Well, I normally am not an impulse buyer and do my research first but the seller talked me into going ahead and taking them home. I was overly confident in my abilities to keep just about anything as long as it wasn't something that requires a ton of space and they were absolutely adorable. I have to say, I wasn't quite expecting them to be "hard to keep alive" because to me, they just looked like a glorified cute mini version of a bearded dragon with more pronounced spikes.
Once home, I started in with the research and it figures that my confidence would bite me in the butt.... I got 2 Desert Horned lizards aka Horny Toads! According to what I've been reading, they require ants to make up the majority of their diet and also UVB/UVA lighting which isn't so big of a deal and I was semi-expecting. They also require heat which I was also expecting, but I wasn't expecting all of the comments about how they are so hard to keep alive in captivity. I'm going to give it my best shot and follow all the advice I can find (which isn't much but I've managed to get the basics). They're apparently pretty rare in the reptile industry, mostly due to them being more difficult to care for but also because some are protected in the wild (depending on which species and what state) and states that do allow collection, have a pretty small limit.
They're certainly very cute and they seem to like their new "desert" home. I have them set up with both UVB and UVA on a timer for day/night cycle and sand to bury themselves in (I've already seen one bury himself which is pretty comical). I suppose only time will tell if I'm really as in-tune with my animals as I think I am. In the meantime, if you have any helpful information or experience with these little guys, please let me know!
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