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, Party Entertainment Service, East Leake.
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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

04/09/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ So on Monday, we introduced Rocky the Royal Python- let’s now learn about them!
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Royal Pythons are very popular pet snakes, with some people preferring the more ‘robustness’ of the python, compared to a thinner, more wiggly Cornsnake for example. They come in all different morphs (different coloured patterns and markings), & can make excellent beginner snakes, if given the correct care and setup.
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Pythons and Boas have heat pits (labial pits) on their face, which detect the heat of their prey. With Royal Pythons being nocturnal hunters and their eye sight not being their best sense, they rely on their heat sensing pits to detect their warm blooded prey and strike out when in striking distance!
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When you think of a python, you generally think of the very large snakes that can crush you! Well Royal Pythons are the complete opposite- their maximum length is around 1.5 metres long, so do not get to the humongous sizes of the other pythons and unless you are a small rodent, you’ve got nothing to worry about!
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Just like our fingerprints, each snake has different markings! This makes them all unique!
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In their native environment, Royal Pythons are excellent pest controllers! They help to keep local rat populations at a minimum.

Welcome to week 34 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce Rocky, the Royal Python! 🐍 Rocky is o...
31/08/2026

Welcome to week 34 of ‘Meet an Animal Monday’. This week we are going to introduce Rocky, the Royal Python! 🐍

Rocky is one of three Royal Pythons at Matt’s Minibeasts & Friends! Back in March, we introduced Ruby & now it’s time to introduce Rocky! Rocky was a rehome from NCRW (National Centre for Reptile Welfare) in Hadlow, South London. We took him into our care in 2022, so he is one of the first reptiles we rehomed! A unique point about Rocky, is that he has a large heat burn on his belly, which we believe he would have wrapped himself around an unprotected heat lamp, so burned himself, requiring immediate veterinary attention. Unfortunately, this would have been due to inadequate living conditions resulting in injury to the animal. Rocky is a good example of why research needs to be undertaken, before any animal is taken into your care. He’s doing very well now, as the scar is now healed over. Rocky attends many parties and visits with us and is an excellent python for the photo opportunities!

Join us on Friday to learn more about Rocky & Royal Pythons! 🐍

29/08/2026

Welcome to this weeks ‘Factfile Friday!’ So on Monday, we introduced Moose the Monitor Lizard- let’s now learn about them!
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Ornate Monitor Lizards are found in Western, Southwestern and Central Africa in countries such as Sierra Leone, Cameroon & the Republic of Congo.
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Moose is the largest lizard we have, measuring roughly 1.5 metres long!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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These beetles are found in the deserts of Southwestern United States and NorthWest Mexico.
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These guys are long lived beetles, with some living up to 15 years in captivity!
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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!
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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!
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Jungle Nymphs are the heaviest stick insect species, in the world!
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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!
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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!
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Jungle Nymphs are native to the rainforests of Malaysia, so like their environment very warm and humid!
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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!
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Did you know- Tarantulas have clear/ pale blue blood!

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East Leake

Telephone

+447583669721

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