Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends

Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends, East Leake.
(4)

Based in the East Midlands- Minibeast/ Reptile
Parties, School Visits, SEN Visits, Scout/ Guide Group Talks, Events, Country Shows & many more! 🐍 🦎 🐢 🕷️ 🐌

Licensed by Rushcliffe Borough Council
Animal Activities License (AAL) number:
AWL- 0081

29/08/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ So on Monday, we introduced Moose the Monitor Lizard- let’s now learn about them!
🦎
Ornate Monitor Lizards are found in Western, Southwestern and Central Africa in countries such as Sierra Leone, Cameroon & the Republic of Congo.
🦎
Moose is the largest lizard we have, measuring roughly 1.5 metres long!
🦎
As Moose is a carnivore, his diet consists of various insects, various small mammals such as mice & rats, small birds such as chicks & quails & also fish!
🦎
They look very similar to the Nile Monitor- but there’s a few differences. The couple of main differences being that Ornate Monitors are more heavily built with a pink tongue, whereas the Nile Monitors are more slender built with a much darker tongue!
🦎
With Moose being such a large lizard, we decided to have an outdoor enclosure built for him (with Bertha the Burmese Python being his next door neighbour!) This was so that he has enough space to live a happy life wandering around his house, bathing in his pool or having walks round the garden!

Welcome to week 33 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce Moose, the Monitor Lizard! 🦎 We last ...
24/08/2026

Welcome to week 33 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce Moose, the Monitor Lizard! 🦎

We last met Moose at Christmas last year, as he did our Christmas Facebook post for us. Now it’s time to formally introduce him- this week we are introducing Moose the Ornate Monitor! Moose is our largest lizard that we have at Matt’s Minibeasts & to be honest, is probably the most nervous and unsure. Moose was a rehome, from the RSPCA in Brighton. He was an unwanted pet, and as soon as we saw him, we decided that he can have a loving home with us! We think he’s had bad experience with hands, as he is very flinchy and defensive initially, but when he realises you’re not going to hurt him, he settles down and lets you stroke and fuss him. As you can see in the photo, he’s made good friends with Tiptoe the Tortoise! He’s one of these animals where it’s going to take quite a bit of time for him to fully trust us. We will get there though, I’m sure!

Join us on Friday to learn more about Moose & Ornate Monitor Lizards! 🦎

21/08/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ So on Monday, we introduced the group of Death Feigning Beetles- let’s now learn about them!
🪲
Death Feigning Beetles are actually black, but near enough all of the time, look blue. This is because they secrete a waxy substance onto their bodies to trap in moisture and to help block the strong UV rays from the sun!
🪲
These beetles are found in the deserts of Southwestern United States and NorthWest Mexico.
🪲
These guys are long lived beetles, with some living up to 15 years in captivity!
🪲
These beetles are very social. A lot of the animals we introduce are solitary, so live on their own. These beetles however, love each other’s company and so it’s always nice to have a group of them!
🪲
Death Feigning Beetles are primarily Crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk) and are also more terrestrial, than arboreal, so prefer to live on the desert floor.

Welcome to week 32 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce the group of Death Feigning Beetles! ...
17/08/2026

Welcome to week 32 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce the group of Death Feigning Beetles! 🪲

Diablo, Diego, Draco, Dracula, Desdemona & Dolores are our 6 Death Feigning Beetles! Say that 5 times fast!! Death feigning means, ‘pretending to be dead’ and you can see that 2 of the beetles, are pretending to play dead, in their graveyard! These are very small beetles, only growing to a maximum of 2cm long! They can live up to 10 years of age and are omnivorous scavengers, eating most things they come across, such as dead insects, plants and seeds!

Join us on Friday to learn more about the amazing world of the Death Feigning Beetle! 🪲

14/08/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ So on Monday, we introduced the Jungle Nymph Stick Insects- let’s now learn about them!
🦟
Jungle Nymphs are the heaviest stick insect species, in the world!
🦟
You don’t want to mess with these insects- especially the adult females! They have large spikes that can grow up to a centimetre, on their hind legs. I know that doesn’t sound bad, but they can bring their back legs together, quicker than a blink of an eye, and can easily make you bleed, never mind kill any smaller insect getting in their way!
🦟
Just like other animals we have introduced, these guys are nocturnal. In the daytime, they don’t just sleep, they look and act dead but also stretch their legs out to blend in even more with the branches & leaves!
🦟
Jungle Nymphs are native to the rainforests of Malaysia, so like their environment very warm and humid!
🦟
These stick insects are very easy to s*x- the adult males are smaller in size and brown in colour and the adult females are much larger in size and an amazing bright lime green in colour!

