The Team
Welcome to the page dedicated to the stars of our programme - our ever increasing collection of live animals. Most of the animals you are about to meet have come to stay with Animates due to different rehoming needs. They have all settled in to a life of luxury here at Animates where they are regularly pampered with lots of treats and TLC. We hope you enjoy meeting them.
For information on where you can meet our animals face to face, check out our upcoming events page.
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Diago - Argentine Red Tegu 
Diago is our largest animal at around 3ft long. The Red Tegu is native to Argentina and is increasingly being hunted for its skin to be used as shoes, belts and wallets. During the day Diago lounges around basking and at night he likes to hide in his bed of hay. Food is his favourite time of day and he is definitely not a fussy lizard! Diago likes to eat insects, rodents, chicks and boiled eggs.
George - Greek Spur Thighed Tortoise 
George the tortoise has one of the best personalities of all the animals at Animates. She has the name George because when she was a baby it was thought she was a boy and by the time we realised she was actually a girl the name George had stuck! George eats mixed bags of leafy green salad, just like you get from the supermarket, and she is eating an entire bag every day. George loves going out to meet children in schools and loves stomping about in gym halls. She is very energetic and can move surprisingly fast for a tortoise. George could live upto 100 years.
Keenai - Chinese Water Dragon
Keenai is around 2 ft long, most of his length is in his tail which is longer than his actual body. He uses his tail for balance as he climbs through the trees, but it also helps balance him when he runs - he can move fast when he wants too! Keenai loves being in amongst his leaves and one of his favourite places to sit is in his pond in his tank. He can even hold his breath for up to 20 minutes under the water! His favourite food is large grasshoppers, crickets and wax worms.
Pog and McVitti - Australian Bearded Dragons 
Pog and McVitti are brother and sister and always travel together. The name Bearded Dragon refers to their beard of loose skin underneath their chin which puffs up when they want to look scary or attractive! The names Pog and McVitti came from the latin name Pogona vitticeps. They each have their own personality, Pog is more chilled and loves to watch TV and McVitti is more energetic and loves to run and jump. Bearded Dragons in their natural habitat are found in the deserts of Australia. They like to bask in the sun and are great tree climbers. Their favourite food is lettuce, crickets and locusts.
Swampy - Whites' Tree Frog 
Swampy loves nothing better than climbing in all the tree branches he has in his tank. He loves getting his daily spray of water which acts like the rain would in a rainforest where Swampy could be found in the wild. Found in areas such as North Korea and China, these frogs have very sticky pads on their toes and feet which they use to climb trees. Tree frogs can spend their whole lives at the top of massive trees and even lay their eggs in upturned flowers which have caught all the fresh rain water. This ensures they never come down onto the forest floor where all the spiders and snakes live that want to eat them! Swampy's favourite food is small earthworms and crickets.
Hercules and Sponge-Bob - Giant African Land Snails 
These snails turned up on our door step having been delivered through the post! After settling them into a nice new tank and giving them a good feed they soon made themselves at home. Herculese is the biggest and Sponge-bob is the smallest. Their shells will get to the size of a tennis ball when they are fully grown, and can each live for approx 7 years! Low on calcium when they first arrived we are feeding them up on calcium powder and cuttlefish bones to ensure their shells stay strong and healthy. These snails can be found in the wild in Africa and even eat raw meat as well as lots of fruit and leaves.
Totora - Chilean Rose Tarantula 
This beautiful spider is new to Animates and is settling into her new home nicely. Not yet fully grown, an adult female can reach 7.5cm in body length and have a leg span of up to 15cm. Females are larger than males and can live up to 17 years longer. Native to Northern Chile, spending all their time at ground level as falling from great heights may be fatal to any tarantula. Her diet consists of insects such as locusts and crickets.