Iguanas are very demanding animals, you need to do alot of research before you make a final decision to get one. They certainly aren't what you would call "beginner" lizards either, although if you are dedicated, do your research and are ready, you can deffinitly manage just fine.

Here's a copy/paste of one of my posts on another site to a kid asking about iguanas.

Don't get an iguana, they're a pain in the you-know-what lol.

1) They get HUGE. A male iguana can get 5, 6 feet long. When they get that big, they practically need free roam of a whole room. Either that or a custom built enclosure that takes up half a room. And custom built enclusures are not cheap, especially if you don't have a family member who will build it for you.

2) They have an attitude. You can get an iguana, spoil it, give it an excellent diet, have a super nice enclosure for it....and it's not going to appreciate it one bit and it's still going to bite you, tail whip you, run from you and give you open mouth threats. Even once they are tame, they are still wild animals and can act like one at any given moment. Now take the fact that they get huge, and add it to the fact that they can be aggressive. What does this equal? It equals the possibility of a bite that will send you to the hospital to get stitches.

3) Nutritional demands. Now this can get so complicated it's not even funny. You have to keep the diet varied so it doesn't loose interest. You have to remember that what iggy likes today, iggy might refuse to eat and suddenly decide it hates it tomorrow. There are foods you must absolutely avoid all together like apple and cabbage. There are foods that can only be given in moderation like carrots. Carrots are high in calcium oxalates which can crystalize calcium and cause MBD. You have to watch calcium. They must be supplemented with calcium or they will get MBD (metabolic bone disease) and their bones can literally turn into rubber and they'll die.

4) Heating/lighting and humidity. You must have a UVA/UVB light for an ig. This light needs to be on for 8 to 10 hours a day and you have to either remember to turn it on and off, or buy a timer. They need a CHE (Ceramic Heating Element) to provide heat for them during the day . They need a nocturnal heat lamp to provide heat for them at night without disturbing their sleep (which isn't a wise thing to do because it makes them crankier than they already are to begin with). A heat pad is usually also necessary in the winter. Because iggies are from tropical rainforrests, there is alot of moisture in the air. So you need a humidifier to create some moisture in the air.

5) Breeding season. During breeding season, you will have to deal with a gravid female laying unfertile eggs. This can make her either aggressive, or sweet, or completely unpredictable. Your suddenly sweet male will become totally aggressive and unhandlable. And you get to deal with this until breeding season is over (a few months later).

And those are just the basics.

If you want a simple, easy, fun lizard, then check out leopard geckos and bearded dragons. They are not nearly as demanding and they are alot tamer and friendlier.

Don't get me wrong, they're great pets, but only if you can provide for them. Once you tame them (took me a year to tame mine), they can be quite affectionate and fun to have around.