Backyard Visitor

[jonah]

I nearly ran this guy down with a mower last month. We took a few pictures and then turned it loose in the park next door.

 

[chad27]

oh wow thats a awesome lizard what kind?

 

[jonah]

It's called a Texas Horned Lizard, although they're commonly called horny toads. The Latin is Phrynosoma cornutum.

I think I posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry.

 

[Allison]

Impressive! I love horned lizards.

 

[RobbiesCornField]

Very cool! I'd love to find something like that in my yard.

 

[pwargcm]

id like to own one. lol. they look awesome.

 

[Pasodama]

Very cool!
Glad you didn't run it over with the lawn mower.

 

[Jenstar]

Awesome lizard.

 

[Suzy]

Very cool! If I'm not mistaken, aren't those the lizards that bleed from their eyes as a defense mechanism? I didn't realize they got so big!

 

[fu1bar3]

I was thinking thats the lizard that does that too..

sure is a cutie...

isnt this also the type that your not allowed to own?

 

[Floof]

I need to get my geography straight. I was going to say a "Texas" lizard shouldn't be in Oklahoma so it was probably an escaped pet... Then I realized OK sits on top of TX. =/

Great find, what a pretty lizard. =)

 

[Suzy]

I need to get my geography straight. I was going to say a "Texas" lizard shouldn't be in Oklahoma so it was probably an escaped pet... Then I realized OK sits on top of TX. =/

Great find, what a pretty lizard. =)

They're native to several states (and Mexico) including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and a tiny bit of Arizona.

 

[diamondlil]

What a lovely visitor!

 

[Floof]

They're native to several states (and Mexico) including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and a tiny bit of Arizona.

Just goes to show how little I know, lol.

 

[jonah]

They can shoot blood several feet and they bloat up with their horns out as a defense mechanism. I don't know if they're legal to keep or not. They used to sell them in pet shops, but they're hard to keep because of their main diet (harvester ants). They're considered a threatened species in my state. This one was probably around 4" long. To give you an idea of size, the white background is an old 5g pail I put it in for the pictures.

I used to catch this one's smaller cousins in Southern Utah when I was a kid visiting my grandparents. This is the first one I'd seen in over 25 years, but my younger son (who does the mowing most of the time) said he sees them regularly. He's even caught them in the garage a few times.

 

[chad27]

be hard for a snake to eat him