Reptile & Amphibian Forums

On Sunday I was suprised to see a very interesting looking lizard in my garden. He came running out from under the tomato plants to stand under the spray of water. Since my son needs to take care of a reptile for a Boyscout Merit badge we caught him and set out to find what he was. We "thought" he was a horned lizard and from what we can tell, he's a Texas Horned lizard. In our research, we found out that he's protected and have since contacted the Texas Game and Wildlife commission. They plan set him up with a nice ant hill in west Texas.

In the meantime, he's been eating small crickets and a few meal worms. He hid in the sand of his terrarrium until yesterday when we gently fished him out and set him in the light of the heat lamp. That's when he started eating and scratching his head. He keeps rubbing his head and the side of his body on a large rock and today a lot of his skin is in tatters. PLEASE tell me this is normal. I'm hoping to deliver him to the herpatologist today, but I'm concerned about the stress of moving him if he's shedding.

Can anyone "shed" some light on this?

Thanks!

This is a normal process that all lizards go through. Your Horny Toad is doing what comes natural in slewing off the old skin. This will not stress him out, it's more important for you to get this to the herp man than to hold on to him. These lizards are not easy to take care of, and even harder for a novice. You truly did the right thing! May I suggest you take your boy to a local Petco or larger pet store that carries herps, and the ideal animal for your son would be a bearded dragon. These eventually within a year or a little more can grow to about 18". They look like a horned toad, they are a desert specie and are omniverious eating plants and insects, and when fully grown will eat other lizards and pinkie mice as an occassional offering. These make excellent pets. They are a little difficult when they are young, and vitamin suppliments, the right temps and size of cage is important. BUt all in all this would be an excelelent choice, plus there is a plethora of material and care books on these lizards so you should have a pretty good experience with one of these. When they get bigger they can be held more and will eat out of your hand. They are excellent for breeding as well. Hope this helps, and I'm glad to see that your true focus is the safety and health of the horned lizard. I would doubt that you would have a good experience with a horned lizard. Thanks!!!

Thank you so much for your reply. "My" horned lizard managed to shed all that itchy old skin by the end of the day and I took him to a local wildlife refuge, The Heard Museum. When we got there, all the employees got really excited and wanted to know where we'd found him. The herpatologist there was thrilled to take him and set him up in a temporary home. She said this weekend she would start working on finding him a new home where a community was already established with an ample food supply. It was hard to hand him over; he'd really worked his way into my family's heart. I've never seen a lizard with quite so much personality. On the other hand, it would have been horrible if we'd kept him and let him die. At least now maybe he'll help with the wild population.

My teen age daughter has wanted a bearded dragon for a long time, but I've always told her we didn't have the space for one. The herp lady suggested a leopard gecko. I'll check it out. I already have birds, cats and fish. It only seems right to have a reptile.