This page is the floor of a tank full of leaves. Move your pointer and your minibeast will creep, glide or scuttle after you. Choose a different one at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
Its frilled legs and body look so like dry leaves that it is very hard to spot on its food plant.
It sways from side to side as it walks, like a leaf moved by the wind.
It curls its tail over its back like a scorpion. It has no sting at all.
A female can lay eggs that hatch without her ever meeting a male. All the young are female.
In the wild its eggs look like seeds. Ants carry them underground, where they hatch in safety.
The newly hatched young are black with red heads and run about like ants.
The mossy tray
Move your pointer onto the tray and wait for your pet to arrive.
Meet them all
Insect · from Australia
A big, brown, leafy-looking insect with flaps on its legs, spines on its body and a tail it curls over its back.
Mollusc · from East Africa
A very large snail with a tall, pointed shell striped in brown and cream.
Many-legged minibeast · from East Africa
A glossy black millipede as long as a ruler and as thick as a thumb, with hundreds of reddish legs.
Crustacean · from tropical shores
A reddish crab that lives in a borrowed sea shell, with two eyes on stalks, long feelers and one claw bigger than the other.
Spider · from the Pacific coast of Mexico
A large, dark, hairy spider with bright orange-red bands at the joints of its legs.
Insect · kept kinds come from Africa and Asia
A slender green insect with a triangular head, big eyes and spiny front legs folded as if in prayer.
Good to know
Most come from the tropics. A light spray of water every day keeps the air moist enough for them to shed their skins.
Insects and spiders climb out of their old skin to grow. Leave them alone while they do it.
Many are fragile and a fall can kill them. Let them walk on to your hand, low over a table.
Small animals find small gaps. Use a secure tank with fine air holes.
Stick insects and snails breed fast. Ask a vet or the supplier how to deal with surplus eggs kindly.
None of these belong in the British countryside. Letting them go is illegal and harmful.
Fish and minibeasts: 1 more group
Real photos of the pets on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
Minibeasts are cheap to keep, need little space and never need walking. They are a wonderful way to watch an animal's whole life up close.
Back to the topThe aquarium live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Other kinds of pet live on their own pages: choose another.