I personally wouldn't suggest the rough green snake to a beginner in keeping reptiles, though they are small and supposedly can be kept in a reasonably small enclosures (though I think keeping a few in a larger enclosure is the way to look after them), they have got specialist needs, firstly they are mainly aboreal and need that sort of set up, they also like to swim and need an area on the floor to do so, that needs cleaning every day as they tend to go to the loo in it. They need high ventilation, but kept relatively humid, I really think that people need to be an intermediate keeper to attempt these beautiful, but highly strung animals properly. I've been keeping exotics for years, and I would only have thought myself experienced enough to keep these in the last couple - this is just my own personal thoughts, I also am a great believer in leopard geckos being great starter reptiles, they are easy to look after, docile (usually), and beautiful. The dwarf sand geckos are this too, but a bit harder to come by, though if you are interested I can pm you a few good reptile classified sites, so you can see what is out there.