When I was about five years old, I was obsessed with horny toads. I've always loved frogs and lizards, but this little guy held a special place in my heart. There were no horny toads in South Carolina where I lived, but I longed to have one, or at least see one. My first exposure to them was from the movie, Old Yeller. If you recall, Arliss had a pet horny toad that he toted around in his pocket. I was smitten. Old Yeller's original owner (played by Chuck Connors) realizes Arliss' family
Arliss and Old Yeller. A Horny Toad was sacrificed.
needs Old Yeller more than he does, so he trades the dog to Arliss for the horny toad and a home cooked meal. I love dogs, but this trade worried me. I would have never given up my horny toad so easy. The summer after this fascination began, we traveled to Florida on a family vacation and stopped along the way at a roadside serpentarium, called Snake World, or something similar. My older brother, in his kindness, gets the resident snake wrangler to bring out a horny toad for me to see. I got to rub the toad's belly, putting him in a reptile trance with his little arms stretched over his head. I never forgot that moment. That's the only horny toad encounter I ever had. But now opportunity has raised its horny head again as I made the discovery that amazingly there are horny toads on Sullivan's Island, SC. In fact the major colonies are at Station 18, only a block from our rental house there. How did this Texan get to Sullivans? It seems that the Texas soldiers being transferred to Fort Moultrie on the island in the early 1900's brought the
A picture of Fort Moultrie, the first home for the Texas imported horny toads.
lizards with them in their pockets as pets. They were let go or escaped and formed one of the only isolated populations for the horny toad outside of Texas. There has been a decline in the South Carolina population since Hurricane Hugo, but a large colony was recently spotted there, so they may be making a comeback. The horny toad's diet is 70% harvester ants. Their populations have declined everywhere with the overuse of insecticides killing their food along with the increase in fire ants that eat the docile harvester ants. They are now endangered and a protected species.
Demonstrating the rare talent of Autohaemorrhaging
This easy going reptile does indeed have true horns on his head. The other spikes on his back are actually modified scales. A talent this animal has is the rare ability to squirt blood from his eyes to distract predators, called Autohaemorrhaging. Many people don't realize this skill is more than a wive's tale. The horny toad lives in sandy areas, laying their eggs much like a sea turtle, with the new babies digging out of the sand after hatching. The newborns are about the size of your thumbnail and will scatter like water when disturbed. Native American cultures regarded this animal as sacred and they are often represented in their art. I believe I can fully agree with this assignment and hope to see one of the Sulllivan's toads soon.
A picture of Fort Moultrie, the first home for the Texas imported horny toads.lizards with them in their pockets as pets. They were let go or escaped and formed one of the only isolated populations for the horny toad outside of Texas. There has been a decline in the South Carolina population since Hurricane Hugo, but a large colony was recently spotted there, so they may be making a comeback. The horny toad's diet is 70% harvester ants. Their populations have declined everywhere with the overuse of insecticides killing their food along with the increase in fire ants that eat the docile harvester ants. They are now endangered and a protected species.
Demonstrating the rare talent of AutohaemorrhagingThis easy going reptile does indeed have true horns on his head. The other spikes on his back are actually modified scales. A talent this animal has is the rare ability to squirt blood from his eyes to distract predators, called Autohaemorrhaging. Many people don't realize this skill is more than a wive's tale. The horny toad lives in sandy areas, laying their eggs much like a sea turtle, with the new babies digging out of the sand after hatching. The newborns are about the size of your thumbnail and will scatter like water when disturbed. Native American cultures regarded this animal as sacred and they are often represented in their art. I believe I can fully agree with this assignment and hope to see one of the Sulllivan's toads soon.
Thank you for this post. I was raised in LA and the horny toad was a part of my childhood. I almost always had one in a shoe box. After a day or two they would disappear. I just knew my house was full of escaped toads. Years later my mom fessed up to taking pity on the little guys and released them into the back yard, to be caught and cherished another day.
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