Stu, my iguana, turned four years old last month. Iguanas are great pets. He's friendly, social and doesn't make too much of a mess. I wanted to do something special his birthday this year so I planned a party. His brother, Bob, lives with my friend Aurora's house and they hadn't seen each other, or their mother, Stella, who lives with my friend Craig's who got Aurora and I into keeping Iguana's as pets in the first place. I called up Aurora and Craig inviting them to bring Bob and Stella and come over for an Iguana family reunion and fourth birthday party.

I cut up some cardboard boxes to make an enclosure in the middle of the living room. I covered the floor with a sheet of plastic and put down lots of wood shavings to make it comfortable. They love that.

I placed bowls water, lettuce, grapes, grape leaves and animal crackers (Stu's favorite treat) inside the enclosure for them to snack on.

I made a small birthday cake and ordered pizza for the human guests.

Iguanas are smarter than people think and have really good memories. Stu, Stella and Bob sniffed each other over for a few minutes before they remembered each other and then started exploring the enclosure and tasting the food. I think the highlight of the party for the iguanas was when they all settled down for a nap. Aurora took a picture of them laying with their heads on each other.

Aurora, Craig and I ate pizza and pasta salad with red Sebastiani wine. After dinner everyone had cake and watched a couple of movies. I gave Stu's a special lounging pillow made for iguanas for his birthday.

It was a very simple party, but I could tell, Stu appreciated his birthday reunion though he did seem a little sad after his mom and brother left. Aurora and Craig agreed that we should bring them over to hang out more often. We're thinking of training them to leashes and taking them for walks.