Residents at Crandon Springs Care Home were given the opportunity to handle a fantastic selection of snakes, spiders, reptiles, bugs and invertebrates during a recent visit.

The care home hosted the animals courtesy of a visit from Yeovil-based Garwynn’s Reptile and Bugs Handling, which provides experiences to handle the reptiles and other creatures.

Megan Cleal, general manager of Crandon Springs, in Wells, said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today.

“We knew that having these delightful creatures here would be a bit of fun for all our residents, especially as some find it difficult to go on many outings in our minibus.

“We are always looking for new activities for the residents and today we have seen the seen the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people.”

Resident Christine excitedly said: “As a child I used to love all insects and I especially liked handling the snakes’ cool body. Today was very enjoyable and a wonderful experience.”

Crandon Springs care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Crandon Springs provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 64 residents from respite care to long term stays.

Barchester Healthcare is one of the UK’s largest care providers supporting older people living independent lives. Providing a wide range of services for a variety of needs, the company supports 11,000 residents across 200 homes for short and long term stays.