If your child is a fan of bugs, frogs, turtles and snakes, you may want to learn how to plan a reptile theme party. Even though the party name implies reptiles only, the people who provide reptile party entertainment usually show up with more of an assortment of “Exotic Animals.”

If your child is very young, it might be difficult to explain what he or she should expect from this kind of party. One person’s awe and wonder may be another person’s nightmare. If you are certain that your child has expressed an interest in animals, particularly exotics (also called alternative pets), then by all means proceed and have one of the best parties available.

Reptile parties are not necessarily birthday parties. Frequently, scout troops, camps, and schools make arrangements to have visits from reptile specialists. Adult cocktail parties are sometimes punctuated by reptiles. Also anniversaries and rest homes. It’s a hands-on, educational and exciting environment, if the specialists take of your event properly. http://www.emreptilefamily.com/

This is important. If you are planning a reptile theme party, the focus of the party is on the animals. It is also on the birthday boy or girl, or whichever special person is being honored by the event. If you book your entertainment based purely on budget, you may be disappointed. Look for longevity in the reptile company, lots of references and referrals, and find out, specifically, which animals you can expect at the party you book. Budget should only impact the quantity and/or size of the animals, not the quality of the entertainment.

Unlike the standard birthday clown, reptile specialists are in high demand and early booking is recommended. Booking your date is an important first step. Sometimes the company may have multiple crews working simultaneously if they are well-established, but don’t delay the booking process.

Talk to the company about their animals. The typical animals at a well-presented reptile party may include an arthropod such as a tarantula or giant millipede, amphibians such as frogs and toads, and reptiles. It’s often forgotten that reptiles are likely to be presented in three different categories – lizards, turtles and tortoises, and snakes. This is what you can expect from a reputable company, so ask for specifics in case your toddler is likely to be upset if he or she sees an emperor scorpion (arthropod). The reptile people should work closely with you, and respect any budget constraints, then customize what you really want. Your three-year-old may not care a bit about which arthropod, but may care a lot about whether he or she can expect a special ride on a giant tortoise. http://reptilefamily.com/

To make your event truly memorable, find an enterprise that provides information about the animals as they are presented. Even though the smaller children may lose interest, the older ones and the adults may be full of questions regarding an animal’s native country, its age, what it eats…and you want to find someone who can provide intelligent information as well as answer any question about the collection of animals. http://www.thorsreptilefamily.com/Thors_Reptile_Family/Welcome.html

In searching online for a reptile party company, be careful. For instance, “Party Reptile” will bring up very different results than “Reptile Party!” http://www.partyreptile.com/welcome.php

Especially in the case of children’s reptile parties, the birthday boy or girl (or the parents) may want to incorporate a reptile theme so that there are activities going on before and after the reptiles themselves have come and gone, and the safari atmosphere is in place. It might be fun to research some of the animals you know are coming and create a “habitat.” Here are some ideas.

Creating a desert can be a bit messy, but creating a jungle or rain forest can be easy and fun. Artificial plants are available at the larger crafts stores, or pet stores that carry reptile supplies – people use artificial plants to create habitats for their lizards and snakes, especially the animals that need to climb. Jungle and rainforest animals that may come to your party could include:

Australian Carpet Python – Australian rain forest http://rainforest-australia.com/Carpet_Python.htm Burmese Python – Jungles of South East Asia http://rainforest-australia.com/Carpet_Python.htm http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/tortoises/RedFootedTortoise.php</ref> Red Foot Tortoise – Tropical forests of South America http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/tortoises/RedFootedTortoise.php

“Go, Diego, Go!” is becoming increasingly popular, because of Nickelodeon’s concept behind the show. http://www.nickjr.com/go-diego-go/ Diego discovers scientifically correct facts about the animals he encounters. The show explains significant characteristics about an animal – how it looks, where it lives. It really is a good accompaniment and is being seen at more and more reptile theme parties.

A more traditional route is to plan decorations and supplies with a reptile theme, around the reptile party itself. Many party supplies, decorations and party favors are available that depict reptiles. You may also want to consider incorporating the bugs as well. Even though there may be some controversy regarding the dinosaurs, they count. So, party items with insects, spiders, bugs, snakes, turtles, frogs and dinosaurs can create a colorful and lively backdrop for your reptile party.

If you really want to support this theme with a lot of fun, consider tying all the food (at least figuratively speaking) with the reptile theme in mind. If you decide to go with this idea, consider putting signs on the food with the reptile theme names on them and perhaps a representative image, such as a sticker.

Food:

• “Dinosaur Eggs” are simply deviled eggs with the yolk mixture dyed green.
• Gummy Bugs and many other gummy items are available if you’d like to make use of them. In fact, if you make a bowl of chocolate pudding, top it with crumbled Oreos for “dirt” and add gummy bugs, it looks great and tastes good, too! You can add a few miniature toy plants to make it look like the bugs are really outside.
• Gummy snacks also come in toads, alligators, and more.

If you cut two “[[bundt cakes]” in half, the put the four pieces together to form a wavy pattern, frost it and you have a snake cake! http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/slippery-snake-cake-686426/

• Frozen Frog Eggs, made with kiwi fruit and limeade, are yucky and yummy! http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/frozen-frog-eggs-688993/

You can serve some of the same things reptiles and arthropods eat and label them with signs for the reptile food that humans eat, too:

• “Lizard Food” - Lizards, such as skinks and tegus, like bananas. http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/articles/reptiles/315-faq-tegu-food-feeding.htm
• “Tortoise Food” – Tortoises are fond of strawberries and watermelon.
• “Monitor Lizard Food” - The bigger lizards, like monitor lizards will in some cases be delighted with a hotdog (cooled down and minus the bun).
• “Tarantula Food” - Tarantulas and Emperor Scorpions eat crickets, if you can find gummy crickets.

Check with the reptile people and see if it’s okay to keep a few of these items to feed to some of the animals later, except the gummy ones of course. Usually, it will be fine, but let the kids know that the reptile specialists will be doing the feeding. Some lizards have teeth!