I don't have any personal experience, but one of my friends has a 5 foot nile monitor that he has had since a baby. He said they only thing that proved to calm him down was A LOT of hands on time, and trust building, he would sit and do his Home Work in the bath tub (empty of course) and let the baby run around in there with him, any time he was watching TV he had him on the couch or on the floor with him. He says that it required more attention then a dog in order to get him as calm as he is now.