Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just received harvester ants and started feeding them to my HL today. Ive noticed that after he eats a few, he does a little head twitching thing. it reminds me of a robot with a malfunction or something. im guessing its from the ants biting the inside of his mouth, but i just wanted to know if it was normal. i dont want him to be bit too many times or anything. i am only puting in about 5 at a time and he gobbles them up quickly. if someone could tell me if theyve seen ths happen id feel better. thank you.

could you clarify "twitching"?

Is this like a head "bobbing" motion, or something else with the head movement? Or is this something more connected to his mouth/jaw movement?
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

Also, slow the ants down for him by refrigerating them a while. They will hibernate in the fridge and last longer too.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

its his whole head bobbing, but very fast and just a couple of bobs. i dont know if that helps. have you seen or heard of this though? could there be something wrong with him?? anything i can do besides put the ants in the fridge?

While eatng ants, or any prey item for that matter, you may notice a "burping" reflex that is quite normal. This reflex aids in passing the prey item into the stomach. The horned lizard may get stung by the ants but it is nothing to worry about because the "burping" reflex also clears the stinger from the pallate. HLs have a blood factor that detoxifies the ant venom and turns this venom into complex carbohydrates and water. Pretty good design.

Lester G. Milroy III
Conservation Biologist

This sounds like normal head bobbing communication. It's normal when feeding and at other times. Especially with a Horned Lizard fresh from the wild. It's good indication that he's "happy" so to speak in his environment and feels comfortable during feeding.

Opinions differ, but I notice this behavior often between two HLs feeding, almost like a territorial communication. As if to say; "Hey, I'm eatin' here!"
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

thats good to know. im glad you guys know everything lol. thanks for the help.

Head bobbing is a form of communication. The eating behavior of a single HL would not be a territorial display. HLs do not have territorial behaviors or displays that I have ever seen in captivity or in the field.

Lester G. Milroy III
Conservation Biologist

It's like I said, opinions differ. But I do know that some have documented to the contrary of your observations Lester. And there have been observations of apparent aggression between solare and cornutum. I have also witnessed an increase in head bobbing frequency along with apparent rise in stress and movements of one horned lizard, when another approaches to also feed on the same location.

I did not say that the behavior was aggressive. And any "communication" cannot be systematically refuted as being non-territorial in nature. I don't think any of us can say with certainty what exactly is being communicated. "My territory" would be a communication as well. They could be communicating "hey, there's some ants here!" too. Nor could one say with certaity that a single horned lizard does not bob it's head for territorial reasons when it appears to be alone, to be seen by unseen horned lizards.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246