Praying Mantis Enclosure (Baby or Juvenile)

I created this enclosure for my baby mantis keeping in mind that they need an enclosures that has fruit fly proof siding, ventilation and a molting spot at top. Therefore I created this with a feeding plug in the back for fruit flies. There is several parts to this enclosure and you will need to put some DIY work into this but I explain how to do it and once its done this enclosure is awesome.

Its 6 1/8" High x 4 7/8 " Deep x 4 1/2" Wide.

This took me a long time to create in CAD so the fee is for the work I put into it.

You will need to print these in parts , do auto orient, and if it tells you to add s add them but s is usually for magnet holes and the back, side plates and door. I use creality slicer and use tree slim s if needed. I also did a sparse infill of 25% of each part.

Filament: PLA or PETG.

Sealant - Plasti Dip spray (4 coats), Flex Seal or Epoxy Resin

Note ** # 3 supply: Scigrip 16 is the only glue I found that fuses the parts together fast but not as fast as super glue so gives you a window to make sure the pieces are aligned. Also its the only glue that will fuse to the Mesh bug netting which is made of Polyethylene (PE) and no super glue will stick well to it so get the SCI grip or any acrylic cement.

Supplies Needed: ALL On amazon

1. Mesh Bug Netting for gardens or Mosquito Netting 2.Cyanoacrylate Adhesive (Cyafixed brand is what I use) for Magnets only 3.SCIGRIP 16 Acrylic Plastic Cement (THIS is a must for fusing all parts together and fusing the mesh to the sides and then applying the side and back plates over the mesh)
2. 0.004" Plexi Glass sheets
3. to cut plexi I use the Firbon A4 paper cutter 12 inch titanium paper trimmer to cut the plexi glass. .
   
4. Glue Tip Extender, Precision glue tips for SCIGRIP it comes out very fast so I recommend these for more precision.
5. 18x2mm magnets
6. Mayshine Area Rug Gripper pad or any brand but I like this one as the holes are larger. This is to glue under neath the top plexi for better grip for molting.

Print the files in order.
I have a creality Printer so I had to cut the body in half but 00 is the full body model. I printed 03, 04, 05 & 06 on 50% or 25% speed. The door gave me a headace so print it slow.

Steps

1. Print 01 & 02 and Glue body together with 3D Printer glue or SCIGRIP 2.Glue Mesh Bug Netting to Back, left and right side cutting the edges of the netting so you don't see it. Do not PULL strings netting will get holes it in.
2. Once you have glued the netting, Print and Glue 04 & 05 to the body FIRST the plates will have R & L etched in.
3. Print and Glue the 03 back plate with SCIGRIP After RIght and Left
4. 06 Print the door at an angle with magnet holes facing up, with Tree slim s.
   
5. Cut plexi to the size of the door grooves I use a washable marker and ruler for marking it and then glue cut plexi in and glue the 07 door plate on.
6. Print 09 Top Plexi Cover, Clue to the Top
7. Cut plexi to the size of the grooves, place it in the grooves but do not glue YET
8. Cut your rubber grip to the size of the inner viewable area of the plexi or the entire plexi doesn't really matter and glue the rubber mat to the plexi glass.
9. Flip the plexi over so that the rubber mat is inside of the enclosure then glue it to 09
10. Glue 10 top main cover on
11. Use your Cyaboacrylate clue to glue in magnets **be careful to pay attention to the direction of the magnets. I cant tell you how many times I glued them in wrong.
    

I use washable markers to mark the bottoms for the body gluing the marked side facing down, When Dry, then I stick the corresponding magnets to the glued in magnets, mark those bottoms and make sure I glue the marker side down. This is the only way I stopped mes the magnets.

1. Print the back plug and glue 2 magnets on both sides. Wait for it to dry and plug back hole