Behavior
Short-horned lizards are "sit-and-wait" predators. They feed primarily on ants, but will also take an occasional grasshopper or beetle. Often, they can be found sitting in the vicinity of ant nests or trails. They are diurnal creatures being most active during mid-day and burrowing at night. They rely extensively on camouflage to avoid predators. If provoked, some horned lizards can build up blood pressure in regions behind their eyes and accurately squirt their blood at attacking predators, which will deter Canids from continuing their attack. It is rare for horned lizards to squirt blood at humans however, reserving this unique defense primarily for Canids (i.e. foxes, coyotes, dogs) which have a strong reaction of distaste to the blood. Squirting blood has been observed in greater short-horned lizards but has not been observed in pygmy short-horned lizards.
Read more about this topic: Greater Short-horned Lizard
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“One never gets to know a person’s character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments.... It is always only danger which forces the most deeply hidden strengths and abilities of a human being to come forth.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“Excessive attention, even if it’s negative, is such a powerful “reward” to a child that it actually reinforces the undesirable behavior. You need to learn restraint, to respond to far fewer situations, to ask yourself questions like, “Is this really important?” “Could I let this behavior go?” “What would happen if I just wait?” “Could I lose by doing nothing?””
—Stanley Turecki (20th century)