Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has any one tried to keep horned lizards by feeding them eastern harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex badius)? It would be nice of I could use the local (cantral Florida) ant population.

never tried, but then again they are not native where most of the horned lizards are. I've used the black carpenter ants before when I coulnd't find harvester. the eastern, or, florida
harvester is the same Formicidae Family though and they have the same pain in the butt sting. so they would probably do fine.

Mick

Thanks. There a certainly enough carpenter ants around here! There are also quite a few harvester ant nests. Thanks again.

your welcome.

I'd feed the harvester's though as the main staple given the choice between the two, and it sounds like you have plenty around. the carpenter ants being the same family, but they don't have the sting, so I don't know what the specifics are on their formic acid content. I'm of the belief that formic acid intake being vital is open to debate anyway, since I've had success with other diets. but I'd certainly feed harvester ants if you can just go get them by the bucket.

by the way...you see any of the Texas Horned Lizards out that way that were introduced in the east?

Mick

To me, ants are ants, but what do I know. There are carpenter ants by the ton around here as well as harvester ants.
I have been wandering around the woods in Florida for a very long time and have never seen a horned lizard in the wild. Of course, I have never looked specifically for them. The animals that I look for, kingsnakes, red ratsnakes, etc., don't live like horned lizards. Also, our woods are more like sub-tropical rain forests. I don't thind that desert lizards would do very well. Having said that, I would not be suprised if some of them adapted to the humidity and lived in our sugar sand.

I have used the carpenters briefly, not long enough to determine what difference they make. but I'm sure in Eastern Texas and Louisiana, the Texas HL has eaten it's share of them also.
actually, these lizards were prevalent in the humid pineywoods
and some marshy areas of these two states years ago, before the fire ant invasion caught up with them. I've heard reports from a few people who state that HL's are still commonly found on their property in the pineywoods. but it's not what it used to be. I haven't seen one in East Texas in 20 years.
there is also known to be significant populations of them in the carolinas, and, I've heard they had been sighted in Florida as well.