Lol, Coomassie, you and I are on opposite sides of the leo spectrum. The vast majority of leos I've met are grumps, willing to bite, who dislike being held and really dislike coming out during the day. I've never understood why they're so popular as pets. I consider them fragile little freckle-beasts (I do love the freckles). That's why I went for the fatties instead - they may not have the colours, but there's no grump, just pure sweetness. I'm not saying leos aren't great, obviously lots of people like them, I just find it amusing how differently you and I see them.
Back on-topic. Now obviously I'm extremely biased, but I'd choose BTS anyday. My skinks are my buddies. They know me, they're individuals, and we hang out together. Most reptiles 'tolerate' handling; my blueys beg to come out and play. Most reptiles stress at changes; my blueys love new things to explore. And most reptiles require specific care and careful handling; my blueys tolerate so much and I can just hand them off to random children at expos. They're definitely the species for me
Now given that the OP keeps torts and lots of other animals, I think she could ace the care requirements for any species. Personality has been covered. So I'll mention breeding.
Beardies are obviously easy to breed, because it seems like just about every other person has done it. Thing is, there's not really a market left for babies, so most people have either stopped breeding, are freezing any eggs they get, or are breeding for specific traits to hold some value. Honestly, I see absolutely no point to breeding normal beardies - the babies are ravenous eating machines, they'll be hard to find homes for in an already saturated market, and it seems like a huge money pit. If you wanted to try breeding beardies, I'd suggest starting with a genetically awesome pair/group so your babies are at least worth something more than normal. There is the potential for beardies as a food source for other animals, but most people probably can't stomach that.
Blueys are a bit of a pain to breed (hard to sex) but there's still a market for them here in Canada. Right now all we have up here is Northern breeders. I've got some other species, and Katrina's working with Meraukes, but there's only 3-4 known people producing babies a year. Downside is, the species isn't known about, so there's also not extreme demand for the babies. I still have a dozen babies here looking for great homes. But as more people get them, the market expands, so it's an exciting group to be part of
Uros, while again I don't know much about them, don't seem to be being produced here in Canada. I've only ever seen imports. I'd think there could definitely be a market for some CBB Uros up here, but again there isn't tons of demand. So it's kind of a make-your-own-market situation, same with blueys. I plan to get into some Uros because I think they're adorable and awesome and very unique. They could definitely be a great breeding project for a capable person. You would need to make sure to sell to qualified owners though, since Uros need some extra TLC.
Off again. Note that this has all been my opinion, from my viewpoint into the Canadian herp hobby.
posting on a skink forum that I am looking into skinks and other things too but I want to make sure I make the best decision for our family.
