Mike Lloyd, age 11, of Winston‑Salem., IN. C., for his question:

Does the horned toad really spit blood from his eye?

The animal called a horned toad don’t spit blood from his eye. He has been known to spit blood from both eyes to a distance of some eight feet. This part of the story is true. But this fellow with blood in his eye is not really a toad. True, the old fellow is as unhandsome as a toad. But he is actually a lizard. And certain horned lizards will spit blood from one eye, the other eye or from both eyes.

No one can blame us for calling this fellow a toad. For he looks very much like a rather flat, overgrown toad with spikes instead of horns. The spikes run in a double row down his back and form a fringe along his sides. There are also two spikes on his head which look like a pair of horns.

Mr. Horned Lizard has a scaly skin. And it is these scales which help make the spikes which give his body a jagged outline. His color matches the ground and his jagged outline helps him to blend into the sand or the soil. There he squats, and if your eyes are not very sharp, you would pass him by without noticing him. So do most of his enemies.

The spikes and horns are defensive weapons, but not very good ones. The horned lizard relies upon hiding rather than open combat. His enemies are mostly snakes who, however, do not relish the sharp horns. A snake who has devoured one horned lizard will usually leave others alone.

The Indians knew the horned lizard well. They also knew about his blood spitting trick and had their own explanation for it. They said the fellow was broken hearted to be caught and to lose his freedom. This sad event made him cry tears of blood.

We do not know whether this is true. But the horned lizard does do most of his blood spitting when captured. When you pick him up, which is easy, he has no way to defend himself. He seems to sense that he is in trouble. This is when he spits.

If you make a pet of him, chances are he will spit blood no more. But a few individuals will spit every time you lift them up or move them in their terrarium. A very rare individual may spit from both eyes. And a good many horned lizards never spit blood from the eye at all.

The horned lizards are at home in the deserts, the prairies and on the mountain slopes. Those who live in the deserts tend to have longer horns and spikes than their cousins of the prairies. Most of the mammas lay eggs and bury them in a hollow in the ground. It may be 90 days before they hatch at which time the ground is alive with baby horned lizards.

In Arizona the mamma horned lizard may lay her eggs inside her body. The babies do not appear until hatched. You may catch yourself one, of these lizards and take her home as a pet. A few days later what a surprises. There may be 20 or 30 extra inhabitants in the terrarium. Keep them warm and feed them plenty of live flies.