Nim the Bredli

[Gobuchul]

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.

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.

[Homebody]

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.

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.

[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.




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.

[Homebody]

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.

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.