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I have had exotic pets since I was about 4 or 5, and am now in college. I got my first pet turtle, Speedy when I was 5, I still have her, she is going on 13 now and still kicking (mind you, in a kiddy pool under my bed with a heat lamp plugged in). As well, my leopard gecko, Savannah who will be 6 this month, I will probably have her for another 10 years, as well as my new addition, a tarantula named Zihannah. All of these animals fit effortlessly into my life and I have learned through literature as well as trial and error how to keep them. So I can say that if you can appreciate the longevity of some animals, as well as the size, reptiles make EXCELLENT apartment pets. I spend on average about $15- 20 a month on food for these little beasties and have never had to take any of them to the vet, turtles are very long lived, expect at least 2 decades out of them, leopard geckos too.

In note, the author mentioned snakes and iguanas, iguanas grow to 6 feet long and can live at least 10 years, unless your room mates can put up with a huge cage in the corner iguanas and moniter lizards are one of the few reptilian pet exceptions. Snakes are all carnivorous and so you need to feed them live or dead rodents, no carrots or snow peas, mice and rats. Be prepared...