Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got a baby Nile monitor...

And YES, i'm very aware of their temperment and tendencies-- But I have great respect for these guys, and enjoy watching them, but I would like to have something I can handle.

The Nile is pretty calm right now, I can take "it" out, although a little squirmy, "it" calms down within' a couple minutes. Right now, the tail whipping is cute because it can't do much, but I know when this guy gets bigger, i'm not going to be too fond of it... :-/

I've only gotten bitten once, and that was a surprise... I wasn't paying attention when I had him cupped in my hands, may not seem like a big mistake now, but I wouldn't want to slip up later on.

Just wanted to get some feedback from experienced nile monitor owners, and see what your ontake was as far as taming down a nile monitor, and if you had any suggestions, stories, or comments to share with me.

Once again, thank you for your time!!!

What I mean by I would "like" something I can handle-- I mean, it would be nice to have that... If I wanted something I knew wouldn't be too much of problem to handle I would have picked out a different species of monitor.

Handle the animal frequently. Have a routine, so that your monitor knows what to expect. There are absolutely no guarantees. There is no formula for turning niles into lap lizards, nor should they ever be considered as such. Never, ever, lose the respect and caution you should have when handling your juvenile niloticus. You are the owner of what will become a VERY large animal. The best you should hope for is a relationship of tolerance - not tame. You may end up with a relatively calm animal, I hope that you do - but be prepared for an animal that at best, will not try to take your arm off when you interact with it. Best of luck, hope you both end up happy with the arrangement.

One the personality of the animal may never allow it to be calm so prepare for that 1st. Now in all respect I've had niles try to rip me to bits become more predictable over time meaning I bagen to reconize certain things that set it off & I adjusted. I've also found they tend to be calmer in water. Look below for my post on behavioral changes & all the responses to get a better idea of the variables. You may want to get a less likely to be aggressive varanid like a dumerils ( but they will bite to w/ the right stimulus).)

You have to be careful using that word on this board, some people have quite a problem witn it. The header is just a joke of course, as I understand the aversion to that term, it can be misleading - anyway....
That being said, a nile, regardless of your definition of the word "tame" is a tough customer! Personaly, I've had no problem getting them to calm down. The thing is, it takes patience and much perseverance! No small amount of pain too.
I do what psychologists call "flooding a behavior" I start with a hatchling first of all, this is important! I let it acclimate for a few weeks before messing with it too much. I take it out, and let it bite me. I then get it to release the bite, (usually by setting it on the ground) then let it bite me again. I do this until I can no longer elicite that response from the animal in that session. Usually after 7 or 8 bites. I put the animal away, and the next day I will do the same thing. When I feel the animal is becoming a bit less stressed at being handled, I will do this twice a day or so. You have to be carefull, stressing your animal too much is counterproductive, not to mention cruel! Some will say "just let it be a monitor" and there is validity to this. However, the reality of the situation is that most people don't want a six foot lizard around that can and will kick the $hit out them on a routine basis! Most keepers are not interested in display only animals. If you are breeder, you probably don't care as much either. So, either you decide to accept this, and let the nile be who he is naturaly, or you put your time in. Neither proposition is an easy undertaking.
So...after a period of time doing this "flooding", usually about 4 months or so, the animal will stop biting you. When the nile reaches about 2' or so, the onset of puberty it seems, you may have to go through the process once more. This is not the only way, but the fastest way.
The fact of the matter is that most larger niles are just as calm as most large albigs, it just takes MUCH more effort to get them there. Honestly, given the ease with which some of the other larger varanids become accustomed to our presence, I have to question whether the effort the average nile monitor takes is worth it! Then again, there are those individual niles that will ALWAYS remain very wary. So you should always go in assming that your animal will always be what it is. Mine have always calmed down.
Frankly, I got tired of them moved on to other varanids. I'm sure I will have them again one day when space allows.

Cheers
Jim

I don't expect him to become doggy tame, or anything remotely close, but I would like to work with him as much as possible to be able to "manage" him. I don't want to leave him in the cage, and just feed him, and if I ever did have to go in there and get him, and have a hell of a time getting him out--Even though that's what it might come to, I would at least like to know that I worked on trying to get him to tolerate me.

I love niles. Love them for their instinct, basic nature, and habits, watching them is like have my very own discovery channel without the TV.

So far... He's fairly easy to handle. Sometimes I can just reach right in and grab him, and he won't move. Other times He will run around. Sometimes he'll hiss, and every now and then he'll whip his tail. I have tried to let him bite me. Generally, I see it as getting a bird use to you-- Let it bite you, and know that you're not going to put it down, and that it doesn't bother you, and it will eventually give up and tolerate it. --Something along those lines... But he only bit me once, when I had him cupped inside my hands while walking down stairs...

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I'll keep you guys posted, and will get some pics up here eventually. Thanks again.

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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