Nim the Bredli

I gave Nim the medical rat last Thursday. He tried to take the rat sideways for the first time, and eventually swallowed it backwards. I think he's ready to size up to weaned rats, but I used a pup for this because I wanted to make sure he'd eat it. I fed him a second, un-nexgarded pup rat which he ate normally. I wonder whether taking it sideways then backwards was somehow caused by the taste or smell of nexgard around the rat's mouth, or if it was just bad luck. He started nearer the front and took a long time to work his way around to try the back.

I saw no live mites while cleaning the enclosure today. I normally would see 0-3 mites on Nim himself, and while soaking him today I have so far seen none. Hopefully the number of dead mites will now begin to decline as well. Nim seems to be behaving normally today, so at least for now the nexgard doesn't seem to be causing him acute harm.

I am still treating the enclosure with PAM and have ordered two more cans because the first is close to running low.

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

Nim's actual weight is 291 grams, which is way more believable than 127 grams (.28 lbs.) I should have noticed at the vet, but didn't do the unit conversion. I'm going to adjust accordingly and give him just under 2.3x the prescribed dose.

I should've also asked whether they mixed it at 2.5mg/kg or 2mg/kg.

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Fortunately it has a very high threshold where overdosing becomes toxic. Also once the snake receives a dose it shouldn't need another for four weeks.

https://www.faunaclassifieds.com/for...-mites.824330/

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

I saw no live mites while cleaning the enclosure today. I normally would see 0-3 mites on Nim himself, and while soaking him today I have so far seen none. Hopefully the number of dead mites will now begin to decline as well.

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Sounds like the PAM was working, and just needed time to break the life cycle. Hope the one-two punch absolutely seals the deal. :)

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

Sounds like the PAM was working, and just needed time to break the life cycle. Hope the one-two punch absolutely seals the deal. :)

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I don't think the PAM alone would have worked, the mite population was very consistent for quite some time. This is the first time I've not seen any live mites while cleaning the enclosure, and it occurred a few days after using the nexgard. PAM definitely did kill mites and help keep the population low, but that population was very steady so I don't think I was going to see improvement from just the PAM.

This isn't a study of course, and it's possible that I would have eventually used the PAM more effectively. Assuming things go well from here, if I ever have to deal with mites again I will view nexgard as the primary treatment while PAM helps kill off the periphery and reduces transmission risk. I'd really hate to see the nexgard fail though, so I won't be slacking on the PAM.

I would love an update, particularly, regarding the effectiveness of the afoxolaner (NexGard) treatment.

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Originally Posted by Homebody

I would love an update, particularly, regarding the effectiveness of the afoxolaner (NexGard) treatment.

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Still no signs of mites, alive or dead. It seems to have killed them all on day 1, with no resurgence whatsoever. I moved Nim to his new pvc enclosure this week because it had been a month since mite sighting, and I was starting to have trouble keeping temps in the plastic tub. I'll keep an eye out of course, but I think the mites are done. Nim does not seem to have been acutely harmed by the treatment.

This week Nim figured out how to reach the latch on his enclosure directly from the ground. Now he's able to sit up there just by holding it with his tail and bracing against the light. I am impressed by this feat.

He uses his rope perch too, but I should give him some more climbs.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...m/IMG_3330.JPG

I'm having trouble getting Nim out of his enclosure. When touched, he bites if cornered and runs away otherwise. I've been picking him up during the run away phase, but he's long enough now that I have a hard time disentangling him from whatever he grabs on the way out. While I do that, he usually gets his head back in the enclosure and the process begins anew.

I've been handling him minimally since the mite ordeal, and I think I should increase the handling frequency to hopefully desensitize him a bit. To pick him up effectively, I am considering either putting gloves on and taking a bite or two to get him before he starts to run, or strictly picking him up from beneath the hide without moving it off him first. I figure chasing him around for 20 minutes every time probably worsens the problem. Is biting the glove something I should avoid having him do? Is letting him run into a hide, then picking him up from beneath it preferable?

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

I'm having trouble getting Nim out of his enclosure. When touched, he bites if cornered and runs away otherwise. I've been picking him up during the run away phase, but he's long enough now that I have a hard time disentangling him from whatever he grabs on the way out. While I do that, he usually gets his head back in the enclosure and the process begins anew.

I've been handling him minimally since the mite ordeal, and I think I should increase the handling frequency to hopefully desensitize him a bit. To pick him up effectively, I am considering either putting gloves on and taking a bite or two to get him before he starts to run, or strictly picking him up from beneath the hide without moving it off him first. I figure chasing him around for 20 minutes every time probably worsens the problem. Is biting the glove something I should avoid having him do? Is letting him run into a hide, then picking him up from beneath it preferable?

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I have some gloves that are bite safe for both snake and human. The biter in my group of 4 is the Coastal. She rarely bites the gloves and is able to tell they are not human. The second I remove one and touch her, she knows and it's open season for a bite.

I use them for the Bredli occasionally but he is more tolerant of handling.

I don't think the Coastal is going to change her ways much.

These are the gloves I bought.
This equipment was purchased for a retic I had here that was extremely aggressive.
https://i.imgur.com/on97OUy.jpg

I was hoping after I placed him, I wouldn't need to wear gloves again. The "loving" Coastal has given the glove investment more milage.


I'd say with gloves and a nice hook (not this hook) you'll be fine.

