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Remember the story of the invisible betta? A pet store owner put a fishbowl containing only water in his window and put up a sign saying "Invisible Betta" . It attracted quite a crowd, and some folks swore that they could see it, "very faintly"!

I think that this would be a great setup for invisible mantids!

 
Hilarious!

I'm out of town and sucking up every tree and branch shape, waltzing through fields and stores for strange materials. So much fun to NOT be allowed to create, but just try to be creative. I'm finger-painting with my nieces and nephews later this week. I strongly urge all ages to finger-paint at least once a year. It's like being a kid all over again!

 
Rubber band land. Lot's of colorful rubber bands! :)

2786rubber_band.jpg


You should try origami if you haven't yet. I find it relaxing plus you can do it anywhere without having to drag around a lot of supplies.

I made this pegasus out of 108 folds from 1 piece of paper.

n1070884372_361980_7816728.jpg


 
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Rubberbands (and rubber hoses) are definitely on my supply list. And the origami is amazing! I've never done it myself, but very impressive!

 
Seems to me Mark you would be a person who would love origami. There are incredible diagrams designed by amazing people. Some of my favorite designers are John Montroll,Robert J.Lang, Issei Yoshino(Sad loss at such a young age), Tomoko Fuse(Unit Origami) and Sipho Mabona(Amazing) but there are a lot of others.

 
I love it !!! Dr Seuss has nothing on you :lol: should be great for molting and it is left wing coolness in full swing...

And hey you don't have to look far when its time to clean the tank.
That's exactly what I thought when I saw it! Looks like it's from a Dr. Seuss book! I like the absorbency and grip idea. Funny but cool enclosure!

 
Rubber band land. Lot's of colorful rubber bands! :)

2786rubber_band.jpg


You should try origami if you haven't yet. I find it relaxing plus you can do it anywhere without having to drag around a lot of supplies.

I made this pegasus out of 108 folds from 1 piece of paper.

n1070884372_361980_7816728.jpg
Impressive origami!

 
Here's a side experiment - technically still qualifies as "sponge". Kinda.

This is a foam tube ($1) for pool use, that I cut into slices and jammed into plant stems. Possibly my most affordable enclosure (besides JUST the sticks).

All the Idolos I tested can maneuver easily on it, but I don't think I'll risk them molting from it (so, for Idolos, the experiment is a bit bust). What I'm watching now is what position they eventually settle on. This seems to be the winner:

Idolo5-30-0662.jpg


You can see the green floral foam that I posted a few months ago. I DON'T use it in my enclosures, but it's great for working with the arrangements on my desk. :)

Here you can see a close up (well, as close as i can get with my lens) of how the feet grip the surface. Not my favorite material, but it's working.

Idolo5-30-0650.jpg


I've done a few experiments wrapping the foam in mesh, but that's not really the directions I'm going on this project. Just wanted to share...

 
Ha, ha! I think the material has potential. Here's the thought process:

I sliced the sponge tube into very thin slices, and considered threading it with twine. Instead, I used bamboo - essentially creating skewers...

A while ago, i tried to figure out how to use things laying around, like chopsticks and packing peanuts, to make the elements of an enclosure. I used the chopsticks (or similar sticks) and skewered the packing peanuts, kind of looks like the popcorn you'd string around your Christmas tree...

e54549fb.jpg


To make it more colorful (and because i like the more porous material) I replaced the peanuts with the spongy tubing:

ba2aa27f.jpg


I jammed the skewers into a standing tube, but didn't like the results...

043aced2.jpg


So, instead, I cut the tube into rings, and skewered those. Then, as a departure point, tossed on a nymph, spot a pic, and moved on...

d39442a5-1.jpg


Here's the same nymph about 5 minutes later, all settled in...

b39f5bc6.jpg


You can see where this is moving in the direction of a built-in safety net. If a larger nymph molted in the above picture, he could reach behind or to either side to get a grip for the "flip". This same design, done with, say, rags wrapped around sticks, would produce the same result. Soft, non-claw-breaking surfaces with good grip.

Finally, I did a small sample of the same idea, but with the sponges from the "classic" SpongeWorld.

a75ca3d6-1-1.jpg


Thoughts...?

 
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Im not sure why I waited so long to view this topic but man Im so glad I opened it up to see exactly what "spongeworld" was! That really IS trippy! So, after reading all of the posts I have the following to say: 1. I want to be the White Rabbit! 2. I SO have to see some black light pics! 3. Where is the little garden gnome!?! You totally need a garden gnome!!!

 
Im not sure why I waited so long to view this topic but man Im so glad I opened it up to see exactly what "spongeworld" was! That really IS trippy! So, after reading all of the posts I have the following to say: 1. I want to be the White Rabbit! 2. I SO have to see some black light pics! 3. Where is the little garden gnome!?! You totally need a garden gnome!!!

 
Sporeworld, I think I might have finally found someone who almost loves sponges as much as you do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz0XAi8TyUs

Sorry, someone on another form posted it and I couldn't help but share... please don't kill me. =p

On a slightly more serious note that kind of stuff would look pretty kickass as a background behind one of your sponge filled inclosures.

 
Hey now, sanity is over rated! *Goes back to blowing kisses and baby talking to her praying mantises.*

This thread is really making me want to do some sort of fun set up, but I'm not sure what yet. Perhaps I should go for a themed one...

 
Creativity aside, I really like the pool noodle sponges for nymph enclosures. Especially enclosures where I'm removing and relocating nymphs regularly (like the Creos). It's easy, cheap, clean, versitile, and makes it very easy to count nymphs.

I even cut some long ways and wedged them into the enclosure as a kind of catwalk.

 

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