I've been blessed with animal love all my life; always had dogs and cats in the house, fish, and my brother and sister both had rats when I was young. My Auntie (who lived on a farm) had an aviary at home where, during my regular summer stays, I'd learn to clean the cages and learned tons and tons about the different species. She even gave me one of my own. Auntie always stressed how important it was to learn as much as you can to give animals the best.
(She passed away a few weeks ago, and chatting with someone at her wake it was mentioned that I talk of and research my dragons just like she did her birds ^.^*)
When I was about twelve, I was part of a program called "CinemaZoo Nature Club". The same fellow who runs Urban Safari Animal Rescue had us over once a week to clean cages and learn about all kinds of exotic pets. I was in charge of cleaning the rodent cages, but I loved holding and petting the tarantulas and lizards, too. Gary (the owner) had a HUGE iguana that was almost always with him, and I was utterly fascinated by him, too!!
I became really interested in reptiles when I frequented pet stores for supplies and occupants for my four wonderful fishtanks about 6 years ago.
Like another poster, I had really wanted a Uro!! Expense and space prevented me from getting one, though.
A few years later, a friend of mine who bred dragons hired me to babysit while he went on vacation, and continued to have me over to help him do tank cleans (not as big of a job with an extra pair of hands).
When he had to downsize, he offered me one of his breeding pairs, but again, I couldn't accept.
Fast forward to about a month before I turned 25, my ex (we'd stayed friends) asked me what I wanted for my birthday. He knew I'd been really depressed, and suggested a pet. Landlords were very allergic to dander, so no cats, dogs, or rodents. It broke my heart when my budgie Buddy died, and I didn't think my landlords would appreciate a noisy bird, either. And I wanted to have something a little more interactive than fish.
Looked around Craigslist to see if I could find a Uro, and Striker came up.
I fell in love instantly.
My signature links to Striker and Eri's thread
Thanks for such a great question; I love reading everyone's stories!!