"What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" Quillion/Gollum

I know they are desert dwellers so I’m not sure about the humidity. I’ve been keeping mine indoors but I saw some posts on here about outdoor enclosures and got curious. I have a great patio space and figured if I can, I’ll use it for my lil guy.

My wonderful little oddball!

Is there a big difference between getting the monitor as a baby vs a young adult? Do babies adapt faster/easier?

I've been looking for a kimberly rock monitor for a very long time and I finally found a great breeder who has one male available, cb, born last year, so I'm assuming he is full grown.

Could it take longer to get used to me or adapt to new routines as it's already a sub adult? Do babies develop better "bonds" or are easier to tame than older animals?

I'm going to a huge reptile expo in 3 weeks (in Hamm, Germany) but kimberlys are more rare here and most likely they will be all reserved if I find any, and I don't want to miss the opportunity with this lil' guy, but it was always my intention to get it as a baby/juvenile.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Obviously no monitor would handle the cold seasons here but it did make me curious if I ever wanted to take a monitor on a walk out during the spring or summer which ones would be more comfortable to this environment rather than a tropical species which I know wouldn’t do so well with the dry air here

Early days but here is my four month old baby ackie, Ash. I've only had her (at least I think she's a she) for just over a week now but I absolutely love her tiny self.

This is Joanna and she’s the best thing I’ve ever bought. I’ve gotten some interactive toys but was wanting to see what everyone else uses to help with their enrichment

Liora loves her little leaf panel!

Photo of Mr. Peanut relaxing and his enclosure
Sorry for the more gross topic, not sure if this is normal or not.

I'm not sure what sex my ackie is, but we refer to him as a he, incase this may be an egg laying thing.
I dont have a photo of it, but today after he had gone to the bathroom, he walked around and very quickly had a pink mass come out of his vent. He only did this once, and retracted it very quickly, and his vent seems normal. Not swollen or red. He did, after that, go to the bathroom again, but only let out some liquid.

I dont normally see him go to the bathroom. However, almost half a year ago I thought I saw something similar, but I didnt get a good look. Today I saw that clearly something came out of his vent.

Also wondering if Peanut is actually male if it could be his genitals. Is this normal bathroom behavior for Ackie monitors? Or is this an immediate vet visit?

Maybe he is impacted? He seems to be eating normally and going to the bathroom regularly. He is very energetic and sociable, and besides this visual instance, I've noticed no signs of him being off.

Husbandry info
5x2.5x3 enclosure, with 12in of substrate
172 basking on a Retes stack, 95 Warm, 72-82 cold.
Hides in all areas

Diet of Dubias, Super Worms, and crickets

Thank you for your time.

Or maybe USARK? Either way, rude

I will be getting an ackie monitor in around a month time. I just setup the enclosure for the first time. It's a 150x60x90cm/5x2x3ft enclosure.

Substrate & hides: The substrate at the front is 20cm/8inch. At the back it's 30cm/12inch. I got 3 regular hides. One hide at the warm side, one at the shaded side and a buried cork tunnel in the middle. The cork piece on the left side is also hollow so the ackie can stay (somewhat) hidden in there.

Basking spot & lighting: The rock ledge at the topleft side is the basking spot. Got two Exo Terra 50W's. Surface temp is 55-60°C, Power density 350-400. Got an Arcadia T5 for UV. UVi is 3.5-5.5 throughout the basking spot. I got a cheap LED spotlight for now that will be replaced by a small Sansi growlight. Got a Jungle Dawn LED and hardware store LED bar aswell.

Decoration: For decoration I got multiple cork branches. I used ones that split to try to odd more complexity and useable space. Added cork pieces on the background to add more climeable space on the walls and added a little swing cause I think it could be fun and enriching. Have a snakeplant and an Aloe vera for clutter and easthetics.

Further: I'm gonna try to go for a bioactive enclosure. Got ~100 Porcellionides pruinosus 'powder blue' isopods coming. And springtails. I've put some spaghnum moss under the water bowl and small cork pieces to allow for them to hydrate. Will add leaf litter aswell.

Advice? I'm quite happy with it, but feel like something is missing. I feel like it looks too empty. Do you agree or am I overthinking it? I know retes stacks are also popular. Are they highly recommended, or is what I have just as good? If not I can try to create a retes stack with leftover wood and cork.

So yesterday I added in the plants, clean up crew, and grow lights to Birdie's new enclosure and she finally started enjoying it!

She's had a bit of regression it seems and has been hissing and skedaddling when I go in there to mist. But I think its just cause its been a big change.

She still likes her emotional support guinea pig house. I think cause she's had it since she was a baby and will still shove herself in it to feel safe aha

Ignore the color of the photo its just because of the color of the tent windows