What has been happening to the horned lizards?

Question

When I was young, I was always threatened with "If you keep/kill that horny toad, you'll get in trouble because they're endangered!"

Needless to say, my "pet" colony of lizards came and went from the house freely because nobody knew why they were coming inside. Probably for ants.

I moved away from about eight years or so and when I came back, I noticed there weren't any horny toads to be seen!

When I was young, it was normal to see a herd of lizards during mating season running down the street and through houses. I've been home for two years and haven't seen a single one.

Has it gotten so bad that we've run them out almost to extinction?

Answer 1

Yes..they are becoming pretty rare now.  Lots have been killed for construction of mini-malls and condos where I live.  Whenever I see one I have to report it and get a GPS location for it as they are considered a species of concern here in California.

Answer 2

This sounded interesting so I read up on it and this is what I found:

The primary cause for population decline is the loss of habitat by agricultural and urban conversion. Other causes also have lead to declining populations including overharvesting for the pet trade and curio trade and the invasion of exotic species, particularly exotic ants which the lizards can not survive on and outcompete their preferred ant.

In Texas, both the Texas and Mountain Short-horned lizards are state listed as Protected: which means it is illegal for anyone to take, possess, transport or sell them without a special permit. Not only is it illegal to keep horned lizards, but they are difficult to care for in captivity, and most captured ones eventually die from improper care.

That's sad, isn't it...