Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my HL for a year now (i saved him from abandonment at a vet clinic). I feed him ants (and crickits in between ant shipments) I have had him for a year and he hasnt grown an INCH!!! he is just under 2 inches, i dont know how old he is, but i know for sure he is a Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) he looks exactly like the pictures i have seen. How big is he suppose to get? will he shed his skin? do i have to prepare something for that?

the texas horned lizard is protected and you should release him and have you ever heard of FULL SPECTRUM LIGHTING and he will shed

Depending on how and where he was caught and where you live P. Cornutum can be kept legally.
Call your fish and game for info.
Cheers!
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2 Kings 6:15-17

Hi there,
Well, assuming your Texas HL is legal,
he'll grow bigger, I read that they can reach up to
4 inches SVL. They need lots of ants, it sounds like it gets them, which is good.
They also need proper conditions to grow bigger.
If they're in a small container, consider moving them to a larger one. Like the Whiptaildude said, full spectrum lighting is in order. You can get these bulbs at almost all pet stores. You'd want one configured for desert lizards though.
Make sure there is enough room in your enclosure for it to get out of the heat though. To the issue of legality, If you don't have whatever permits you need to keep it legally, I don't know if you should release it.
You should probably give it to a wildlife official, because at least here in CA if you have a wild caught creature for over a month, its illegal to re-release them. Is it possible you have a really dark Round-tail? or maybe a Short-horned? As far as I know, those are still legal. I hope he will do well, though.
Ok well, there's my opinion.

Yours,
Phil

Much information on the legality of HLs posted on this forum has been false. When people hear a certain species is protected in one state they think it goes for all 52 states, which is not the case. No HL is federally listed as threatened or endangered although the status of cornutum and mcalli have been reviewed, but they were found not to be threatened with extinction. The Texas HL is protected in Texas and Oklahoma, in the the other states where it is found laws vary so contact your state fish and wildlife. I noticed young HLs grow rapidly when offered as many ants as they will eat one day than offering as many vitamin and mineral dusted small crickets the next. Alternate between the 2 and make sure you feed them every day, all they can eat. Use a reptile mercury vapor heat lamp or natural sun, the flourecents have about 14 the power and in my opinion produce poor results.

Thanks for your guys help, he lives in a 20 gal. tank w/ UV Desert Lizard bulbs...i feed him as much as he will eat, and although i have read that they are suppose to eat up to 25-100 ants a day - at the most he will eat like 12... and not every day either... he just doesnt eat much, i guess.

WHY i have him: he was abandonned at a vet clinic (i live in Idaho, i dont know how he got up here) where a friend of mine works, she gave him to me in the hopes i would be able to take care of him untill i went to El Paso, TX (unfortunatly, my texas trip fell thru, and i still have my HL)....so i still have him, he is still very tiny, although i give him plenty to eat and room to run (he runs all over my apartment too)