Unpopular opinion, I think leopard geckos kinda suck. Sorry @mblaney and @erie-herps . I’m not saying they’re bad pets, just I personally would never own one. I would much rather keep some other gecko, like cave geckos, fat tailed geckos or even knob tailed geckos. I feel somewhat similar about corn snakes, but I would probably still own a corn snake. I’d rather own another colubrid though. Ball pythons and bearded dragons however are solid. I already own a ball python and I’d love a bearded dragon. Who else has some unpopular opinions about popular reptiles?
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I am with you on leopard geckos being over-hyped. Same with cresties tbh. BPs are alright, but they definitely aren’t the “greatest snake for beginners” everyone says they are. They are also rather boring compared to other snakes. Even my rosy boa is more active than my BP lol. Corn snakes are probably one of the best beginner reptiles, but so are a few other North American native snakes. They are at least more active and interesting to watch than BPs.
Bearded dragons are…extremely overrated and are a lot harder to care for than some seem to believe. People that keep them “free-roaming” are just lazy/cheap and aren’t keeping them the way they should be (or is even safe for them or the owners). A 75 gallon tank in the lowest I think should be allowed for an adult beardie, but the amount of people I see keeping them in as small as 10 gallons makes me lose faith in the reptile hobby little by little. Not to mention they never give them a hot enough basking spot. Beardies are also one of the more smelly reptiles, given how much they poop. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of bugs they need…
My heavy dislike of bugs makes beardies one of the worst reptiles for me.
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Lol, I have a leopard gecko that sort of got dumped on me but I would never go out and get one on purpose 
She’s cool to watch but just not a favorite of mine; I don’t like that they seem so delicate, especially since I’ve had a beardie for 7 years and he’s just so hardy and rough. BPs well, even though I have over a dozen they do get pretty boring honestly. My sand boa and red tail practically don’t seem to exist considering all they do is stay buried or hidden, same with my corn. I think so many reptiles are way over-hyped like bps and leopard geckos, and then some are waaay under-hyped.
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For me ball pythons are prob the most common pet reptile I have 0 interest in…their ok from a “appreciation of nature” but I would never ever be interested in one as a pet/companion. Ball pythons just don’t appeal to me at all. Most pythons/boas and geckos hold 0 pet interest for me. Only geckos I know of off the top of my head I would even consider owning would be the geico day geck and the L. williamsi or whatever that electric blue geck is known as scientifically. If I ever get a boa it’d prob be a rainbow boa.
For me when I manage to start owning herps it’s likely gonna be colubrids in terms of non hot snakes. For non geck lizards there isn’t much I’d avoid off the top of my head. For amphibs I’ll prob just wanna have dart frogs of various species.
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I’m not a big fan of ball pythons. I do think they have cute puppy faces, but I think they look way too chunky as adults and I find almost all of their morphs super boring and similar. I do like some of the more colorful or crazy patterned ones. I also agree that they are not a great first snake, with their picky feeding and more precise care requirements. Also, maybe because they’re so popular, I feel like there’s always a bit more drama within the ball python community? Not so much here on this forum, but other places.
I’m also not a big fan of beardies. They seem to have fun personalities, but I don’t love the way they look and I’m personally not interested in feeding bugs (other than as an occasional treat, like for my crestie).
Love corn snakes though! I think they are the absolute best snake for a first time owner, only possibly rivaled by black milks.
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Most popular reptiles I have zero interest in, and have kept many of them over the years. I think, if a keeper is drawn to a popular/commonly kept reptile, and can better their captive life, that’s really all that should matter. It almost always ends up being the gateway to them seeking out other common or less commonly kept reptiles.
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The corn snake was gonna be my chosen 1st herp. I was even thinking about a morph or two (or a few) I wanted to get. They are still one of the critters I wanna start with (maybe my 2nd or 3rd herp). The Uromastyx beat them out though for 1st herp mainly because of their herbivorous diet vs the Corns mousey diet. With how my life is right now I feel its easier to feed something leafy greens and stuff rather than rodents which I wouldnt have a good place to store at the moment. (Doubt the fam would like seeing frozen mouseys in the freezer with our food).
Also dunno where to get rodents around here yet. But I do wanna keep Corns!!
I like beardies but just dont have interest in having one. I’d rather have other Agamids.
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Uromastyx are very underrated! I definitely want to own them in the future. I love them!
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Bearded dragons for us. We had a beautiful pair but it was a lot to take care of. The amount of bugs the first year was insane not to mention their growth rate. Once they get to the greens and vegetables it was a little better but fresh stuff cut up 3x daily can be tiresome. The smell was the nail in the coffin. I’d come home from work and immediately smell them. My wife was amazing and cleaning it up right away but you just can’t escape that smell. Ball pythons are ok, it was the first snake I fell in love with in the 3rd grade and we’re lucky to have a super active ball python. Once I saw my first boa though, game over. Boas all day for us!
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Ball pythons I love but like many of the bog standard reptiles like corn snakes and California kings and leopard geckos their over bred.
They’ve satured the market.
To the point some of the less common species being forgotten about like milk snakes and bull snakes.
