ZooLab comes to Guysfield

Posted on Friday 25th May

At Guysfield Care Home in Letchworth, residents were delighted when they enjoyed a visit on 22^nd May from ZooLab, who arrived with some very interesting and unusual visitors.

Our residents and team were all eagerly looking forward to meeting ZooLab’s collection of weird, wonderful and exotic animals and there was a real buzz in the home as we wondered just what would creatures would arrive.

The session started with a show and tell and the ZooLab presenter told us about each of the creatures they had brought with them. These included a giant centipede, a corn snake, a giant African snail and a gerbil. We heard about their habitats and what they like to eat, which are nocturnal, how they live and what they like to feed on.

Holding snakes and lizards might not be for everyone but all our residents got a thrill from seeing them up close. Those brave enough to handle the animals said they loved it and it brought smiles to everyone’s faces. The feel of the cold snake-skin, the slow, slimy movement of the snail, were very different sensations.

The great thing about this visit was the conversation it sparked and the memories of past experiences that touching and holding the creatures evoked – it really did get us all taking and reminiscing about times in the past when we had encountered similar creatures.

The animal therapy sessions have been run in several of our homes in the past and have proven hugely beneficial. The visit from ZooLab was a really enjoyable and therapeutic experience for our residents and they are looking forward to future visits from the exotic animals.

At Guysfield we are proud of our varied and diverse activities provision for our residents, friends and guests of our home. We believe an active life is a happier and more fulfilling life and a key member of the care team is our full-time Activities Coordinator, who works with each resident to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate in activities that have real meaning for them and to ensure they contribute to their physical and mental wellbeing.

At Guysfield Residential Home we provide residential and dementia care for up to 49 elderly people.

If you would like to find out more about life at Guysfield care home, please contact us on 0808 223 5509 or manager.guysfield@caringhomes.org.

About ZooLab
ZooLab are an animal handling company that uses animal therapy to make people’s lives better. They visit care homes with the purpose to bring people closer to nature by introducing new and different experiences and stimulating an interest in science, nature and learning.