Do I have to start over?

[rxryp]

Just some background - my sweet girl Porkchop is about eighteen inches, wild caught, had her for just over a month now - today, I was idly putting my hand near her, you know, to get her used to my hands near her body and such - when all of a sudden she was climbing up my arm! At first I didn't know how to react, but once she reached my shoulders I kind of startled and scooped her up with my other hand and plopped her right back on her basking spot. I'm very ashamed - I'm not scared of her at all, I don't know what came over me! I was just suddenly certain that if she went onto my back I would never be able to get her back off - and since then she's tolerated the usual: patting her back, putting my hand near her, accepting food from my hands, etc.

My question is: did I completely screw up? Before the incident, she was nudging and nosing at my hand, but now she seems a little more wary of it altogether. I'm very scared that I totally ruined all of the work I put in - and over something so stupid, too!

P.S. is it a normal behavior for tegus to take food and kinda... hide away with a bite, eat it, and then come back out for more? It's not something I'm really worried about, but should I?

 

[Walter1]

Normal to run with food. Also normal to be startled from her sudden climb. Keep doing what you're doing and talk spftly to her. Mine are in a walk-in enclosure. If I squat or sit, at least one will climb all over me then down and gone. Mine are also WC. I don't let them past my knees if standing. Falling from shouldets could be very harmful.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

I don't think you have to start over at all, she probably got a bit spooked about something suddenly picking her up. I'm sure with more handling, time and patience she'll be fine.

As for the food thing I never had my tegu do that but I had my leopard gecko run out of her hide, grab a cricket and then drag it back inside her cave to eat it on multiple occasions when I first got her as she didnt feel comfortable eating out in the open. And before that she'd even wait the whole night sometimes for a cricket to wonder into her cave just so she could eat. Luckily now she's a bit more confident... although she has yet to get used to tong feeding. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

 

[AlphaAlpha]

you may have taken a small step back but you will not have to start totally over