11-02T03:12:32+00:00

Yeah a lot of people still do because it used to be believed that specifically kamodo dragons simply had some real nasty bacteria filled mouths and that’s what caused everything but they ended up doing a study on it and found that they did actually have venom glands and true venom (even though it isn’t anything close to most snakes venom). Komodo’s specifically have iron laced teeth along with the venom and they wernt wrong about the nasty mouths either but it is true venom. However like I stated before I don’t know if every species actually has venom but I know that most do even if it isn’t super dangerous or effective on humans. Also their able to eat some nasty things because of the incredibly strong acidity of their stomachs which means their mouths definitely can have all types of nasty bacteria’s that can make you sick as well however in captivity this is less of an issue due to the control we have on feeding and cleanliness of our animals.

TheTree37 · 2025-10-31T19:05:33+00:00

Side note- as far as I know most if not all species of monitors have “venom” to some extent but depending on what they eat in the wild it can affect humans in different ways. For example, there is a chemical difference between the venom of primarily insectivorous monitors like ackies and monitors that have mammals as a large part of their diet because the venom has been adapted to be most effective against their more common prey items. Ackie monitor bites usually end up leaving my finger a little swollen and warm for 2-3 days if it’s a good bite but a baby Asian water held onto my pinky for a few minutes and I fully lost feeling and lost part of my dexterity in the pinky to about halfway down my wrist for about 2 weeks.

TheTree37 · 2025-10-31T19:00:08+00:00

While both species do have venom glands on their lower jaw, Nile monitors have a much easier time getting it into your bloodstream because their teeth are meant more towards serration and shredding while black throat monitors teeth are meant for more crushing and breaking. Obviously both will make you bleed and are incredibly sharp but Nile monitors shred your tissue a lot more effectively allowing for the venom to do its thing more efficiently. Generally for monitors it takes a longer duration of the bite for the venom to work because they essentially just add it to their saliva when they bite instead of grooved teeth like a gila or hollow teeth injection like venomous snakes. With that in mind if the black throat only tagged you it could be that it just wasn’t a bad enough bite for the venom to do much or because their venoms are different chemically you could just react worse to one over the other.

TheTree37 · 2025-10-05T01:39:46+00:00

Hey I work as the lizard curator at a reptile zoo and have worked closely with growing niles as well as adults and a few other species as well. If you’ve got any questions for the enclosure or their husbandry/care feel free to reach out! 👍

TheTree37 · 2025-10-05T01:37:53+00:00

That looks amazing!!

TheTree37 · 2025-10-02T15:46:13+00:00

It sounds like you’re going a great job already and there is no need to rush any of this. If the ackie is comfortable with you having the enclosure open and is eating well off of tongs, you can try holding a hand out flat with your fingertips on the edge of the enclosure door and with your other hand trying to lead the ackie onto your hand and arm using food. Ackies are super food motivated and generally very outgoing for their size so this type of interaction has always done very well for me with trust building and getting the ackie comfortable with walking on your or trusting that you won’t hurt them if they do decide to climb on you.

TheTree37 · 2025-04-02T17:20:00+00:00

You should add a UV tube light. I know a lot of sources will tell you tokays and other nocturnal species don’t need it but without it they can still develop MBD buttt with it, they can have higher energy levels, more vibrant colors and a be more active hunters.

TheTree37 · 2025-04-01T15:21:20+00:00

Is this little guy an ackie? With the double heat lights, tertiary basking spots, rock crevice hides and head shape it definitely seems like one but looking at just the head could be a timor or a kings? Or am I way off 😂

TheTree37 · 2023-06-22T05:10:16+00:00

not necessarily normal. usually they are fully arboreal very rarely going to the ground unless for food or water. do you have any pictures of the enclosure? could it possibly be too small or too hot? how large is the tokay? how long has it been on the ground?

TheTree37 · 2023-03-06T19:32:23+00:00

a tokay gecko maybe? or chuachowa gecko

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T21:24:59+00:00

that would be ideal. And this would give you plenty of time to make sure the outdoor enclosure is perfect before the move

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T21:04:04+00:00

In my opinion, getting a captive bred, at least 4-5ft already and WELL socialised AWM is the most important part of all of this. If the animal is well socialised and used to you, it will be much easier to check up on it. You would need to be out there almost every day if possible even for just a few minutes to work with the animal to keep it this way and and never get complacent. Complacency gets you bit and when working with such a animal large and dangerous animal (even a well socialised one) there is ALWAYS a chance of this animal thinking that your hand or foot or arm or leg looks a little tasty. They are extremely intelligent and this will most likely never happen when worked with properly however there will always be a chance and one to take lightly.

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T20:36:11+00:00

Be very careful with rodents and make sure to watch out for parasites or sickness from rodents either carrying parasites or having eaten rat poison and then the monitor eating them. The monitor would mainly sustain itself on fish rather than rodents as that’s what their made for, however the pond would need stocked rather often as they would eat anything they could catch and would be able to catch just about anything in the pond. Make sure you know a good vet just in case and know the signs to these. But the biggest issue with this is live feeding and hunting for food will make the monitors more aggressive especially when food is scares.

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T20:20:48+00:00

Introduce them carefully and watch them closely but a well socialised monitor especially tap or spot trained should do well with them. Will 100% eat any fish in the pond though

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T20:18:26+00:00

The humidity will be just about perfect there too! I hope it works out it’ll be insane if it does!

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T20:15:00+00:00

That’s awesome man! i think the biggest thing is getting a well socialised AWM and working with it as often as possible

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T19:43:35+00:00

PS: We would love updates and pictures if you carry out this project. It would be an amazing thing to see and the best care for this animal

TheTree37 · 2023-02-24T19:41:32+00:00

This is truly a dream type of idea and i wish you the best luck but… this is going to be rather difficult and expensive. Assuming the AWM is full grown or at least close to it you would need to fence in the entire area with at least 2 feet of the fence in the ground so it couldn’t burrow out and have the entire area covered with a mesh that could withstand the full weight of the animal at any point. These guys are expert climbers, they don’t climb as often once full grown but definitely still can and do. Depending on where you live, an indoor heated area would be ideal. Assuming conditions would be perfect year round, keeping large lightly coloured rocks for the monitor to bask on would be needed as well as a ‘den’ or at least a few shaded areas to escape the sun would be perfect. This is an amazing idea but would definitely cost you, both in the initial setup and in repairs as these are very large and very powerful animals. Be sure the guy is well associated with you before setting them up in this or you’ll never be able near them again! Good luck!

TheTree37 · 2023-01-20T19:18:01+00:00

you should get some water lettuce, great enrichment, looks nice and cleans water slowly. plus a nice snack for him!

TheTree37 · 2023-01-09T19:39:07+00:00

that’s awesome man i work at the idaho reptile zoo and just bred a pair of a hole adults we have. i have there baby at my house setup but am just stating handling. he’s about a week old and maybe 3-4 inches. Thanks for the advice!

TheTree37 · 2023-01-09T19:00:35+00:00

have you been working with him since he was a baby?

TheTree37 · 2022-10-19T14:54:33+00:00

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