How do you exercise your BD out of the viv?

[KarenInCA]

Hi,
I'm new to the community. We got our first BD about a month ago. He's a normal BD, about 6-7 months old, and we measured him last weekend at 12 and a half inches head to butt (without tail measurement). Currently, we take him out of his viv and relax on the floor with him. We place him in a cat bed and watch him work his way up around the lip of the bed, then he looks around a bit and tries to go over the rim and scamper away. Of course there's plenty of time to grab him up again....because he thinks of his escape while twisting his head around, for a good minute or two before enacting on the slow but impulsive escape route. We put him back on the cat bed and let him do it all again.
We're concerned he will go under the TV wires, behind the TV...or under a sofa, so we dont let him do much on his own.
I'd love to hear how you make your room beardie proof, especially in a TV room where couches and electronics will be. Do you put him into a human playpen? Also, do they tend to not be as much escape artists when they're out, as they are adults? Do they still like to investigate as much, or are they more willing to be a part of the group they are hanging with?
I've also been holding him outside, in the backyard lately, and he really likes that. We sit on a chair and bask together. He listens to and watches the birds, which I assumed might frighten him. If he is scared he doesn't show it, he just seems interested in watching them. But then, maybe that's his way of being scared.

 

[Ralis]

I think it depends on what the person is comfortable with. I have two large dogs and a cat as well as a beardie so I only really let Gorbash out and about in our bedroom making sure the door is closed and the other animals are elsewhere. When he was small I only really let him run around on the bed but now he's nearly 15" nose to tail so he pretty much has the run of the whole room, but I still constantly supervise him and he goes back in the tank if I need to leave the room. I've also heard of people setting up the mesh covered rabbit runs outside in the summer so their beardies can get some natural light as well as exercise.

 

[Brezzy99]

We put our 3 dogs up and let our 4 month old explore. He starts out on the couch then works his way down. He loves to try and climb any cords and the curtains. Anytime he has went under furniture he comes right back out. The first few times he acted crazy when let out. Now he is pretty calm and doesn't try to dart everywhere.

 

[KarenInCA]

Thanks for the responses, We have a sofa that pulls out to leg rests, and I am so afraid of him getting under the sofa.
Tonight, I sat on the sofa with him, and put blankets across the cracks so he could not climb under it. He pushed his way down my arm and skittered across the sofa. And like BDs do, he took a long time and moved his head around before he showed his impulsive behavior. At one point, he walked up to the top of the sofa and hung out for a bit, watching out the backyard window where the sofa is up against. But then he looked as if he wanted to jump to the window sill, so I pulled him back down to the sofa seat. I think it's so funny how he looks around and then uses his legs to skitter impulsively, as if I won't be able to block him. He then walked down the sofa (using the blanket that was draped on the sofa seat, and tip toed as fast as he could, to his viv and started scratching to get inside. So, there ended the adventures of Rin for today. I'm still afraid of him getting lost or stuck under the sofa, and Im hoping with time the "newness" of the adventure of wandering around will wear off. Does it ever wear off for them? Rin is about 7 months old and we've only had him for about a month now.
We sat outside again today in a chair and got about 20 mins of sun, and he seems to really enjoy that.

 

[Brezzy99]

We had him on the bed for a week or so before letting him explore. Then he started tring to fly by jumping off the bed. The bedroom is a great place to start. Or even a corner blocked off by something. We would put a towel or sheet rolled up in front of things we didn't want him going under. Today we finally took our baby out. Ember is only 4 weeks old and sat on the bed for at least 20 minutes doing the one eye head turn while trying to come up with an escape plan. It was hilarious since she is so tiny. She would run super fast a few inches then stop and look around. Not once did she try to fly yet. I think she enjoyed it. Once I put her blanket on the bed she scurried to it and I wrapped her up for bed. She went right to sleep.