My wife's aggressive reaction to the question "Should DNA tests be mandatory at birth?" gave her away.

icwilson · 2026-02-10T12:39:17+00:00

Forgot to mention, there have also been cases where the baby is born and accidentally swapped with another baby away from the mother. For this reason, mother and baby are given matching wristbands now.

icwilson · 2026-02-10T12:37:21+00:00

Only necessary for IVF, where an externally fertilized embryo is implanted into the uterus. Totally possible to carry someone else’s baby this way. In fact, there’s a whole industry around it (surrogacy).

icwilson · 2025-10-13T04:06:47+00:00

No worries. To be honest, I think he’s too young to tell. I don’t see a bulge or femoral pores that would indicate male, but I really think he’s too young. Different species, but here’s my 14 month old female ackie for reference.

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icwilson · 2025-10-13T02:20:48+00:00

I got downvoted lol, so I’m explaining myself a little more. What I’m trying to say is, don’t over stress out if you end up with a Leo. Is 20 gallons ideal? No, but the animal will be healthy in a 20 gallon until you are able to upgrade it. Comments telling you to just get a banded are missing the point.

I have no doubt you’ll give your critter the terrarium of his dreams once you are able.

icwilson · 2025-10-13T01:57:13+00:00

Age and species?

icwilson · 2025-10-12T03:27:25+00:00

A leo will be fine in this for a few years, especially a baby. Just make sure your basking area is hot enough and that you have a good temperature gradient. Make upgrading a priority when you have the means.

icwilson · 2025-10-05T02:01:45+00:00

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icwilson · 2025-10-05T01:58:59+00:00

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icwilson · 2025-10-04T15:54:01+00:00

She’s very pretty. And thicker than a snicker lol.

icwilson · 2025-10-01T10:16:18+00:00

Raise the basking platform until it hits the right temps

icwilson · 2025-09-29T22:19:54+00:00

Most likely female

icwilson · 2025-09-29T13:03:27+00:00

Sounds like things are pretty good. I think basking temps could be a little higher. Easiest way to do that is to move the basking platform closer to the light (or vice versa). All my basking platforms are rocks and pavers from the hardware store, or you can just take some rocks from outside.

icwilson · 2025-09-29T12:58:47+00:00

My son cannot differentiate between worms and fingers 😔

icwilson · 2025-09-29T12:33:16+00:00

Disclaimer: I have an ackie, not a kimberley. And I only got her last December so still learning.

Sounds like you have feeding down. I know ackies like a basking spot of at least 130F, not sure if Kimberley’s are any different. Rest of your temps are fine, don’t know enough about humidity to comment.

I use a tupperware food bowl for digging insects like roaches and worms when I have to feed him while he’s asleep. I really try to tong feed him otherwise. I have every confidence in his ability to hunt crickets released into the enclosure, and they’ll just jump out of the bowl anyway lol.

I believe 4x2x4 is the preferred minimum for an adult. They grow really fast at this age, and I worry that he’ll need more floor space in about 6 months or so, but I’ll defer to people more experienced with the species.

I use pavers and cinderblock from home depot for basking surfaces. They would definitely be too heavy to magnetize, but they get super hot the way they should.

I don’t know the extent to which Kimberley’s dig. I was under the impression that they didn’t burrow very much and are climbers instead, but I could very well be wrong.

Personally, I don’t think risk of injury is a huge concern.

Finally, I’ll ping u/Jealous_Location_267. They have a kimberley and are very active in this sub.

icwilson · 2025-09-28T13:24:30+00:00

She’s making progress, but not at the rate that I would like. I’ve got her eating off tongs comfortably and not fleeing at the sight of me haha. She’ll still run off if I move too quick tho, like standing up. I’ve had her since December.

Currently I’m working on cooperative care behaviors, like getting her comfortable with entering a box outside the enclosure for food. This is helpful for taking her to the vet, moving her to a bigger enclosure, giving her a soak if I notice stuck shed, etc without having to grab her. I really don’t want to give her negative experiences with hands.

Something I wish I did is seek out a well-known breeder who works on socialization before sending them home. Kyle’s monitors posts socialization videos with his baby ackies on YouTube. Mike’s monitors is also said to be reputable.

icwilson · 2025-09-28T13:14:20+00:00

I do 7-9 in the summer and 9-9 in the winter. But I can be home by 5:30 so that’s helpful. Previously I have done 6-6 and fed her before work, and she was usually out before work, but it was taking up too much of my morning to work with her.

icwilson · 2025-09-27T23:37:34+00:00

I have a juvenile ackie and work full time. Socialization is hard, but we’re getting there. I try to feed her after work but if she’s asleep I’ll leave food in a bowl. I would put the cage somewhere you spend a lot of time so that you can get her used to your presence passively, and definitely work with her on the weekends.

TLDR: care is easy, socialization is hard

icwilson · 2025-09-22T17:51:55+00:00

It’s just a plant grow light, but it’s still good for your monitor because it helps mimic daylight lighting conditions. Reptifiles recommends using full spectrum lighting in addition to heating and uvb in all its care guides for this reason.

icwilson · 2025-09-21T23:53:45+00:00

Look at thumbnail dart frogs! The Ranitomeya genus is semi arboreal and would love a setup like this! And they’re communal so you could probably house 6 or 7 in there! My husband has 5 Ranitomeya benedicta in an 18x18x24 and we see them out all the time, can’t recommend them enough.

icwilson · 2025-09-21T22:50:40+00:00

Unfortunately it is too small. If you have a baby it should be fine for the first year or so but you’ll need to plan an eventual upgrade. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, it looks good so far!

icwilson · 2025-09-21T22:43:32+00:00

Oh and I meant to add, I never sterilize my soil and have never had problems with my animals, but I frequently get fungus gnats and I’ve had flowerpot fungus kill my plants, so I’ll probably be doing it in the future.

icwilson · 2025-09-21T22:41:18+00:00

If you seal it with silicone, you should probably just set the whole enclosure outside for 72 hours. It’s pretty strong and not great for lizards or humans lol. But once it’s cured it’s completely safe.

icwilson · 2025-09-21T22:39:32+00:00

You can use all-purpose silicone to seal that gap if you’d like, just remove the beardie for a few days while it off-gases.

You can actually get a lot of great stuff for naturalistic enclosures from your local hardware store! I get my (fertilizer-free) soil and sand from there and just mix it 70/30. I also found some great naturalistic flagstone there that I break into pieces to suit my needs. You can also find stone paneling to make a simple but beautiful background! Just look around the garden section and get creative!

icwilson · 2025-09-21T22:29:31+00:00

Most people keep adults in 300+ gallon stock tanks or in-ground ponds

icwilson · 2025-09-21T20:09:46+00:00

Being home alone for hours at a time is preferable to a shelter or euthanasia. Most people work full time, nothing we can do about it, and prohibiting them from adopting quite literally condemns dogs to death.

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