Looking to make a finger exo-skeleton

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR Summary

I want an exo-skeleton for my fingers so I can finger feed my turtle without getting my fingers bitten off.

I want to protect my fingers (just two is fine) from the crushing bite of my 8" Reeves turtle. She can bite hard enough to hurt and can draw blood.

She wants nothing in life so much as to bite fingers, and will readily eschew real live food in favour of fingers. If she thinks she got a finger (when in fact, she's grabbed the chicken wire of her cage), she will pull so hard, that when she lets go, she shoots herself across the cage bass ackwards.

But getting fed is the only highlight of her day, and she saves all her energy up for thundering around her basking area when anything remotely likely to have a finger attached to it comes into the room.

I guess the obvious thing is a pair of thimbles but they are rigid and provide zero tactile feedback. They also make it hard to grip food, especially squirmy food.

I tried tweezers but they are very awkward. I keep dropping the food, because, again, rigid and no tactile feedback.

I thought of a chain mail butcher's glove but it won't protect me from crushing damage.

I wonder if a section of garden hose would work? Other suggestions?

 

[berkeman]

TL;DR Summary: I want an exo-skeleton for my fingers so I can finger feed my turtle without getting my fingers bitten off.

I thought of a chain mail butcher's glove but it won't protect me from crushing damage.

They look inexpensive enough to give them a try...

 

[berkeman]

Or maybe try this Google search to find an articulated manikin hand that you can use to feed turtlezilla...

 

[Baluncore]

TL;DR Summary: I want an exo-skeleton for my fingers so I can finger feed my turtle without getting my fingers bitten off.

I tried tweezers but they are very awkward. I keep dropping the food, because, again, rigid and no tactile feedback.

Try a locking hemostat, or long nosed pliers. You can slide a silicone or vinyl tube over the metal, and glue it in place to stop the tube being eaten.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/194614615885

 

[DaveC426913]

They look inexpensive enough to give them a try...

View attachment 329970

I thought of this, but it won't protect me against crushing damage. And the fact that it's tiny bits of metal may result in poor Winnie injuring herself.

 

[berkeman]

I thought of this, but it won't protect me against crushing damage. And the fact that it's tiny bits of metal may result in poor Winnie injuring herself.

Okay, it's a manekin hand then. Metal forceps probably won't be as satisfying for Winnie as being able to dent those manekin fingers with each meal...

 

[BillTre]

There are tweezers that will grip what they hold as a default and release when squeezed:
Pretty cheap.

 

[Rive]

Something based on sewing thimbles?

Looks DIY-able, can be extended inward for stronger grip and outward for keeping more distance...
Also gives some tact feedback...

 

[Tom.G]

Well... if you insist on hand feeding instead of just dropping food in the cage, try leather welding gloves. They tend to be stiff and thick enough to spread the crushing force over a fair area. If insufficient, add winter-weather skiing gloves for an inner layer.

p.s. That looks like an awfully small cage for the turtle, less than 3 times its size? And I'll bet the natural habitat is not a plank floor.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Drakkith]

p.s. That looks like an awfully small cage for the turtle, less than 3 times its size? And I'll bet the natural habitat is not a plank floor.

That's just the basking area up top. There's a ramp leading up into it from a 70 gallon tank.

 

[.Scott]

I have handled snapping turtles large enough to severe half my foot in a single chomp - if given a chance. They can be lifted from the sides if you are careful to keep your hands out of reach of their claws.

I wouldn't put my fingers anywhere near the head or neck - with or without chainmail.
I recommend a complete strategic change in your feeding method.