Hello Becky,
Julie has already given you a great overview about the species, now I just
want to add some thoughts considering choosing a species according to your
possibilities:
- How much time will you have for the care and maintenance? Some species will
require much more care and take longer vacations (without adequate care)
badly - the lack of enough food might induce perfect working pairs to fight
suddenly, or some need more
minerals (but not too much) and such to stay healthy ... especially when
breeding. I think
the linetatas are very hardy, for example, but am not sure about the klemmeri.
- Do you want to breed them, or is it just the "looking at" you´re after? If
you aquire a pair,
you might quickly end up with the need for a baby-housing and baby-food - are
you ready for that? They are usually tiny and tend to dislike each other
(while the parents perfectly like them ... as food) - choosing a larger
species makes handling tha babys easier, and the madagascariensis or
standingi are a good choice under this aspect.
- What kind of housing can you offer? The different species have a wide
variety of needs -
standingi needs very large, dryer and hot housings (with very strong
illumination), while quadriocellata need a cooler and more rainforest-like
setup to thrieve (which is harder to maintain), but can have a smaller tank.
Can you put them outdoors in summer, or will
they stay inside? In my opinion all the "specialist"-species do well if given
enough fresh air and an outdoor stay - especially guimbeaui and cepediana
appreciate that very much.
- Can you get the species of your choice from a breeder, or would you have to
rely on
wild-caught animals? Those are risky, as are often infested with parasites,
and have a
harder time to adapt to captive housing - I would always take captive-bred
animals as
a beginner, even if I then have to take a species that was not top of my list
... .
- How much do you want to invest in them? Some eat like hell, and tend to get
fat and sluggish, others do well with small food and very rarely become fat
if overfed (most do well with a mixed diet of insects and fresh fruits), some
need expensive heating and lighting to do well ... all that can amount to a
good sum every month.
These are just some hints (and opinions on these topics will differ), and I
strongly suggest to buy some books and visit a breeder to get some first-hand
impressions and help, if possible.
After all, if you choose and prepare well, you will get away without making
those classical beginner´s mistakes - and thus have more fun right from the
start.
Please excuse any errors - I´m from germany ... ;-)
Good luck, Hartmut
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