All Beasts

These beasts are magnificent. They are great to watch as they dig about. Their favourite food of all time is banana, this has to be refreshed every 2 days.  You can handle these guys but beware that they do have wings and can fly…sort of. To tell the truth their flying is rubbish but if they get a gust of wind then they could disappear off into the distance. They originate from Africa and eat fruit, nectar and flowers in the wild. They go through metamorphosis to become the adult bee..

These beautiful beetles originate from the Ivory Coast in Africa. They have been used to produce jewelry (hence the name) as their iridescent green exoskeleton is stunning. In captivity they LOVE to eat banana and have a funny plastic smell to them! They start off life as eggs, then a grub which builds a cocoon around itself. Approximately eight weeks later this little gem emerges. They also have the ability to fly, well it's more of a case of aiming themselves at things than actual graceful ..

One of the larger types of Mantis this beautifully coloured insect has a diet of flies and small bugs. They have very powerful limbs which enable great stability and the power to catch their meals no matter how wriggly they are. The name praying mantis comes from the position the insect sits when at ease, with both limbs making it look like its praying. One of the most popular facts about this species is that they eat the male after they have mated. Yummy. There is a reason for this, all the ..

Originating from Ghana these pretty but chunky Millipedes are a great species.They enjoy burrowing under the rotting subtrate whilst chomping on the rotting leaves, fruits and vegetables are usually less enticing than a rotten leaf to this species. Males and females look identical and both have an enlarged head. Delicate bands of burnt orange give this Millipede its name. ..

These Peruvian stick insects have a very striking appearance. Their velvety black body and bright hind wings give this insect an attitude. This is all counteracted due to the fact it looks like it has put on lip stick...badly. They use their rear wings to fend off predators by flashing their bright red colour at them. Black Beauties also have the ability to squirt an irritating liquid from glands in their head, this makes them less perfect for handling. They feed readily on privet and hon..

Exactly what is says on the tin: they are from Brazil and they are black. These tarantula are highly sort after within the pet trade due to their stunning black velvet appearance and their gentle nature. They grow to a nice large size, legs of 8 inches. We fed them on crickets twice a week. They can be rather greedy so we need to monitor their diet. ..

Our favourite species of tarantula. This particular species is very calm and docile making it an ideal tarantula to have for an encounters company and as our pets.  They come from Northern Chile, hence the name. There are different colour variations from light brown to pink. If you were looking to get into tarantula keeping then the Chile is a great place to start. ..

Originating from Ghana these Millipedes come in slightly smaller than the Giant African Species. They love to much on rotting leaves and bark and will also enjoy a range of soft fruits and vegetables. Contrary to popular belief the name Millipede refers to the latin word Milli meaning 1000 and pede meaning feet. The amount of legs depends on the species and age ranging from 100 to 400 tickly feet.If attacked or in danger the Millipede secretes an irritating toxin which deters predators from e..

There is estimated 20,000 different types of Darkling beetles found worldwide. This small beetle is named because of the way they change colour as they get older. Once they emerge from their pupae stage they are white, then turn orange, then brown and eventually remain black.  At Rent a Beast we use these to show a life cycle in action. They hatch from eggs and into the larval grub form which we all know and love as mealworms. These mealworms then grow and eventally pupate. These loo..

I wish I had a pound for every time that I said their name and people went DEADLY????!!!!! No DEAD LEAF. They are remarkable mantids and we use them to showcase the use of camouflage. This camouflage helps them get up close to their prey before striking out with those two front adapted legs. Don't worry,they can't hurt you unless you are an insect. They originate from Malaysia. ..

These do not have a common name, although some people refer to them as giant lime stick insects. These funny creatures come from several different islands in the Caribbean (lucky bugs). They get to an impressive size, females can be 16cm long! They will happily munch on the leaves of Eucalyptus in captivity. They will even eat bramble once they are full sized. We have many young Diapherodes which are known as nymphs. They do an amazing wobbly walk which makes them look as if they are dancing,..

Dubia roaches are also known as the Argantine roach, orange spotted roach or the Gyanna spotted roach. We all know and love them as Dubies. Their favourite thing is to hide and they do it well. You can have 30 of these critters in a box and you will find them ALL hiding under one log. The males and females are easy to tell apart as the adult males have wings. DON'T PANIC... they can't fly!  They are commonly used and bred for feeding to other animals such as reptiles, tarantulas ..

Emperor scorpians aka the Imperial scorpion are Rent a Beasts scorpion of choice. The reason for this is that they are very calm and have low aggression. The venom they have isn't very toxic yet would hurt like a bee sting (best to be avoided!). The originate from Africa in rainforrest habitats so like their habitat to be slightly humid. They dislike the sunlight and would much rather being hiding under something. If you see them out then their colour can vary from black to dark green. ..

This little chap who usually resides in Mexico, South and Central America resembles another cockroach called the Death Head cocokroach. The true Death head roaches have a mark on the top of their head resembling a skull. Our roaches have more of a black blob...not very scary! There are fast little blighters and they have wings. Fear not, they can't actually fly nor can they climb smooth surfaces. They are very easy to care for.  They eat just about ANYTHING and live up to a year ..

These red legged arachnids are absolutely stunning. Our Fire leg tarantula is rather grumpy and likes to flick hairs so we only have him as a show specimen and don't handle him unless we want to get itchy! In general they are calm and a good beginners tarantula but just like people they all have their own temperament. Our is like Victor Meldrew (ask the grown ups kids). ..