Quote Originally Posted by IRescue452 View Post
From what I've seen of leopard geckos, they are pretty hard to care for properly. Whenever I see one in a rescue or privately owned, they seem undernourished. I'd say a uromastyx is more sturdy for that age of a child who may want to handle it more often, plus their diet is easier imo. They get much bigger than a gecko though.
It is common for new lizard owners to not realize that their pet needs supplementation in the form of dust for their crickets in order for their skeleton to form properly. Thus, a lot of leopard geckos in the hands of newbies wind up with metabolic bone disease. Pembroke_Corgi is researching NOW so that she doesn't miss any of these things.

Leopard geckos do not require special lighting, and they are strict carnivores, eating only insects. The insects should be "gut-loaded" by feeding them a nutritious cricket diet for a day before feeding them off, as well as dusted with calcium powder. One adult can comfortably spend its life in a ten gallon tank.

Uromastyx are omnivorous, thus the need to both gut load/dust insects and cut up appropriate vegetables for them regularly. They need a tremendously hot basking spot(120 degrees or higher!!), as well as UV lighting, which can be expensive and needs to be replaced at least 2x a year. (Not to mention the possibility of a small child burning himself on the light) Plus, they need larger tanks.

Not that I'm knocking Uros, they are fantastic little animals, but I feel strongly that a leo is more appropriate for a beginner to the hobby, and MUCH MUCH easier to care for.