Lizards

As an amateur herpetologist and researcher of this genus, I have an FAQ for just such questions.

1. Their natural prey item is a very specific genus of harvester ants called Pogonomyrmex. These ants are not hard to find in the southwest, but you must be able to gather a lot of them almost daily, and this is challenging, or, you will have to buy them. An adult Horned Lizard will typically eat 100-200 harvester ants a day.

2. The ants have a very painful sting, which has been known to be fatal to a 4lb. laboratory rodent with as few as a dozen stings. I have been stung by up to two at the same time, and it will ruin half your day...so ask if you really want to put up with that?

3. If you don't live in the SW, where these ants are common, you will have to mail order them...and they are expensive. The average adult Horned Lizard will eat about 1000 or more ants a week. Average prices for 1000 ants by mail order is $20-$25. It will cost you more per month to feed a Horned Lizard, than it will to feed several large dogs.

4. Horned Lizards are considered an advanced level herp, and should not be kept by inexperienced persons. Typically they are kept only by experienced herpetologists. Horned Lizards have a reputation for quick death in captivity if all conditions are not right. About 90+% of Horned Lizards captured from the wild will die in only a few months, if in inexperienced hands, and many die in experienced hands as well.

5. "Horned lizards are among the most difficult lizards to keep in captivity because they have specialized dietary and thermal requirements, and they are susceptible to disease." -Dr. Richard Montanucci, Herpetologist & author of "Maintenance and Propagation of Horned Lizards in Captivity".

6. "Unfortunately these lizards are frequently collected from the wild for pets. They usually die in captivity because of a lack of proper husbandry. This is an incredibly delicate lizard, subject to stresses which include handling. For this reason, it should be viewed only, and not handled at all." - David Cooper, North Carolina Herpetological Society

7. Horned Lizards are protected in most states in which they are native. In some states they are considered "endangered" or "threatened". In these states it is a criminal offense to possess a Horned Lizard without proper wildlife protected species permits. Penalties range as high as $1000 per violation, and/or 1 year in jail.

8. "Whenever captive, Phrynosoma will rarely survive if not given a regular offering of live ants." - Dr. Wade Sherbrooke, author of "Introduction to the Horned Lizards of North America"

9. If you are going to keep a Horned Lizard in captivity, it is most likely going to get sick, and you must be skilled in veterinary science. Due to the legal status in most states, the average exotic animal vet will not touch them. Either out of fear that it may be a protected and illegal animal for you to have brought into their business, or because very little is known about them, because they are so rare as pets, and they don't want to treat an exotic pet that they are not knowledgeable about.

10. If you don't have an actual helpful purpose in mind, such as research or rehabilitation, you have no business having a Horned Lizard. They are protected in most states for a reason, and that is because their wild populations are dwindling every year due to pressure from loss of habitat, agricultural activities, pesticides, fire ants, and collection for the pet trade.

In Texas, the P. cornutum has disappeared from almost the entire eastern half of the state. When I was a kid in the 1970s, there were still a few around in the Houston area. I saw one about 1977-79. Now, you can't find a Texas Horned Lizard anywhere, unless you go up to and across the IH 35 corridor, west of Waco, Austin, Ft. Worth, etc. They have lost almost 200 miles of their previous range in 30 years. At that rate, they cannot stand any more pressure from novices collecting or buying them for pets, who don't know what they are doing.