I definately don't recommend Iguanas as good "pet" reptiles. They need A LOT of handling and even then they can still get nasty. I lucked out with my female in that she's the sweetest thing ever, but she still does major damage with her claws (not on purpose). We've had her for almost 5 years now and she's about 48" in length, which is on the small side...but then again, she is a she and not a he. I think the main reason why she's stayed so sociable is because her condo is in one of the highest traffic areas of our house and she can see us when we're on the computer, which is a lot. She also gets petted all the time when we walk by. She's constantly hanging on the bars of her cage begging for food. As far as cage size, they do need lots of room. Her condo is a modified wire cat cage with multiple levels all connected with wire ramps. Even that would be too small if she was a male.
I think Beardies are the best "pet" reptiles out there, especially for kids. They really do act like dogs sometimes. Here's a
link to my caresheet. If you're interested, I have a very nice 4 month old male available that will turn out gorgeous as an adult. If not, the only thing I ask is not to buy one from a pet store. 99.9% of them are overpriced and half dead, if not worse, because they aren't properly cared for.