Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Lightning Bug Toxicity

larryrolson Mar 10, 2013 02:25 PM

Contact

Does anyone know if feeding a lightning bug to a jeweled lacerta spells certain death? It was for our bearded dragon.

Want to field collect insects and need to know if they have an achiles heel.

Any experience out there?

thanks
Larry

Replies (1)

Nino Mar 21, 2013 08:33 AM

Contact

Lightning bugs (genus Photinus) contain lucibufagin toxins, chemically similar to cardiotoxins found in toad skin secretions.
They are toxic (and potentially lethal) to many lizards, frogs, and even birds.

I'd avoid them at all costs - with all the species of arthropods you can collect in the field, why risk with fireflies?

You can format your posts and signature using BBCode. Here are some common examples:

You type	Result
`[b]Bold text[/b]`	Bold text
`[i]Italic text[/i]`	Italic text
`[u]Underlined[/u]`	Underlined
`[url]https://kingsnake.com[/url]`	https://kingsnake.com
`[url=https://kingsnake.com]Kingsnake[/url]`	Kingsnake
`[img]https://example.com/image.jpg[/img]`	Displays the image at that address.
`[color=green]Green text[/color]`	Green text
`[quote]Quoted text[/quote]`	Formats a quoted block of text.

Keep things readable and family‑friendly; staff may edit signatures or posts that affect thread readability.

Support

Help, tips & resources quick links

Manage

Manage your user and advertising accounts

Register For A User Account Login to MyAccount Manage Your Classified Account Manage Your Banner Account Manage Your Business Directory Account Manage your Photo Gallery Account

Purchase

Advertising and services purchase quick links

Purchase a classified account$ varies Renew a classified account$ varies Purchase a business directory listing$50/yr Purchase a banner advertisement$ varies Free Expo Event listingFree! Purchase a standard event listing$25/listing Pay an open invoice

Are you registered?

To advertise here using a business name you must have your legal business name registration verified. Click for details on the program or to register your business FREE!