Texas Icon: A body covered with horns and the ability to shoot blood from their eyes

Texas Dept of Wildlife ^ | 2/2/14 | patriiot08

[patriot08]

With a body covered in horns, resembling some prehistoric creature- and the demon-like ability to squirt blood from his eyes, the mere sight of the Texas horned lizard is enough to send most screaming and running in the opposite direction should they encounter him.

But most older Texans know his fierce appearance is all for show just to scare off predators. As children they used to catch and play with the lizards, for he is a gentle little creature who never bites and will go to sleep in your hand if you roll him over and rub his tummy.

This docile little creature is the state reptile of Texas and, as the "horned frog", is the mascot of Texas Christian University.

The Texas horned lizard is the largest and most abundant of the approximately 14 species of horned lizards in the western United States and Mexico. They can reach a length of 4-6 inches.

The lizards colors camouflage it against predators, and it can also puff itself up and protrude its many small body thorns making it difficult to swallow.

The Texas horned lizard also has the ability to squirt a stream of blood from its eyes for up to 5 feet. This not only frightens and confuses predators, but has a bad taste when predators such as wolves and coyotes try to eat it.

There has been a serious decline in the number of the lizards in recent years and it is illegal to take, possess, transport or sell them without a special permit. The decline is thought to be the result of overuse of pesticides and invading fire ants which destroy the harvester ants the lizards feed on.

[skinkinthegrass]

my friend; had the unusual honor, of finding 3 HLiz. hatchlings & 2'+ dia.
TX Spiny Soft-shelled turtle...not in the same day, one summer.
discovered what quicksand could do & couldn't do..

[skinkinthegrass]

Reptile ping... that's an excellent video.

[Sivad]

In the foothills NE of Sacramento we grew up around many
horny toads. Pretty hard to find these days and the same goes
for porcupines. Foxes and bears are thriving better than ever.

[KGeorge]

He’s a big animal lover (too). I hate that. Surely, there are still some around stock tanks.

That’s wild. That sounds vaguely familiar, but I was never really discouraged from handling them. Of course, critters have instinct & maybe it was because I was so young (<6).

zeguma- Oh, that wouldn’t be good. I/ he always wondered if they’d go back in the opposite direction (where they were coming from). Still, ya can’t just leave them there.

Tatt- lol I thought you’d named the iron one (stranger things have happened).
The ones I played with lived in our yard. We had a *bunch* of them. The babies seem like, now, were about the size of a quarter. They really are charming creatures. Thank you. God Bless you, too!

TexasFossil- I guess you’re out in/ by West Texas. I’m really glad to hear that they’re still around. Y’All made me look it up. I didn’t know they ate ants. Wonder if they’d eat “crazy ants”?

My aunt & uncle used to live in Clovis, NM (Cannon AFB) & when we used to go visit them, my grandaddy & uncle always went quail hunting. YUM! I know there were quite a few quail between SA & Del Rio/ Eagle Pass & south of here because we always used to see them toddling alongside of the road when driving to & from claims- families of them, I guess, with little ones. They’re pretty cute. This was more than 10 years ago, though.

We used to have a lot of Plovers (Curlews?) in parking lots at night, here, too. They’re still on the beach, I can tell you that.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an Asian Dove. There aren’t nearly as many White Wings around as there used to be. (Or pigeons- a Blessing!) The Woodpeckers have shown up, though, & I’m happy about that. I’ve only seen adults (more red than yellow- unless I have it backward) so far. I’d say they’re my favorites, but I have too many to pick one bunch.

[Ditter]

My brother and I when we were kids, used to catch these little guys and play with them. I haven’t seen one in years.

[Ditter]

The horny toads in Houston didn't seem to mind the humidity.

[Dallas59]

The Texas spiny lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard native to the south central United States, in the states of Texas and Oklahoma, and northeastern Mexico in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí. They are quite common throughout their range, where they can be found in trees or on fences.

They are 7.5-11 inches (19–28 cm) in total length, and are typically grey in color with black, white, or red-brown blotching down the back. Patterns vary greatly by locality, but the colors and pattern typically serve to be adequate camouflage against the bark of trees in its chosen habitat. The underside is usually uniformly light grey in color, but males typically have blue patches on either side of the belly. Their scales have a distinctly spiny texture to them. They have long toes, and sharp claws suited to climbing.

The Texas spiny lizard is diurnal and arboreal. Their preferred habitat is mesquite trees, over areas with a significant amount of ground leaf litter, but they are often found in suburban areas basking on fences or climbing telephone poles. Typically shy and nervous, when approached they will usually retreat up a tree or flee noisily through leaf litter on the ground. They are insectivorous, and eat a variety of beetles and other insects. Breeding occurs throughout the spring and summer months, and clutches of eggs can be laid as often as four times a year.

The male Texas spiny lizard also has a peculiar habit when challenged by another male for its territory. The two males will have a push up contest, or so it seems. Both males will begin doing push ups until one of them gives up and runs away.

Though not normally found for sale outside of its native range, like most other Sceloporus species, the Texas spiny lizard makes an ideal choice for a small pet lizard. They are hardy, adapt easily to captivity, and readily consume commercially available crickets, though they do require specialized ultraviolet (UVB and UVA) lighting. Care should be taken, though, in avoiding overfeeding of these lizards, as they will readily consume all available prey - causing digestion issues and possible deformities.

[Texas Fossil]

We have white wing doves here too. Not as many as Asian Doves. The Asian doves look like native mourning doves, but they are much larger and have a black semicircle across one side of the neck.

Curlews >

http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/images/long-billed-curlew-9.jpg

Eurasian Dove>

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4AcgG0BpY8w/SqPc2x_vnRI/AAAAAAAABbM/YCPfQtHAIrU/s400/Eurasian%2520Collared%2520Dove.jpg

[Dusty Road]

[Scoutmaster]

This brings back good memories. I played with these critters all the time as a child in the 60s.

My grandfather's place in Midwest City, OK had more of them than we did in Texas, but Houston wasn't Horny Toad Central.

[Scoutmaster]

This brings back good memories. I played with these critters all the time as a child in the 60s.

My grandfather's place in Midwest City, OK had more of them than we did in Texas, but Houston wasn't Horny Toad Central.

[patriot08]

What are ‘tickle bees’? :)

[patriot08]

close up of 'harvester ant' or 'red ant' as we called them. Main diet of the lizard and being destroyed by invading fire ants:

These little buggers have a painful sting if you mess with them.

My father used to destroy their hills on our ranch years ago- before we found out about the horned lizard's dependence on them. Now when we find one (rare), it is left alone in hope that someday the lizard will return to our place.

[patriot08]

See post 93 for the kind of ant that the horned lizard eats.

[patriot08]

Thanks for the info. I was not familiar with the spiny lizard.

[patriot08]

Thanks.

I’ve such fond memories of playing with the little horned lizards as a child, too.

[patriot08]

Great picture. They really have that camouflage down right, don’t they?

[patriot08]

Thanks for the input.

We make a special effort here in CC to help save the endangered Kemps Ridley sea turtle.
I enjoy taking part in it.

You might find this interesting:

http://www.caller.com/news/news/local/kempsridley/

[midnightcat]

well! I hope they were married. And to each other!!

[patriot08]

Thanks very much to all my fellow Texans and FReepers who came out and joined in to make this thread so enjoyable!

Katy