Thinking about chahouas or saras...

[genevieve]

So I am contemplating purchasing either chahouas or saras to add to my collection sometime in the coming reptile season.

Would those of you that have chahouas be able to tell me your favorite and least favorite aspects of the species? Comparisons to ciliatus care/ behavior/ "personality" would be most helpful as that is what I primarily have.

Thanks!

Genevieve

[S.T.]

I have noticed that chahouas can sometimes be very picky eaters. They seem to be more insectivorious than a cilitus. Mine rarely touch the frugivorous gecko diet I give them, but never turn down a juicy bug. As far as temperament goes, the chahouas are a lot more calm and not as jumpy as a ciliatus.

[mlededee]

the care of chahouas and ciliatus are pretty much identical. i keep it slightly more humid for my chahoua and make sure she has a water dish at all times which she readily drinks out of. not all of my ciliatus will drink out of a dish (or at least i have never seen them do it).

they can be picky eaters. my ciliatus will eat just about anything but my chahoua eats mostly just cgd (when she feels like it) and crickets only if i hand them right to her. they are lazy. :) they are much calmer than ciliatus and have great temperments though. i personally LOVE my chahoua even though she doesn't always eat as much as i want her to, but i then i suppose she knows how much she needs.

[AnthonyCaponetto]

Chahoua are great. They're usually super mellow when you get them out of the cage, but I've had a couple that would bite in order to defend themselves when startled. Their bites are harmless, so it's actually pretty funny to see such a cute/innocent looking gecko turn into a monster and then calm right back down when they realize who you are.

All the chahoua I've had have been big eaters on all kinds of food, but there's a trick to it. To get them to really eat well, you should give them a nice basking spot. Keep the rest of the cage in the 70's, but give them an 85-90 degree basking spot and they eat/grow like mad. Unlike ciliatus, chahoua can take the heat just fine as long as they can cool off when they want to.

[genevieve]

Thank you all for your replies! I think I have decided to go with chahouas this year, and save the saras for next.

Would any of you have recommendations on where to look for chahouas for sale? AC, do you or Allen have chahouas? Ideally, I would like to either buy a group of juvis and raise them up, or a pair. Either way I am going to have to wait till it warms up enough that I can have them shipped in, unless someone is going to have some at the White Plains, NY show in January.

Thanks again,

Genevieve