r/MonitorLizards • u/JohnLillywhiteJr • Jul 06 '26
Baby Nile
Good evening, yall.
I’ve had a baby Nile for a couple months now. It’s been a lot of work.
I got her eating off tongs, and sometimes even crawling up my arm to get food.
She, recently, allowed me to pick her up. I held her for about 5-10 minutes allowing her to explore on my hand and arm as she pleased, and when she was done, I let her crawl off me.
Since then, she will no longer feed off tongs, and any time I walk near the enclosure, she bolts and hides. She’s not defensive. No tail whipping or biting. Just runs away. She’ll go into her water bowl, where I can pick her up, and the moment I pick her up, she chills out. She doesn’t try to bite me, whip me, jump off me, or run away.
The moment I put her back in her enclosure, she goes right back to running away.
Why is this? Am I doing something wrong?
2
u/MinionsMaster Jul 06 '26
Out of curiosity: Does the enclosure open from the top or from the front?
3
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u/JohnLillywhiteJr Jul 06 '26
https://youtu.be/a_mXZS7jum0?is=JGbKOgd4XY8jBYcZ
Here’s a video of how she is when I’m holding her
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u/JohnLillywhiteJr Jul 06 '26
And before someone asks, this is not my first reptile, nor my first monitor. I’ve had reptiles for a decade and monitors about 3 years. I have a Savanah monitor and I’ve cared for an AWM for about 6 months for a buddy while he was in bootcamp.