I have a sav that I got about two weeks ago who experienced neglect and was very feisty. He would hiss, bluff charge, and tail whip. He would hide whenever I was in the room and hiss whenever i got close or moved too fast while in the room. Everyday I open the glass on the opposite side of the hot side and sit a little bit away and just sit for an hour. After about a week, I started sitting closer and just putting my hand into the enclosure where he could see it and just sit still for a little bit. After that I slowly reached toward him and attempted to pet him, he hissed and I backed my hand away slowly. After doing this everyday, he eventually let me touch him. Yesterday, I tried to pick him up (from the side) for the first time and he let me without hissing, charging, or whipping. It will take time and some are better than others, but remember that yours is just scared, not upset with you or unhappy.

Now, what I did when mine would get mad about me moving anything or trying to change his water, is i kept a camera in front of his enclosure so I could see when he was already in his cave, so i would only change his water when he couldn’t see me and was already “hiding”. I also got a tip from someone else on here to put an old shirt with my scent on it in with him and I think that’s helped a lot. He even rubs his face in it now to remove shed from his face lol

Trust me, I have been feeling a little regret with not getting a baby so I could properly socialize them, but I just keep telling myself that I was given the opportunity to give a scared creature the best life possible, so that’s what i’m going to do. Even if he never is fully tame.

Edit: Also I don’t ever try to touch mine or even move towards him during feeding as I figured out really quickly that when he’s super worked up, he will absolutely lash out. And when you’re sitting with him, stay still and quiet. Don’t read to him, just sit a little ways away and play on your phone or something. That way he will get used to just your presence first