When they tangle up in the cage, I just skip the handling until there is a better opportunity.

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

I'm having trouble getting Nim out of his enclosure. When touched, he bites if cornered and runs away otherwise. I've been picking him up during the run away phase, but he's long enough now that I have a hard time disentangling him from whatever he grabs on the way out. While I do that, he usually gets his head back in the enclosure and the process begins anew.

I've been handling him minimally since the mite ordeal, and I think I should increase the handling frequency to hopefully desensitize him a bit. To pick him up effectively, I am considering either putting gloves on and taking a bite or two to get him before he starts to run, or strictly picking him up from beneath the hide without moving it off him first. I figure chasing him around for 20 minutes every time probably worsens the problem. Is biting the glove something I should avoid having him do? Is letting him run into a hide, then picking him up from beneath it preferable?

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Your bredli thinks you are a predator. So, stop acting like one. When you pick him up, scoop him up from the bottom. Predators don't do that. You'll probably have to use a hook at first. Just gently wedge it under him and lift him out. Gloves are a good idea as well. They will not only protect your hands but they'll also mask your heat signature and scent, making you appear less predatory.

I would actually suggest that you don't pull him out of his enclosure at all, and I definitely wouldn't take him out of his hide. Rather, I would open the enclosure and allow your bredli to leave it of his own accord. As curious and courageous as bredlis are noted to be, I don't imagine that you will have to wait long. I think you'll find picking him up when he's out exploring much easier. He'll be less defensive and he'll have fewer things to grab onto. If he does choose not to come out, he has his reasons. Respect that and try again later.

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Originally Posted by Homebody

Your bredli thinks you are a predator. So, stop acting like one. When you pick him up, scoop him up from the bottom. Predators don't do that. You'll probably have to use a hook at first. Just gently wedge it under him and lift him out. Gloves are a good idea as well. They will not only protect your hands but they'll also mask your heat signature and scent, making you appear less predatory.

I would actually suggest that you don't pull him out of his enclosure at all, and I definitely wouldn't take him out of his hide. Rather, I would open the enclosure and allow your bredli to leave it of his own accord. As curious and courageous as bredlis are noted to be, I don't imagine that you will have to wait long. I think you'll find picking him up when he's out exploring much easier. He'll be less defensive and he'll have fewer things to grab onto. If he does choose not to come out, he has his reasons. Respect that and try again later.

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Unfortunately the room isn't set up well for free roaming. He'll quickly find his way to a bunch of cables and it's hell getting him out of there. I might be able to set up a good climbing space just outside the enclosure, but can't really let him roam otherwise.

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

Unfortunately the room isn't set up well for free roaming. He'll quickly find his way to a bunch of cables and it's hell getting him out of there. I might be able to set up a good climbing space just outside the enclosure, but can't really let him roam otherwise.

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A climbing space outside the enclosure will work. You don't need to let him roam all over the place. You just need to give him a space that he can exit his enclosure onto. I use this coat rack.

Nim has been coming out of his enclosure whenever I'm up late enough to let him. He sits on the edge and checks me out, but doesn't usually climb out onto other things.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...m/IMG_3451.JPG
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...m/IMG_3468.JPGhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach.../IMG_E3467.JPGhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...m/IMG_3466.JPG


He's about 6ft long now, so it's time for an enclosure extension. I could add another 4' to the length, but I'll get more space efficiency in my room if I instead add a vertical 2x2x4 to make an L shape of this enclosure. Then the external space taken including the bp's enclosure is just a 6x2x4, and Nim gets a more vertical area to climb while also getting a length extension to 6'. The pieces for this could also be reconfigured into a horizontal L shape that provides all 8' of floor space.

Nim's enclosure has a half screen on top (useful now in humid Iowa summer,) but this means the bp enclosure can't easily stack on top of his 4x2x2 section. The easiest way to handle this is to keep Nim on top and make the vertical part of the L descend down from his main floor. However, my intuition is that he'd prefer climbing up a chimney rather than down a pit. To make this happen, I'd have to put his enclosure on the bottom either by ordering a non-screen top, covering the screen top and using it for the bp, or messing up the alignment of everything by building a spacer between the vertical-stacked enclosures.

After writing it out, I think the best approach is to make it a pit to start. I'll fill it with rope to climb (maybe including a larger vertical one, I've wanted to see him climb vertically), add some shelves, and put a hide at the bottom. If he never uses it, I can reconfigure into either a chimney or a horizontal extension. Cleaning the pit will probably be a little less convenient than a chimney or a horizontal extension, but shouldn't be terrible since I can put a door at the bottom.

I'm open to suggestions regarding the heat/light gradient between the flat part and the pit. I'm planning to just put the heat panel on the same side of the 4x2x2 as the pit, and leave it otherwise unheated and dark. Room temp is 78 now because my former roommate hooked me on using minimal AC, but probably drops to 69-72 after my move.

I move in two months and it'll take 6-8 weeks to get the extensions anyways, so Nim will have to suffer the 4x2x2 for a little while longer. Cause for me to stay up late, let him out, and write things like this I guess.

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

Nim has been coming out of his enclosure whenever I'm up late enough to let him. He sits on the edge and checks me out, but doesn't usually climb out onto other things.

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He will. It may help if you place the other thing that you want him to climb out onto in front of the enclosure whenever you have the enclosure open. That will allow him to familiarize himself with it at his own pace.