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Horned lizard food!
Horned Lizards (HLs) are definitely one of the more difficult reptiles
to keep and can be somewhat expensive to feed. If you decide to take on
the responsibilities of maintaining a healthy HL you will want to read
as much as you can regarding their care
and feeding. Horned lizards natural diet consists of 60% to 90% ants
depending on your HL species. Feeding harvester ants helps to ensure normal
growth and longevity. For more information on Horned Lizards, including
caring for them go to www.phrynosoma.org
You may have heard that horned lizards can survive on crickets and
meal worms, or that there may even be a spray that will provide the nutrients
found in ants. These are rumors and misconceptions. Horned
lizards need a percentage of ants in their diet (which varies depending
on species).
Ant Care
Ants can be stored in the refrigerator in the bottle they are shipped
in and will keep for up to 10 days. Regrigeration will make the ants
go dormant, which will make them somewhat easier to handle. It will
take them a few minutes to become active once they are taken out of the
cold. There has also been some success by some people with freezing live harvester ants
and feeding them (dead frozen) to horned lizards. This is still being researched and you may have
better success depending on species. If your HLs will accept them this is a good method
to help get you through the winter, where ants can be difficult to come by.
If you wish to keep the ants alive longer a good method is to put
some sand in a plastic bucket or other container that has a plastic lid
(ants can chew through paper or cardboard), ensuring there are tiny air
holes.
Ants can be fed greens, apple or orange slices, grains and other
plant materials. Do not feed your ants meet or anthing with animal
fats. Ants also need to drink, but this can be accomplished by providing
the fruits and fresh vegetables listed above. Apple juice or water
can be offered in small drops if the container is large enough.
The ants should never be allowed to overheat. This will kill
them quicker than anything. 85 degrees is about the highest temperature
they can tollerate, and they must have moisture to endure this temperature
for long.
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