We feed in the cage as well....no issues. What made me smile was the water dish. We fed ours Friday evening....left the f/t rat in a new spot for her to hunt it up which she did.....then took it right to the water dish and dunked it. She goofed with it for a bit and spent some time with her head under water checking things out and moving it around. Once she was ready, horked it down no problem. Results were we were entertained, she is fed, and hydrated that much more.