How to keep the flytrap alive during the experiment?

In it's original pot the flytrap was too tall for the x-ray machine so we couldn't put the whole plant in. To solve this problem, I transferred the plant into a much shallower dish. I dug the plant out of the original pot by running a dinner knife around the edge. I carefully tipped the pot sideways until the plant began to slide out of the pot. The moss around the plant helped to hold the soil and plant together. The roots of the flytrap were very short and did not reach very far into the pot. I tipped the remaining soil from the terracotta pot into the shallow dish and then placed the flytrap on top. I gently patted the soil in around the plant.

Once the plant was in the new dish I carefully watered it. I have to add the water gradually now because the dish is so shallow it is very easy to pour on too much and then it flows over the edge of the dish making a lot of mess!

I hope the plant will survive the transfer to it's new home.

I cut a short piece from a drinking straw and placed it around one of the stems. This was quite a fiddly job. I had to be very careful not to damage the plant. I accidentally touched some of the traps near the base and they closed. They should open again in a few days when they realise they have been tricked! The drinking straw holds the stem up, keeping it vertical. This is not natural for the Venus flytrap but it will make it easier to x-ray an individual trap.