When my mom was a little girl, she captured a horny toad for a pet. She made a home for it in a shoe box. Then she hid the shoe box in her closet until she could ask her mother if she could keep it.
Unfortunately, the horny toad escaped the box. Mom’s big sister opened the closet door. When it saw sister, the horny toad shot blood from its eye at her. Mom got in big trouble that day. She had to let the horny toad go.
Horny toads are strange creatures. They are lizards instead of toads. Their bodies look fat and are the same color as toads. They puff up when they are upset. Horny toads have horns on their heads that make them look mean. They also spit blood from their eyelid when alarmed.
Horny toads are about six inches long. They like to eat ants. Horny toads once lived throughout most of Texas. They also lived in New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Oklahoma and Kansas.
People use to think that horny toads would make good pets. They do not. Now horny toads are disappearing. The Texas horny toad is on the threatened species list. Scientists think that they are disappearing because too many people collected them. The spread of fire ants may be another reason.
Texas is looking for a few good horny toad trackers to help them. If you would like to join the Texas Horned Lizard Watch you can learn more at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/texas_nature_trackers/horned_lizard/.
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