I would not get any species of monitor and expect it to tolerate being held a lot. I mean it might, but I would not go in assuming that. Really this goes for any reptile, but especially monitors. If you can come to terms with just enjoying the monitor, its like a nice bonus if it doesn't mind your presence.

For instance I got a baby nile off a kid on craigslist a few years back because it was to "mean". He is still not what people would call "tame", and I wouldn't dare reach in and try to pick him up. He does allow me to do cage maintenance and feed him without worrying about me to much anymore, and it took a long long time to get that far. That's awesome though because I went into it knowing he might always stay crazy, so its more than I expected.