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When grasped, they close their eyes and the eyelids appear to inflate. Texas horned lizards (and some other species of horned lizards) have a fascinating behavior used to detract predators. A motionless horned lizard is difficult to see against bare soil. When lying against the soil, the flattened body casts only a slight shadow, and the spines on the back and sides help break up the body’s outline. The body shape is also an adaptation to avoid the attention of would-be predators. Populations in areas of sandy soil may have a yellowish tint while populations in other areas may have a reddish or dark brown tint. For further camouflage, local populations tend to resemble the color of their area’s soil. Their first line of defense is their mottled brown body coloration that helps hide them against bare soil and dead leaves. Though capable of running quickly for short distances, they rely more on camouflage than speed for protection. Avoiding predators influences many of the Texas horned lizard’s behavioral and physical adaptations.
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Horned lizards usually attack solitary ants several yards away from the harvester ant colony, and avoid the colony’s center where they would be mobbed by droves of biting ants. Behavioral observations have shown that horned lizards may eat as many as 70 harvester ants a day. When an ant approaches, the lizard takes a few quick steps forward, flicks out its tongue, captures its prey and swallows it whole. Texas horned lizards lie motionless along harvester ant trails and capture ants as they pass to and from their colony. Most of the diet consists of harvester ants other insects such as beetles and spiders are eaten as well. Individuals reach sexual maturity in the second year of life. The female provides no further care for her eggs or young and is not likely to lay more eggs that year. Hatching occurs in August, and hatchlings are about the size of a quarter when they emerge from eggs. Smaller females may produce clutches with more than 40 eggs. Females deposit clutches of eggs (that vary in number with size of the female) in a slanted tunnel approximately 6-8 inches into the ground. During the active season, they are usually found in open areas with sandy soil. In October, they burrow underground to begin their winter hibernation. Texas horned lizards are active in Oklahoma from early April through September.