just a few comments, my ornate nile, i am lucky with, no he is not tame. im lucky in the way as long as i dont pick him up or grab him he doesnt mind me one bit. i can "pet" him or touch him all i want and he doesnt care. i can open the cage and let him crawl out and roam around and hes fine. BUT if i do try picking him up he goes crazy and will bite, and even as a 27" nile it still hurts. how he is now is fine for me. because all i have to do is respect what he allows me to do. when i got him i wasnt looking for a pet. i got him because hes beautiful lizard and VERY active. though if hes calms down enough where i can pick him up i wouldnt mind at all

like i said im content with how he is now. im not going to push him to letting me hold him. with some of my other defensive lizards, the best way to calm them down isnt to hold or even touch them. just do things in there cage and let them see this. and they will realize you are not coming in to hurt him. it may take awhile, but with a wild lizard that holding will only stress him out more... and just doing maintenance in the cage and showing ur not a threat has worked best for me.

hope this helps, later

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