13/08/2026

On Saturday, we attended Canwell Show in Sutton Coldfield & Bella the Boa decided to have a slither on the outside of the marquee this time! She was soaking up the sun, & having a good nosey at the same time! Don’t worry- she was under constant supervision! Thanks again for having us Canwell!
🐍 🦎 🐢 🕷️ 🐌

Welcome to week 31 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce the group of Jungle Nymph Stick Insec...
10/08/2026

Welcome to week 31 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce the group of Jungle Nymph Stick Insects! 🦟

We currently have a large group of male and female Jungle nymphs, of all ages and sizes. These are amazing insects to work with & can be mistaken for leaf insects when they are sub adult, as their body looks more leaf than stick shaped! Pictured, is a sub adult female- they can get much larger than this! Just look at the spikes on their legs, used to protect themselves and their amazing, alien like head! These insects are one of the heaviest insect species in the world- with some adults weighing up to 65 grams- for an insect, that’s heavy!

Join us on Friday to learn more about Jungle Nymph Stick Insects! 🦟

09/08/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ Apologies that this post is 2 days late- it’s been non stop here at Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends! So on Monday, we introduced Tilly the Chilean Rose Tarantula- let’s now learn about them!
🕷️
All tarantulas, including Tilly, have 8 eyes. There are 4 smaller eyes and 4 larger eyes, all located very close to each other, on the top front part of their head! With their eyes being extremely small, they are very hard to see in any form of detail.
🕷️
Tarantulas have tiny claws on their feet, to help them climb and scale different areas of their habitat, but also they use them to hold onto their prey!
🕷️
The largest species of spider (by weight & body length), is the Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula. These can grow to the size of a dinner plate! Not for your arachnophobes!
🕷️
Once a tarantula has devoured its meal, it can go for around a month without eating again! This helps it survive in the wild, if food is scarce. Tilly eats 2 large crickets per week!
🕷️
Did you know- Tarantulas have clear/ pale blue blood!

Welcome to week 30 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce Tilly, the Chilean Rose Tarantula! 🕷️...
03/08/2026

Welcome to week 30 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce Tilly, the Chilean Rose Tarantula! 🕷️

Back in February, we introduced Talulah & it’s most likely, either Talulah or Tilly that you have met on parties, visits or events. This week it’s Tilly’s turn. We have 2 Chilean Rose Tarantulas + other species including Brazilian Black & Rio Grande Gold! Tilly is a firm favourite with many spider enthusiasts for her docile temperament and beautiful colours! She’s so good with children and will happily sit on your lap whilst you admire her! We had Tilly from a very loving family who unfortunately didn’t have the time for her anymore- so she’s now living it up at Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends!

Join us on Friday to learn more about Tilly & Chilean Rose Tarantulas! 🕷️

31/07/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ So on Monday, we introduced Bertha the Burmese Python- let’s now learn about them!
🐍
Burmese Pythons are the world’s 3rd largest snakes! Green Anacondas are the heaviest and Reticulated Pythons are the longest!
🐍
These snakes are native to South East Asia, in countries such as Thailand & Vietnam.
🐍
Burmese Pythons are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath underwater, for up to 30 minutes!
🐍
Berthas diet consists of a 3kg rabbit, once every 6 weeks! That’s it- nothing else! She uses the stretchy ligaments around her jaw, to open her mouth as wide as possible, & she then swallows the rabbit whole! This will then take days to digest and will give her enough energy to last weeks without anymore food. The main reason for this is because snakes have a very slow metabolism and so burning energy much slower than smaller snakes.
🐍
With Burmese Pythons mainly being nocturnal and so hunt at night, just like the Royal Pythons they have rows of heat pits on their face, to detect the warm blood of their prey!

Address

East Leake

Telephone

+447583669721

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends:

Shortcuts

Share