Son wants blue tongued skink

My 11 year old son wants a blue tongued skink (not sure if that is spelled right). I also have a 4 year old and two dogs in the house. I'm not sure I want this in my house. I've heard that lizards carry disease and such. I wanted to see if this is true? Also to find out from owners what other issues we could encounter should a lizard be added to our home.

Yes, all lizards carry germs and even internal parasites. Now the parasite load and germs that this animal carry will vary depending on where and what it was kept with before purchase. The blue tongue skink that you may buy could have been kept in a cage where it was exposed to the infected feces of other animals or may have been neglected by the employees at the pet store and left to wander in it鈥榮 own waste for weeks. However the good news is that Blue tongued skinks usually don鈥檛 carry diseases and heavier loads of internal parasites as opposed to many other species of reptile on the market. The blue tongue is a pretty safe yet expensive investment (the starting price for a common blue tongue is about $200) and can tolerate handling. My only concern is that your son鈥檚 interest in this lizard may only be short-term and you鈥檒l be stuck taking care of an unwanted reptile for years and years to come. Blue tongues are quiet an investment since

I. They grow to a tremendous sizes; 18-25in and will require at least a cage that is 4 feet in length and 2 feet in width.

II. It鈥檒l require special UVB/UVA lighting, live food and a more complex diet then what most pet owners are use to dealing with