On the 14th of June we had Zoolab come in to teach us about different types of bugs/reptiles.
We let the residents decide if they would like to see/hold the animals and if they did not feel comfortable with it we gave them activities to carry out in the dinning room. All the other residents stayed in the activity centre and sat around one of our tables so they could all see the animals.
We had a wide range of bugs and reptiles, all from different parts of the world:
- African Snail named Cheese ( normally found in Congo and has a particularly hard shell that could punch tires when ran over)
- Rainforest Hissing Cockroach named Giggles ( They get their name from the loud hissing noise they make while feeling threatened or during mating season)
- Curly Hair Tarantula named Tinkerbell ( Can be found in Costa Rica and even though venomous when bitten its closer to a bee sting than anything deadly)
- Millipede named Millie ( Millipedes are very important for our ecosystem as they will eat any dead plants so new ones can grow)
- Albino Gecko named Humphry ( Can be found in Deserts and has holes for ears so if sand get in them they can tip/shake their heads so sand never blocks ears.)
- Corn Snake named cornflake ( Found in North American cornfields where they will eat the mice found in he fields.)
Most of the residents were open to holding the animals however a few of the animals got mixed responses especially the cockroach and tarantula however overall it was a very informative session where we got the chance to ask any questions we were curious about and to see some animals that we may have never seen up close before. We hope to do another session like this again with even more diverse animals.
If you would like to see some photos of the residents holding the animals please check out our Facebook: