DIY screen cages

[DeadInTheBasement]

I have always been more of the do it yourself type and I have been wanting some tiny screen cages for the mantids. I never really liked the butterfly type cages so with what I had on hand I made this tonight. It was a bit of trial and error and I mostly just made it up as I went along but it seems to have worked out well. Unfortunately to make these you would need a sewing machine but other than that it is just screen, thread, and a zipper.

It measures 7" 1/2 x 5" 1/4 x 5 1/4

It was a bit tricky to sew it correctly so hopefully when I make more I can keep them all relatively close to those measurements so they all look mostly the same. It does apear i could stack these on top of each other without it collapsing but i plan on making larger versions though I'm certain anything much larger than this will require a frame of some sort to keep it held up. This screen is rather wide so it certainly wont hold fruit flies or small nymphs but it shouldn't have a problem with house flies and mantids in their later instars. 

 

[hibiscusmile]

Looks good, Never seen screen hold itself up, what kind is it? I am making some myself too, will try to post when I finish it. so much to do, so little of me.....

 

[DeadInTheBasement]

It is vent screen though I think normal window screen would hold itself up even better because it is more rigid. 

I sewed each piece 2-4 times so that helped make it sturdy enough to hold itself up. 

My next ones I will put the zipper on the outside instead of the inside because I think it will look better. Also I'm now looking for some ribbon of some sort to use as trim to cover up the edges and make it look a tad bit less messy. 

But all in all it only takes about $2 in materials to make each cage so I'm satisfied.