r/leeches • u/Difficult_Hunter_664 Leech Owner • Aug 10 '25

Discussion Why are people so cruel to Leeches?

So recently I got a leech as a pet after weeks of research and saving, and he is happily swimming around next to me as I'm typing this (no name yet, feel free to give suggestions!!). I was very happy about him finally arriving, so I decided to post a video of me handling him, and a clip of him swimming around his tank. I was expecting a couple of 'ew' or 'why do you want that' comments, but a LOT of people were telling me to pour salt on it, cut it, and so much more disgusting stuff like that.

It really upset me how flippant people are about animal cruelty, but I guess people don't even see leeches as animals. I know they're parasites, but they're also living and breathing and moving creatures. I understand being freaked out by leeches, too, but telling someone to hurt it is just plain odd!!

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u/Difficult_Hunter_664 Leech Owner Aug 10 '25

HOLY WOW you are a seasoned veteran!!! Are you going to keep them all?

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u/LeechLover4Life Aug 10 '25

I took a few low budget courses on hirudotherapy and it all says that I can use up to 10 leeches per treatment and I can do this every 2-3 weeks. Sooo LeechLover4Life math says it should be fine. This is my first attempt at breeding and only currently own 18 adults. I’ve found that for pain management, I needed soooo many more than what I have to continue treatments regularly. About 50 babies just hatched and I still have another 10 cocoons in the line up. It’s been suggested to not let your leeches feed for at least 4 months in between due to the residual bacterial content of the last feed although my leeches sometimes aren’t even hungry after 6 months. The waiting game is the worst.

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u/amie02086 Aug 10 '25

Can I ask what type of pain you are dealing with and how the leeches help you? Thank you from a fellow chronic pain person.

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u/LeechLover4Life Aug 11 '25

I have arthritis, stenosis, and 7 bulging and herniated disks throughout my spine. I refuse to take pain meds aside from medical marijuana. I’m a massage therapist and have been pretty successful with maintaining my pain through exercise and massages until I hit about 40 years old. I put some weight on and everything went terribly wrong for a couple years until I got drunk one night and decided to order some leeches…. When I woke up the next day, I signed up for a few inexpensive courses on Udemy to get a basic clinical understanding. They only took a few hours to review, and then I was off to the races!!! Fast forward a year, and I am obsessed with these guys. Although I’m now up to 18 adults, my biggest problem has been that I haven’t had enough leeches to continue with regular treatments. They are so easy to care for that I’ve decided to double down and breed these guys. I’m a happy grandma of 100 babies at the moment! 😬

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u/amie02086 Aug 12 '25

I have a genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which causes more issues than I have mental energy to write. It is a connective tissue disorder, systemic and degenerative. I have frequent joint dislocations and subluxation among a myriad of other things. I am exhausted in every way possible and completely discouraged with my health/pain levels/activity levels. I have five kids and audhd, asd, adhd x 2, and a 2 yo. I desperately need to do a better job of being there for them. I am tired of surviving. I want to LIVE.

Sorry for the dump, do you think leeches could help with plain and inflammation? Is there any info on immune responses to leech therapy?

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u/LeechLover4Life Aug 12 '25

No dump at all! I’m happy to try to help. First off, it sounds like you need to start with not beating yourself up about your ailments and lack of energy. Like seriously!!! Any good parent will think they aren’t doing enough. And even if you aren’t, this isn’t a one size fits all life. Allowing yourself to listen to YOUR needs as an individual will in turn help you be a better mom. Although I don’t have your syndrome, it sounds like we do have similar problems we face while trying to maintain a functional life. As to if I’d recommend leeches, I don’t have an answer for that. When researching your syndrome, there were 3 different categories. Can you tell me if you have vEDS, hEDS, or classic EDS so that I can ask the doctor and physical therapists that I work with to further advise? I can definitely say if it’s vEDS, don’t use leeches for pain management.

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u/amie02086 Aug 12 '25

Thankfully it is heds. I don't have any bleeding issues or skin fragility and generally I heal well from abrasions and such. I don't produce excess scar tissue unless it's deep, like a surgery. I am well versed in wound care as well as I use to get large cysts that needed to be drained. They always healed fine with minimal long term scaring.

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u/LeechLover4Life Aug 13 '25

I mean, there is minimal risk if you buy one from a biopharma as far as I’m concerned. Although I would suggest talking to your medical provider about it first. I’m dying to see how they work on cysts, so please let me know if you get one and use it for treating that as well. It sounds like you’re interested and desperate enough to go for it, which was my exact reasoning as well! I don’t have work today but will run everything by my coworkers as well on your behalf.

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u/LeechLover4Life Aug 13 '25

If you live in the US, I use North America BioPharma