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I personally like leopard geckos but I understand how some people might not like them. For me some animals I’m not really interested in are ball pythons and corn snakes.
Ball pythons I love their morphs but their feeding habits and hiding personality I don’t like. Corn snakes I think most of their morphs are boring but there are some that I’ve taken an interest in.
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What you said ice cream came to mind lol.
You can like some flavors but hate others.
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Yes sir! They are wonderful!
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Unpopular opinion:
Bearded dragons are actually a lot more difficult to take care of properly than people let on, and should not be promoted as a beginner reptile. They are also expensive, and one of the most neglected species in captivity which I guess goes hand in hand with them being one of the most popular.
People want inexpensive. This leads to corners being cut which leads to health issues. These guys are damn near bullet proof, but prolonged inadvertent neglect takes its toll.
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IMO, just to add to the chorus here: Uromastyx… so underrated! Beardies… a lot of work to do it right but worth it because they have so much personality, BP… so incredibly boring from the standpoint of behavior but fascinating from the perspective of a genetic tool kit that leaves corns (my absolute favorite) in the dust. I just wonder about all the thousands of BP that are produced by folks, in part because they are enthralled by genetics like I am, …where do all of those snakes end up? IDK, just curious.
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Crested geckos are popular, too much now, but I still love them. I’m hoping people stop overbreeding though as there is now a a lot out there, no lineage, not good colourations, structure, markings etc, the inverted heads.
Which is annoying for us and many others who strive for amazing lineages, structures and markings/colourings. We put in a lot of time and money to get out the best, and a lot just pair them and don’t care, sell the too young too and unsexed to make quick money. Very irritating
Balls are popular. I think they’re Amazing.
Leo’s I love all the morphs, some amazing ones I learnt this year. Blood tremper my gosh!
Corns again, palmetto I adore.
I don’t think there’s a ‘popular’ reptile I don’t like though. I love all living things so
Personally I also don’t think Beardies are hard to keep. Maybe because I have had them and a friend breeds them, but that’s just me! But they’re awesome lizards. I know of people also who got them as a ‘first’ pet and they’re kept like kings/queens and spoilt. It’s the fact when buying from a pet shop you get told the wrong care. Which is again why I will only buy from a breeder myself for any reptiles.
Even in the college I went to they kept their male beardie wrong! He was always dark (they said he wasn’t a nice beardie-well I got him out and showed them haha), he had nothing in his viv, not even a light or heat. I told them what he needed to have, they said I shouldn’t correct them I’m there to learn. I said I’m there to learn the correct way to keep animals which they aren’t doing. Next day he had everything I said and he was a beautiful happy boy. I said thanks for listening and the woman actually walked away 
Still makes me laugh to this day
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I would like to add my own personal opinion on this. I strongly agree with everything said, and I’m also gonna say something else controversial.
Ball pythons, in my opinion from keeping a list of different pythons, are dumb and lacking in the brain department. They are essentially a air-headed stunted Blood python that ages very poorly. Even the leucistics get an ugly sandy grey hue after several years. Not worth it at all.
If anyone wants an intermediate snake, a blood python is the far superior version in my opinion. They start out brown and drab, and get better and better with age, Turning way more vibrant.
Ball pythons age just as badly as Carpets. Browning out is one thing I look for when finding species I don’t want to keep. I like species that hold its color or improves with age.
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Out of the popular species(popular, not beginner exclusively), i love bearded dragons, garter snakes, western hognose, red tail boas(all localities and sub species), and Burmese pythons.
Burmese pythons need way more love and appreciation. But shouldn’t be handed to some high schooler that has only had a corn snake.
Now for beginners exclusively that I don’t like.
I despise corn snakes with how popular they are. At this point they’re just annoying to me because I see them too much. BUT there is a reason why they are popular. They are one of the best beginners aside from native colubrids in general. Hands down, I support anyone to start with a corn or basic easy rat snake. I started with one at the age of 9 myself.
I also don’t like leopard geckos. Chinese cave geckos are leopards but better in every way and I’d take a cave gecko any day.
Another beginner that I don’t personally like, is ball pythons. They aren’t beginners. Especially if all you ever had was colubrids before making the step up. Kenyan sand boas or dwarf boas are far better alternatives. And for an intermediate step up, and you want that sausage look, go for a blood.
Out of every animal on the planet, the one species I detest the most is ball pythons. Way overhyped for no reason.
The hatchlings are gorgeous though, but too bad it washes out as adults.
Chinese water dragons are also a “throw away” pet that deserves an experienced owner. Pretty and I adore them. But too much work for a beginner looking for their first lizard at a pet store.
My absolute favorite beginner that deserves the hype though, has to be Kenyan sand boas. They are under appreciated in my opinion. Dryer species are easier on beginners than humidity-loving species.
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I wish uros were worked with on a larger scale. They are rad pets and a relatively easy keep.
Chahoua geckos are hands down better pets than crested geckos in my opinion. I hope one day the pricing comes back down to earth and it opens more doors for more keepers to work with them. A 6 week old baby chahoua should not be a 2000 dollar ticket animal just because it has some white on it.
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I totally agree with that. I love my crestie, but I probably would’ve gotten a chahoua first if they weren’t so expensive.
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