Help me in making a decision PLEASE!!

[Bigbossfan]

I posted in another forum here that I was considering getting my son a Beardie for his BD. He will be 8 years old. Now I have done some considerable reading and the more I read, the more confused I get as to what decision to make.

I am prepared to "assist" my young fella in taking care of his lizard, however, I want it to be his pet, and he be responsible for it's daily care (of course under my watchful eye).

So, that now leads me to my latest problem. Are Beardies a good lizard for an 8 year old?? If not, what other type would you recommend. I've also been told Leopard Geckos are very low maintenance.

Essentially what I want from the lizard is 2 things...

1. A lizard that is "typically" open to being handled and does not bite.

2. Not a fast mover. My wife is concerned that if we buy a lizard and let him out of the cage, he could dart off somewhere and won't be able to find him. I don't want to buy a lizard for my son that all he can do is look at him in it's cage. (Make sense??)

Finally, I have heard that Leopard Gecko's are a good starter. Is this in fact true. I would assume because of it's size, the set-up of the cage does not need to be as large for a beardie, and less elaborate (i.e., heating lamps etc).

I plan on going to the Expo on the 27th....and would like to have a good idea of what the heck I'm going to do before then. Can I expect to be able to pick up a cage as well at the Expo??

Any help is appreciated.

BBF