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Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends, East Leake (2025)

19/04/2025

HERE ARE THE SHOWS I’M AT THIS YEAR, & OUR NEW REPTILE ROOM IS COMING TOGETHER! - READ ON!!

What a busy few months! Apologies for no posts since Christmas, it’s been a very hectic time recently! With my dad passing away in November, understandably there has been lots of things to sort and one of those things was to move near enough all of the reptiles into one room, to save them being dotted around the house! This is now coming to completion so keep your eyes peeled for the photos of the new reptile room, that was our living room! 🦎😂

Also, here is a list of the shows I’m attending this year, just incase your passing and your want your snake holding fix! The first one is this Monday! 🐍

* 21st April- Kegworth Easter Market
* 5th May- East Leake May Day Festival
* 10th May- Nottinghamshire County Show/ Newark Show
* 14th June- Clifton Campville Show
* 21st & 22nd June- Ashby Steam Show
* 5th & 6th July- Hollowell Steam & Heavy Horse Show
* 12th & 13th July- Rempstone Steam & Country Show
* 26th & 27th July- Heckington Show
* 2nd August- Scopwick & Kirkby Village Show
* 7th September- Sutton Bonington Show
* 13th & 14th September- Road, Rail & Ale Fest @ Statfold Country Park.

Please notice the photo of Annie the African Fat Tailed Gecko smiling! She wanted to me to take this photo of her! 😀

25/12/2024

All of the animals (& me, their servant), would to like to wish everybody a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year! It’s been a successful year, visiting many different children’s parties, scout/ guide groups, care homes & schools and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing each and every one! To see the faces of individuals who overcome their fears- both adults & children, makes it for me.

I’m not normally one to put my life stories on Social media, but in November, my dad, the big friend and the amazing helper with my animals, unfortunately passed away. It’s left us in shock, as you can imagine, but I will be continuing to do my parties and visits in memory of my amazing father. Let’s just say- Mental health is a horrible thing that he battled with, for the majority of his life. He’s now not in anymore mental pain, which comforts me slightly. Anyway, thank you to everyone for your help & support and everyone who has booked me for their visits over the past year- it really does mean a lot to me.

All my best to everybody.
🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🐜 🕷️

24/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

Let’s sing along! 🎶 Here’s the completed song!

On the 12th Day of Christmas, my Critter Crew gave to me,

12 Hissing Cockroaches 🪳
11 Green Bean Stick Insects 🫛
10 Giant Land Snails 🐌
9 Asian Forest Scorpions 🦂
8 Loveable Lizards, 🦎
7 Snakes In Total, 🐍
6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Let’s end with everyone’s favourite, the creepy critter that is the Cockroach! I have got lots & lots of these little Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches. Some bigger than others!🪳 Did you know- they hiss by expelling air through their breathing holes located down the sides of their bodies (spiracles) and not all hisses are the same, they can mean different things. Clive, Clara and friends, make up my group of Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches!

I hope you’ve all enjoyed my Critter Crew Christmas Carol! 🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

23/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 11th Day of Christmas, my Critter Crew gave to me,

11 Green Bean Stick Insects 🫛
10 Giant Land Snails 🐌
9 Asian Forest Scorpions 🦂
8 Loveable Lizards, 🦎
7 Snakes In Total, 🐍
6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

I just think these are the coolest stick insects ever and such a great animal to handle! 🫛 The colour is so vibrant and coincidentally the exact same as my uniform top! That’s just the females however, as the males are annoyingly much duller in colour! Found in Grenada and St Vincent in the Caribbean Islands, these insects don’t live for very long (up to a couple of years), but definitely make a statement when they are around!

22/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 10th Day of Christmas, my Critter Crew gave to me,

10 Giant Land Snails 🐌
9 Asian Forest Scorpions 🦂
8 Loveable Lizards, 🦎
7 Snakes In Total, 🐍
6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Shrek, Stanley, Scooby, Sushi, Slinky, Sherbet, Shelley & gang, make up my 10 Giant African Land Snails! Shrek was my first giant snail I owned and he’s still going strong today. Like all of my reptiles, my snails are all from either reptile rescue centres or were unwanted pets. My ethos at Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends is to ‘give a home to a reptile in need, if I can’.

21/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 9th Day of Christmas, my Critter Crew gave to me,

9 Asian Forest Scorpions 🦂
8 Loveable Lizards, 🦎
7 Snakes In Total, 🐍
6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

9 (& the rest!) Asian Forest Scorpions. Mum and lots of babies! When I rehomed Scar the Scorpion, we didn’t know she was pregnant and a few months later, we lifted her hide up and was greeted with this! Unlike insects, Scorpions do not lay eggs so she gave birth to live Scorplings! All of her babies sit on her back until their first moult, which they will then climb off mum and defend for themselves!

