Hello everyone. I purchased a hachling Ackie in early July. It’s grown quite a bit since then. I’ve actively been trying to get it used to me. I’ll put my hand in its enclosure, and it will give me a sniff and then just give me the side eye. I’ve managed to get it to take a silk worm out of my hand 3x ( nock it to the ground first), but they were so far apart I’m calling it luck. I’m starting to wonder if its tank is to open and it’s not completely relaxed. It will let me put my hand near it, but the second I go to touch it, it runs like hell. Should I add more tarain? Here is a pic of the setup.
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From what I understand of Ackie Monitors is that they are commonly flighty and it takes a long time to properly socialize one, a lot longer than the 3 months you’ve had yours.
I suggest plant cover, whether its real or fake plants. Its hard to tell from the photo but I only see 2 spots for the Ackie to hide which might not be enough.
How large is the enclosure?
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As Christina notes, the familiarization process for Ackies (and most monitors) is a long one so think more along the timeline of years and not months
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The enclosure is 36x18x12 witch I know will have to be upgraded. I think thats going to happen faster than i expected. I can grab some plants over the weekend. Should I toss in more cork bark and maybe some leaf litter too?
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It definitely wont hurt to give it a try and see if it helps in the long run 
The fact alone that you can get your Ackie to eat from your hand is a sign of good progress, just try not to rush it. Whenever you give your monitor an enclosure upgrade give them some time again to adjust and then continue trying to build a bond, let the monitor grow comfortable with your presence without trying to actively touch or grab them. Its a long process but if you can pull it off its really worth the effort.
Its what I’m trying to do with my Amazon Tree Boa… had him for over a year and although he’s shown slight progress with socializing its still very minimal, and its basically a guarantee to get bit every time I interact with him. I see my socializing progress with him taking years…
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Thanks for the impute. There’s times I just put my hand next to him wiles he’s basking just to try and get him used to my sent and me being there.
Ok, here is an updated pick. I did grab a couple of pieces of cork bark. Do you think I need them after adding the plants?
How big is set up? What’s temps?
The substrate layer isn’t deep enough, and you need more horizontal branches/levels.
Just seen it’s a baby, so that’s a lot easier to work with, handling, hand feeding, just sitting with them.
With monitors it can take time to build trust. It’s not always a quick thing.
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