Joann Merritt's Essays
New Life Emerges From The Dust Of The Earth
September, 1990
Among those present at the MIDNATS “Star Party and Poorwill Concert” (where obliging coyotes were a howling success as they substituted for the no-show Poorwills) were nurse Sybil, Doctor John and paramedic Mark. I felt a special affinity to that group as that very day I was the attending naturalist as 21 baby horny toads entered this world. It was a busy morning. I justified spending several hours watching these events by taking notes to share with the MIDNATS, so…..let’s go back in time seven weeks and six days….
Early Sunday morning May 27th I happened upon a freshly dug nesting burrow occupied by a horny toad. She had backed into the burrow leaving only her head and front legs visible. Good judgment prevailed over curiosity so I didn’t interrupt her egg laying chore even though I wanted to see and count the eggs. An hour later she came out of the burrow and was replacing the dirt. We left for church. When we returned she had concealed the site so well that it was impossible to tell where the soil had been disturbed, but we knew! According to the literature, the Texas Horned Lizard (the horny toad’s correct name) lays 14 to 37 eggs which hatch in six weeks.
So we patiently waited… six weeks, seven weeks, then five more days passed and we decided to se what was happening underground. On July 20th Don carefully dug in the loose soil and there were two baby horny toads in “suspended living” state - excitement reigned! Don quickly replaced the dirt and covered the site with a screen-covered wooden frame so they could not leave and yet nothing could harm them. Do you suppose they hatch in six weeks and then remain underground for two additional weeks to gain strength, sort of like being in an incubator?
July 21, 9:00 a.m. The first babies are emerging from the loose soil. It is difficult to see them, sand still covers their backs, and their heads resemble little clods of dirt. Looking closely, we saw them blink their eyes and open their mouths. Most of them burrow back under the dirt either partially or completely, then re-emerge later. By10:00 there are ten; three have left the nest area and made their way into the pasture. As more come out we see the horns on their heads and spines around the edge of their bodies. At 10:15 I observed one eating an ant, then he ate three more in quick succession. These are small ants, not big red ants like the adults eat. Did the female horny toad realize these small ant beds were nearby when she dug her nesting burrow here? Six babies have departed and I can see five more. No, six more, two have appeared together, one on top of the other. One opened and closed his mouth about twenty times. There’s a brown leaf that several have hidden under, but one brave baby didn’t hide under the leaf - he climbed on top and surveyed his world before heading southwest.
11:15 a.m.: The babies measure from 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" from the tip of their tail to the tip of their mouth. One is still flat looking and has not moved around. A total of thirteen have now emerged. The sun is shining now and the flat one has perked up. He’s doing push-ups in the shade of some grass - Yea! At 11:40 the last visible one has gone to seek his fortune.
By 6:00 p.m. I have tallied twenty baby horny toads. I found a dead one under an edge of the frame. As is nature’s way, the ants fed on the dead horny toad. Monday a.m., July 21, two are ready to leave and one barely has his head out - that’s a total of 24. It rained 1/4th of an inch early this morning and I hope the babies can withstand the cooler temperature. How do they get out of their shell? I examined the mouth of one baby for an egg tooth. I could neither see nor feel one but the top edge of his mouth has a ridge that is hard enough to accomplish this task. Since picture taking is permitted at the Merritts’ Modern Birthing Center, we will have some slides of this eggs-citing event for your viewing pleasure.