Giant Horned Lizards

[Rankins]

Just ordered a pair of them today.

 

[Rankins]

Forgot to mention they are also pretty expensive $500/pair. But I have seen them sold for as much as $1000 each!!

 

[CooperDragon]

I look forward to seeing photos when they arrive =)

 

[Rankins]

I'll try to post pictures at some point tomorrow.
Now I gotta stop buying animals...
Can't help it because I have so many favorites.

 

[CooperDragon]

I understand. If I had it my way, I'd have a house full of tanks floor to ceiling filled with rescues/special needs dragons =)

 

[Rankins]

Hahaha...Cooper my house is kind of like that already.

 

[Rankins]

Giant horned lizards (Phyrnosoma asio) just arrived. They are about 6"....they will live in a 40 gallon aquarium.[ximg]85426 1567909760[/ximg]

 

[CooperDragon]

They're cool! They look like scrunched up dragons =)

 

[Rankins]

Kind of....
They are one of the hardier horned lizards. They can eat mainly crickets and mealworms (not a lot) with supplemental ants.
I still advise against most people keeping them as pets though. They can be fickle and stress out. Which will kill them. Just neat animals to look at...not handle.

 

[Rankins]

Forgot to mention something weird about this species. As a defensive response they can squirt blood from thier eyes. They also aim for the eyes of the victim...

 

[CooperDragon]

What do they like to do? They look like fairly close cousins of a bearded dragon based on their main features. Surprises me that they don't have similar temperament.

 

[Rankins]

They don't do much, just eat and eliminate
Their coloration and pattern is kind of similar to bearded dragons. But they have a bunch of spikes on thier heads and body.

 

[Rankins]

Here's a picture of the female...
Lots of spikes on the head and body.
This species reminds me of a moloch lizard (aka Thorny Devil). I wish Australia would allow some to be exported for attempts at captive propagation.[ximg]85426 3292264468[/ximg]

 

[CooperDragon]

I see a bigger difference from that angle. She looks much more heavily armored than a dragon. As I understand it, Australia is pretty protective of it's wildlife (which isn't a bad thing). Even tough to get a permit to keep lizards in captivity there much less export them.

 

[Rankins]

Yeah, Australian wildlife laws are a bit ridiculous.