Had anyone tried one of these "caged feeders"? It's been working great for me.

dd33

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I have measured through trial and error the amount of food they'll eat within an hour. I also put it out early before the sun gets too harsh. Also I'm not too worried about shell deformity since I do this type of feeding only once a week. The rest of the week I have them grazing.
It probably takes decades of pushing for the shell to be deformed. I wouldn't worry about it but it can happen.
 

wellington

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Haha. That's pretty cool once they start recognizing you. How long have you had it, and what breed is it?
You had them long enough to know better. Species not breed lol
Also they do graze every day correct? You just feed them from a bowl one day a week but the rest of that day they can graze? I mention this because tortoises should be able to eat all day long if they want, especially babies.
 

Tom

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Russian, about 4 months, he's 4-5 years old. was a rescue. Not very into people, or walking around much. Mostly just likes to sit in the corner looking into a wall...
I think something like this is more for groups of tortoises, rather than a single tortoise. When housed in groups, they tend to make a mess of the food bowl.
 

SanctuaryHills

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You had them long enough to know better. Species not breed lol
Also they do graze every day correct? You just feed them from a bowl one day a week but the rest of that day they can graze? I mention this because tortoises should be able to eat all day long if they want, especially babies.
Yup, I do the super salad mix once a week. Throw in a hint of calcium supplement every other week with it. The rest of the time they munch on grass and weeds. I would feed them more often the first six months and slowly started encouraging them to depend more on turf.

I turn on a sprinkler once a day around 2PM for an hour and that encourages them to go out foraging for whatever reason. All six of them come out of their hiding holes and start munching away. Also on really hot weeks like we've been having lately I also throw some romaine lettuce in their enclosure to help them stay hydrated.

I measure and weight each tortoise monthly to monitor their progress. On October it will make a year since I started keeping track so I'll make a post showing all the data. So far they seem to have been growing at a very healthy rate :)
 

SinLA

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I think something like this is more for groups of tortoises, rather than a single tortoise. When housed in groups, they tend to make a mess of the food bowl.
Fezzik delights in walking through his food bowl and pooping all over my organic farmer's market purchases for him, so for that alone, its worth the price...
 

Markw84

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It probably takes decades of pushing for the shell to be deformed. I wouldn't worry about it but it can happen.
Yes, and Herb is 100 years old now. So lots of time pushing against those posts to reach food as he eats. I would think with this feeder, they are not straining against the bars to reach further/ food out of reach. So I wouldn't imagine a problem with the shell.
 

MyKeyTee

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I got one a few years ago for my box turtles and it is great - no more walking through the food dish and destroying breakfast for everyone else. I feed in the shade so there is no worry of hot metal. It also cleans up easily. I do occasionally switch it out for a large terra cotta dish so they can get some beak wear.
 

SinLA

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Success!! He does keep wanting to try to walk thru it, but seems to be figuring out that’s not an option. Days of expensive pooped on food are now a thing of the past.
 

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MyKeyTee

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Before using this, inevitably one of the tortoises would always plop itself down on top of the food tray, or even worse the dish would become a toilet.

My only concern was that they wouldn't be able to reach all the food in the cage but pushing it to the sides like you see in the pictures they have always left it clean.

I'll have to come up with a bigger version in a few months as they grow so fast I'm afraid they won't all fit around the feeder anymore.

What methods are you guys using??

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These feeders are fantastic. This year, I bought a smaller one for their inside winter quarters and they sometimes end up stuck inside of it. I'm not sure how it's happening, I guess they climb into it. I need to keep a close eye on them as they can get stuck in there face-down. Can anyone recommend a cheap indoor/outdoor camera to help me keep an eye on them?
 

cmacusa3

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These feeders are fantastic. This year, I bought a smaller one for their inside winter quarters and they sometimes end up stuck inside of it. I'm not sure how it's happening, I guess they climb into it. I need to keep a close eye on them as they can get stuck in there face-down. Can anyone recommend a cheap indoor/outdoor camera to help me keep an eye on them?
Blink camera's are great
 

Cathie G

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These feeders are fantastic. This year, I bought a smaller one for their inside winter quarters and they sometimes end up stuck inside of it. I'm not sure how it's happening, I guess they climb into it. I need to keep a close eye on them as they can get stuck in there face-down. Can anyone recommend a cheap indoor/outdoor camera to help me keep an eye on them?
I have a little Feit indoor outdoor wifi camera I like. You can watch the little tort from your smartphone no matter where you are.
 

SinLA

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do you give it frequently? I thought that wasn't good for them (fruits)
 

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