Meet our animals!

Alex is a Berber Skink, and the most important animal at Ali's Menagerie. This website, and the entire animal collection it is inspired by, is only possible because of Alex, and his companion, Spot, who passed away in 2024. They were the first exotic animals I had ever looked after, and they arrived in 2015.

Now in his senior years, Alex is treated to a varied diet, including the occasional pinkie mouse or waxworm, just to remind him how special he is, whilst residing in his spacious, naturalistic vivarium.

We're hopeful that Alex has plenty more years left in him yet, and he certainly shows no signs of slowing down!

Speedy is our oldest resident, thought to be at least 60 years old! She was rehomed from a family friend who could no longer care for her, just days before the United Kingdom faced the first national lockdown in 2020- a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the years since Speedy has proven herself to be an entertaining character, and even capable of living up to her name! On one occasion, she was so 'Speedy' that she managed to push her way through a lose piece of garden fence, going on the run in our rural area for a few days. Thankfully she returned safe and sound and hasn't tried a great escape since!

Bailey is our rescue domestic short-haired cat- its not all exotics here!

She was rescued by Cat's Protection here in the UK, and soon found her feet at her new home with us. She doesn't disturb any of our animals, although she's particularly intrigued by our Lesser Tenrec, Twiggy, and loves to chase around any live food which has escaped the mouths of our reptiles!

She's just like any cat, typically found dozing in any sun puddle she can find, or doing her best 'you haven't fed me for days' act.

These guys are our smallest reptiles! Tropiocolotes steudneri are a species of tiny arid geckos, and one of my personal favourite species to watch. Whilst we don't name all our individuals, the original group is affectionately known as 'The Jackson 5'.

We have had these geckos since 2019, beginning with a small tank housing a group of 5 adults. After moving them to a new setup and altering our husbandry methods in 2021, we started to see the geckos reproduce, and in the first successful breeding season we hatched nearly 20 eggs! At the time of writing this we have 4 new babies, and we're hoping many more will hatch in the coming weeks to match our previous success.

Our newest reptile additions are our trio of Kenyan Zebra Skinks: Smudge, Bug, and Moon.

These related females were rehomed from a friend who was no longer able to keep them in December 2023. Following their arrival they were moved into a new vivarium, and were treated to a naturalistic enclosure. They are interactive and comical skinks and I will never tire of watching their antics.

The arrival of this species also helped to inspire the new format of our care guides, which you may notice are being updated as I write this!

One of our long term residents, Kasana is a Musk Turtle.

Kasana joined the menagerie from a pet shop when she was little more than the size of a 50p coin! After moving from tank to tank for several years, we are currently developing plans for her final enclosure, which will be one of the largest indoor setups I've built.

Now at adult size and around 7 years old, she's another comical member of the collection, and will hopefully stay with us for many more years- perhaps decades- to come!

Perhaps our cutest residents are our Harvest Mouse trio! These three boys are the second group of Harvest Mice we've cared for.

They arrived in 2023 from New Forest Wildlife Park, along with a fourth who has since sadly passed away.

Residing in our living room, they are great fun to watch as they show off their natural behaviours and incredible climbing skills. They are another of my favourites, and have adapted to use a prehensile tail which allows them to climb even the most precarious of branches and stems!

UPDATE- our final mouse passed away 11/24

Okay, I shouldn't have favourites, but I mean, look at his face!

Twiggy is our Lesser Tenrec. He has lived at the menagerie since 2020 and has really stolen the hearts of the entire human family.

They are fascinating creatures with amazing personalities and friendly dispositions, and are a joy to watch go about their nocturnal activities! Twiggy is often found asleep in his cork tubes, or performing daring climbs to the top of his vivarium.