Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So i bought a nile monitor yesterday, it is the cutest thing it likes to be held and does not try and get away or scratch the heck out of me, so i read that they are aggressive and hard to tame so i'm wondering if he is nice just because it's a baby?? last night i had it in my hands right before i went to bed and it fell asleep on me it was so cute also i fed it a few mins ago and it ate 7 large crickets i also bought it meal worms but it didn't show any interest in them. any comments, feeding tips or ways of making my niles life better are welcomed.
~JULIAN

I remember my baby nile that I had back in 1990. It was so vivid in color, and was the first nile that I ever had that didn't try to bite when held.

Until one day, out of the blue, it bit the h*** out of my hand when I would have least expected it. Funny how much pain a small baby like that can cause...

Please keep in mind that niles are a species that usually always bite, even if not at first.

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Without getting a look at your animal, I'm leary of a baby nile that doesn't bite or try to escape. It's what they do, just a natural defense. I've handled many, many niles and I can count on one hand the number of healthy ones that were calm, even for a short time. They tame down later, but as youngsters they are reliably nippy. I suspect that your animal is perhaps a bit dehydrated, or even worse. Check that there is no nasal discharge or gapping, or "sneezing" as this could mean a respiratory infection.
You should also get it dewormed. I'm not saying it's not possible at all that yours is just a rare calm indivudual. As I said, I haven't seen the animal so I'm just erring in it's favor. If I was a betting person, I'd say all is not well.

Good luck

Jim