I made a gel, no fresh foods, so for the inevitable zombie apocalypse we are covered. LOL

[Kapidolo Farms]

I like all the videos for different reasons. Tom has sorta Mr. Rogers vibe - very welcoming. Lacy, you can do voice meditation guidance, you have a truly lovely voice, you could be a siren and usover a cliff (not that you would). I had never recognized the value voice can have until I started doing yoga, yours is magic. I find Christina's video very straight forward and easy to follow in terms of I'm not overwhelmed with info or puled off, I like the reverse of feeding, then making as a time line. Pointydog, two methods in one video, bring a simple idea to more users.

This whole experiment in marketing, my initial driver, has yielded to how TFO is a community of caring tortoise keepers. I'm humbled by the videos when I look back at mine which is dry and boring. Good job everyone.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

I cant believe i haven't seen this thread before today. @Kapidolo Farms great stuff as usual. @2turtletom @TechnoCheese great videos, I had no idea you had such extensive youtube channels. I'm now a subscriber.

I posted this here and in the TFO marketplace, what more would you suggest for future promotions?

 

[method89]

I posted this here and in the TFO marketplace, what more would you suggest for future promotions?

Will, I think "it's me not you" applies here. I been busy with home schooling and work and have only been glancing at the new posts. I do usually gravitate to your posts, but must have slipped by me.

 

[Buckreis111]

Here is the photo to my desert tortoises trying the gel. The instructions were not great but our tortoises liked the food. I hope the promotion will help us try different foods to figure out other options for them.

https://www.facebook.com/ericka.buckreis/posts/3230194010365130

I got 28 likes.

 

[2turtletom]

I cant believe i haven't seen this thread before today. @Kapidolo Farms great stuff as usual. @2turtletom @TechnoCheese great videos, I had no idea you had such extensive youtube channels. I'm now a subscriber.

Thanks @method89 !

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Post 31, clear attempt to post results before deadline, thanks.

I got 28 likes.

View attachment 292994

 

[Pointydog]

Sorry I missed the deadline to 'like' your video. You did a great job, and your boiling water pour instead of boiling the agar will help others not make the same mistake. But the tortoises didn't seem to mind it wasn't set up firm!

Thanks, Yvonne !
I enjoyed doing it, and my redfoots seemed to enjoy it either way.
I have one jelly left in the fridge, checking it daily to see how long it will keep.

Wondering if you had a supply on hand but wanted to make a surplus of jellies (like if you have limited fuel to heat the water) how long would they keep in a cool place? Will be interesting to see.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

This is the new recipe/instructions.

Gel Kit recipe - Kapidolo Farms

The kits are labeled by “part” and description, please follow as it works best for you. There are four parts, plus water. Water is measured three times. First is for the soaker and food (parts 1 & 2), second for moistening the loose leaf/flower...

kapidolofarms.com

I made a discount code for the rest of May to buy a kit if you want. Key makers that posted and complied with the instruction please remember to tell me what you want and I'll just ship it, based on the credit you earned.

The 10% discount code for Gel Kits is TFOgel2005 capital letters don't seem to matter. This expires the end of the month. Thanks again for your efforts and contributions.

 

[Akupara]

At the finish line, at the deadline....

(ok, so I now know about a few typos. I'll get a fresh version uploaded with corrections soon.
In the meanwhile, you guys can assume I already know what I screwed up.

@Kapidolo Farms
Thank you for this project, Will!
I learned that my tortoises love layer crumbles (I'd never have guessed) and that you really do have to boil that agar-agar to make it set up.
I'm suitably impressed by the beautiful and fragrant, quality ingredients you offer.
And I learned how to make a movie using my computer!

This really is a great way to have some shelf-stable, appropriate foods always on hand. I was really surprised that when I put the solidly gelled pucks on a bed of chopped dandelion and kale, my redfoot tortioses completely ignored their favorite greens to work on the pucks.

Chris

Are tortoises drawn to certain foods because they might be deficient in particular micro-nutrients? Or does the gel food just taste like candy to them? How often is it safe to feed this food? I'm thinking of in the winter when I can't pick weeds.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

The short answer is I don't know. Tortoises have a mix of eating behaviors that make subjective observation difficult to sort out.

They all seem attracted to red, tortoises have very good eyesight and the potential to see more colors than many animals. Red-eared sliders are know to be able to see more colors than any other vertebrate, how well that translates to tortoises I don't know. They would seem to be able to distinguish between the red from anthocyanin and betalin, the two groups of compounds that make plants appear red.

When the gels are made with red foods like hibiscus or rose hips, that may be the major draw.

I have used agar agar for the 'gel' part, it is a type of seaweed. So vegetarian, and plant based, to me it is odorless, but maybe tortoises can smell something in there?

The other diet items mixed in, one of the ZooMed foods or the chicken layer crumbles certainly brings a good representation of all vitamins and minerals, so that is a good cover for all micro as well as macro nutrients.

The other stuff, moringa, mulberry, nettle etc. bring in more fiber and offer a flavor range.

One last thing is that all tortoises are feces eaters, and maybe the gel approximates that in the diet, but this would be my least likely explanation for why they will eat it, because to all my senses it is not very feces like.

I don't think it would be a good long term stand alone diet, not matter how much you use different ingredients, if for not other reason that you would be funneling variety to one form, the gel. Variety of form is part of variety. And we all know tortoises can fixate one one or two foods well broadcast by "My tortoise will only eat. . . "

As for them 'knowing' they need micro nutrients, one or another, it would be difficult to create an experiment that would answer this. I think part of the feces eating is to cover than concern, from the tortoise perspective.

Are tortoises drawn to certain foods because they might be deficient in particular micro-nutrients? Or does the gel food just taste like candy to them? How often is it safe to feed this food? I'm thinking of in the winter when I can't pick weeds.