Those fellas are all but gone in central Texas, thanks to fire ants, the dogs and cats that come with development, and unknown reasons. You can still find them in the Panhandle, but in my youth if you wanted a horny toad you simply went out and got a horny toad.
My wife is convinced the Texas Horny Toad came to near extinction solely due to her older brother, bringing them home to torment her.
But I tend to agree the fire ants as their biggest problem.
Maybe the reason for their decline is that they just aren’t as horny as they used to be...
I have not seen one in so long I can’t remember when it was.
They were once ubiquitous. I don’t even see them in Oklahoma any more.
Seems like I have heard that fire ants are competing against the red ants that are their main food source. Red ant mounds used to be common with a horny toad waiting nearby to eat them. Now, I hardly ever see red ants.