20/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 8th Day of Christmas, my Critter Crew gave to me,

8 Loveable Lizards, 🦎
7 Snakes In Total, 🐍
6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

8 Lizards! All of different shapes and sizes all mean so much to me. Let’s go from smallest to largest. So, in my collection we have, Annie the African Fat Tailed Gecko, Casper the Crested Gecko, Luna the Leopard Gecko, Calippo the Chameleon, Blaze the Bearded Dragon, Bruce & Bubbles the Blue Tongue Skinks and finally Tigger the Tegu!

19/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 7th Day of Christmas, my Critter Crew gave to me,

7 Snakes In Total, 🐍
6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Today marks the day of the snakes! 🐍 We’ve already met the 3 Royal Pythons Rusty, Rocky & Ruby. My 2 small noodles are Sammy & Satsuma the Kenyan Sand Boas, Cornflake is my Cornsnake and Bella is the largest snake I own at 8ft in length & 10kg (22lbs) in weight, she’s my Boa Constrictor! All amazing creatures with their own different personalities. Did you Know- there are only 2 ways that a snake can kill its prey- through the injection of Venom, so a venomous snake, or through constriction, so a constrictor. All of my snakes are constrictors. Not all snakes have fangs, it’s only the venomous snakes that use the fangs to inject their venom into the prey, Constrictors have rows of smaller teeth used to grip onto the prey to stop it from running away!

19/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 6th Day of Christmas, my critter crew gave to me,

6 Giant Prickly Stick Insects, 🐜
5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️
4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍
2 Funny Looking Frogs, 🐸
& A Very Very Sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Giant Prickly or Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insects Sadie, Sabrina and gang are my armoured 6 legged friends! They have an amazing amount of tiny spikes to help protect them from the nasty predators in the wild. These stick insects are native to Australia and as a defence mechanism, can curl their tail up to look like a scorpion! (You will notice I have only attached one image of the stick insects as it saves boring you all 6 times with near enough the same photo!)

17/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 5th Day of Christmas, my critter crew gave to me, 5 TAARRAANNTTUULLAAAAASS, 🕷️ 4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛 3 Royal Pythons, 🐍 2 funny looking Frogs, 🐸 & a very very sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Arachnophobes- look away now! They’re not that bad really! Tilly & Talulah are my Chilean Rose Tarantulas, Tammy & Tootsie are my Brazilian Black Tarantulas and little Teeny (in the last photo) is my Goliath Birdeater- currently still young, but these guys are the LARGEST species of spider in the world, growing up to the size of a dinner plate when fully grown with a 30cm leg span and fangs up to 4cm long! I will put a message on here, if she was to ever escape, so you can all check under your cushions for her! 😱

16/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 4th Day of Christmas, my critter crew gave to me, 4 Giant Millipedes, 🐛 3 Royal Pythons, 🐍 2 funny looking Frogs, 🐸 & a very very sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Giant African Train Millipedes- these are the largest species of Millipedes and one of the most fascinating pets to keep! The word ‘Millipede’ means a ‘thousand feet’, but they don’t have that many legs- only 350 roughly! These amazing invertebrates have been around for more than 100 million years- scurrying around the same time as the dinosaurs! Mabel, Maureen, Meredith & Maggie make up my collection of 4 giant millipedes! 🐛

15/12/2024

Critter Crew Christmas Carol!
🎄 🐍 🦎 🐢 🐌 🕷️ 🐸 🎄

On the 3rd Day of Christmas, my critter crew gave to me,
3 Royal Pythons, 🐍 2 funny looking Frogs, 🐸 & a very very sassy Tortoise! 🐢

Royal Pythons originate in Western & Central Africa. It is believed to be that African Rulers over the years, would wear these snakes as Jewellery. As pythons are constrictors, they would easily hold on to the wrist and the neck, so would look like large bracelets and necklaces! That’s if they didn’t squeeze too hard around the neck that is!! This is why they’re called Royal Pythons! I own 2 ‘Normal’ morph Royal Pythons called Rocky & Ruby and my latest addition is Rusty the Black Pewter Pastel Pied Royal Python! Tongue Twister much! 👅 🌪️ 🐍

Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends

19/04/2025

25/12/2024

24/12/2024

23/12/2024

22/12/2024

21/12/2024

20/12/2024

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15/12/2024

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