They are in the open, brave, active as a squirrel, gotta see everything thats going on type of monitors. They love to dig ad burrow in deep hard packed dirt (not potting soil, not organic topsoil, not sand, not lizard litter or any store bought stuff, but dirt). Mix real strained outdoor topsoil from a landscaper (field dirt)with about 10-15% sandbox sand (avoid organic materiel it spoils, gets moldy), make it about 1-2 ft deep.
High basking temps they love em!!! Give them a corkbark piece that puts them within 6-8 inches of a 45 watt outdoor floodlamp running 24/7 and you will see a happy active ackie. Also you can create "Retes stacks" from plywood to give multiple temp zones and places to hide within the basking spot. Offer enough space to allow from 68-86f of a temp gradient in the cage. My red ackie has a basking temp that ranges from 188-200f surface temps, and he loves it, allows him to bask for a short time and go about what he wants to do.
Avoid screen top cages they are beef jerky machines, they dehydrate the lizard and no amount of soaking can stop it, besides ackies hate being in water!!!
I offer a small drinking dish but he only uses it once in 2-4 weeks maybe. I use a teflon barrier to prevent escaping roaches as he eats lobster roaches (many many a week), crickets (anywhere from 200-300 a week, they can put it away and burn it off), on rare occaisions he might eat a day old quail, but recently after hes now over 3 years old he eats small adult mice 1-2 every 2-3 days (it seriously cuts back on the amount of insects). He was raised for almost his first year on crickets and SDZ turkey diet, by his original owner.
Be aware if red ackies (V. Acanthurus)are what you seek not yellow ackies (V. A. Brachyurus), that you get a good look at what your buying many many people and businesses pass off the much less expensive yellows as reds (especially the reddish brown yellows). Reds are on average $250-$400 plus each where as yellows sell for $90-$250 each. This is a red ackie V. Acanthurus. Red ackies are bright red, not dull red or reddish brown.
This is what ackies love to do, burrow, and dig in deep dirt.
I actually cleaned him off for most of those pics as someone complained about my dirty red ackie, of course the last pic hes dirty as normal.
