Reptile & Amphibian Forums

1. Ive kept beardies in 4ft cattle troughs before. How many ackies can be kept in a comfortable breeding colony?
2. Does Ackies breed better in pairs or harem style? Ive heard both.
3. What size is a good size to start Ackies on Roaches and finally.
4. Im pretty experienced in breeding constrictors and fellow hobbyists have scoffed at my ackie project saying in a couple of years there prices will plummet. Any truth?

1. I kept two in a 4x2x2. I put a 1x4x2 lid on it. They seemed to like it.

2. I don't have anything other than opinion, popular beleif is 3, but I think two, its easier to see the dynamics in a single pair than it is in a trio.

3. I use lobster roaches as feeders for my ackie. Any size of those seems to work for him.

4. Always remember that on a small scale with animals that you care about you can always get the price you want. If you have animals people want, you can charge anything you want.

I have a friend who knows I have great beardies, he's going to buy my female for about 425. How's that for the price on a female beardie? There is definately something to be said about well taken care of quality animals.

Hope this helped. Sorry I'm not Robyn.

Oscar

I have one ackie in a 4ft long cage. I was suggested to use a 3x3x6ft cage with a foot of dirt for a trio of ackies which is how they best reproduce (one male 2 females), first make sure that you understand care for one animal before you attempt care for more than one together. The smaller the cage the worse dominance plays a roll in their lives because they cannot avoid each other so easily. Dont think in terms of minimum cage sizes think in terms of "what is the maximum I can offer the animal, if I have to go with minimums then maybe Im not ready for the animal".

I have kept 1.3 in a 4' trough, but I think it is too tight. Keeping a pair is always easier than keeping a group.
I don't keep the animals hoping to get a return on the investment, but if I did, I would invest in pilbara's or kimmies.

Good Luck

we have used the 4 fts for the Ackies for a number of years. if we had only a couple of cages, i would go larger, regardless of animal counts. like shvar said, go as big as you can.

we have tried larger groups, but have had the most success with 1.2 and single pairs. i like single pairs the very best.

let the babies get a bit of size before offering roaches, there is a lot of chitin to digest with those, i would feed on crickets for the first couple of months (insect wise) before adding roaches or mealworms.

value on the Ackies is moderate to great. we never have a problem selling them at a good price, but i see many ads with folks selling them for much cheaper, for whatever reason. so it depends on reputation and motivation.

if you want to spin a buck, animals are not that reliable in the first place, but all things considered, Ackies are still a good project.

best of luck!
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles