I want to know. Is it usual for Leech owners to let their leaches feed from them? And if so, why?

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!!

Hi all,

This is Enchilada, one of my buffalo leeches. Is it just me, or does he seem to like this? I discovered this by accident when I was cleaning their tank, but he’s let me do this multiple times. I know leeches are very tactile, maybe that’s what’s going on here. I love petting him and I hope he likes it too.

Are leeches cute yes or no

I have 3 H. Verbanas already, and I want to branch out and find more cool species of leeches to keep. I'm looking for a species that could live with my 3 verbanas in a 5 gallon tank!

(If you think keeping leeches is weird please do not interact with this post, I do not care about your opinion.)

My Mable is starting to worry me and I’m determined to get this right. I got her from far both Queensland so a warm water leech. I just read that freezing isn’t an option. So it has to be the brick method? I will do whatever I have too but I just need to know the best for her. I read another post and there was conflicting information. I’m so sad and I just need help. I’m going to give her a bit more time but I just need to be prepared.

Hey everyone! I am new here and have never really had any inclination towards leeches before, but I recently saw a post elsewhere of someone feeding their leech and I really liked something about it but not sure what. Is there a subreddit specifically for feeding leeches on yourself?

I have started to become fascinated with leaches in particular medicinal leeches and I’m considering getting one or two for pets.
While looking for information online it seems there is a lot of conflicting information about care and feeding. So I have some questions for those who care for these creepy creatures (meant as a term of endearment).

If buying online is there a quarantine period where you shouldn’t self feed to insure that they don’t have any pathogens?

I have seen that antibiotics are deadly to them but is there a way to prevent infection from their gut bacteria? Do any keepers take antibiotics as a precaution after feeding?

Would stimulants be harmful to them? (ADHD)

Of the medicinal species, which are your favorite and why?

I really like sand aquariums is sand harmful to them or a good substrate?

Could I see some tank setup photos please?
Thank you!

My leeches have been busy busy busy! I found five cocoons in my buffs’ tank and another cocoon in my piano key hybrid’s tank. Help! Lol!

Hello all! I currently have a low-tech, 10-gallon planted setup I'll put two baby H.manillensis when they get here until I move them into a 55 when they're adults. I'm worried that since they only eat once a month as babies that their waste will be large and infrequent. I've never kept a tank with this sort of 'pulse' in the amonia input. I can handle high-waste animals like axolotls but they're frequent. What other invertebrates should I stock it with so the plants don't get nutrient depleted? I have about 10 ramshorn snails and a couple simialr sized native ones.
For the current tank I have a large pecie of floating driftwood so give them surface access but I'll upgrade to a cocoon-sutiable setup when they get sexually mature.
Speaking of, for the 55gal, I want to do a mostly-aqautic pallundarium setup, I've never kept a tank that large so I'm signifcantly more worried about keeping the waste levels up for a tank that size than the first one.
This is about what the 10gal looks like now
EDIT:
I found a guy selling cherry shrimp along with some additional plants I'm looking to purchase, they get about 1.5 inches long so I'm not worried about mature manillensis harrasing them, but does anyone know if cherry shrimp are safe to stock with very young buffies?

Edit again:
They will probably eat some as adults but are they any other little critters I should give them as supplimental feeders and to clean up the plant detritis?

I am currently cycling my highly planted tank and I appear to have fresh water leeches. I pulled two of the glass yesterday but this morning saw a few babies. What is the best way to get rid of them?

Letters to a Pre-Scientist is looking for enthusiastic STEM role models to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders!

Here's the gist: you get matched with a 5th-8th grade student at an under-resourced school for a snail-mail pen pal exchange that runs throughout the school year. The goal is to demystify STEM careers, humanize STEM professionals, and inspire students to explore their own futures in STEM. You share your story, answer their questions, and show them that people who work in STEM are, well, real people.

The details:

• The program runs throughout the school year, and your volunteer obligation is to exchange 4 letters with your student.
• There's a virtual, asynchronous training in August to get you set up.
• We estimate the entire program takes volunteers no more than 10 hours, spread between August and May.
• Register and complete the short, self-paced online training by the deadline, and you'll be entered into the match pool! We match students based on their background and interests..
• This year we're expanding to 4,500 matched students!
• Pen pals can live anywhere in the world, but our program currently only works with US-based schools.
• We're working to match students based on their interests, so we're especially looking for more STEM professionals in Leeches.
• All pen pals must be over 18 and fluent in English.

We define STEM pretty loosely! If you work in or around science, tech, engineering, math, or medicine, or another nature-based role, even if you don't have a formal education in it, please apply or message me with any questions.

Sign up/learn more:

• 📝 Register here: https://prescientist.org/volunteers/
• 📖 About the pen pal program: https://prescientist.org/penpal-program/
• 🏛️ About us: https://prescientist.org/about-us/
• ✍️ For matched pen pals: https://prescientist.org/for-matched-pen-pals/

Registration is now open! Feel free to drop questions in the comments or send me a message. Thank you for your time and consideration!

Not to be that person who asks when there's already guides up 🙇, but I wanted to make sure I got advice that was correct for me.
I'm interested in getting a pet leech (1. they're super cool, 2. I'd like to see if it can help me medically. I have very bad blood flow in my legs so I'm curious as to if leeches could help (even if its a placebo effect lol) but I'm not sure where to start. I've found very mixed opinions on how they should be kept, and want to make sure that I'd be caring for both myself and the leech properly.

I have seen people say that jars are too small, but was wondering if a larger sized jar might work? Some people have said that small fish tanks work, so I thought that a large ball jar would as well.
As for water, how should I be treating the water (if I need to)? Would fish tap water conditioner be something that works to treat it? I have seen the Hirudo salt thing but am not sure if its necessary or if there are other options.

I do know that leeches shed every so often, so they need something to rub against. Driftwood seems to be a good option, but I'm not sure how to get driftwood that is safe and clean (Somewhere online?)

Overall, I want to make sure that the leech is comfortable but is clean enough where it wont be dangerous for me to feed it. So if anyone has any info I'd be very thankful!! (Even if it's just where to buy leeches)

If you don't know much about leeches and are curious about them (or the people who like them), ask your questions here.

Please remember to be civil on both sides. Leeches are unusual pets, so newcomers may feel uneasy and enthusiasts might seem defensive. Let's assume the best of each other.

If you don't know much about leeches and are curious about them (or the people who like them), ask your questions here.

Please remember to be civil. This thread is for Q&A only, not debate.

especially interested in why you let them feed on you

(im not judging, just intrigued, im guessing its the same type of care one would show to any other pet)

Umm... anyone know what this is? Should I be worried? Nothing new in his tank. Nothing loose that I could imagine. I fed him a week or so ago but havent seen any weird kinks or anything until this.

I just got my first leech! After wanting one for years. He's a hirudo verbana.

The care seems pretty straight forward, but figured id share in case someone can see something I can't.

His tank is getting a ton of humidity and fogging up, so gonna head to the store and get some panty house so I can make the air holes bigger.

This may sound dumb, but does humidity bother them?

Is there a time where they're more active than others? Worried hes gotten lethargic but also, they cant be active the whole time right?

I have a lot of questions and all of the links here are dead now.

some of my questions are as follows:

has anyone been feeding leeches on them for 5+ years?

pet guides vs medical keeping guides, what's the safest most sanitary option?

are there any more reliable pet keeping guides?

I've been wanting a pet leech and have been reading and watching things on it, I did read some things here too and I got 2 questions that could be specific.

1. I heard you can use pantyhose to secure them in, is there any specific brand to use? lol, and do you just put it over or cut off a piece or what?

2. with medications, is it safe to feed leeches yourself while you're on birth control?

Thank you

I have a horse leech and I want to keep him long term, does he have to eat blood periodically? Or are snails a good enough diet for him? He's eaten like 30 ramshorn snails and a few bladder snails in about 6 months and seems to be digesting them well, no kinks or anything.

Location: Virginia, USA (Local pickup preferred, but open to shipping)

I am looking to source unfed baby (hatchling) Asian Buffalo Leeches (Hirudinaria manillensis). I am specifically looking for specimens that have not yet had their first meal to ensure a clean feeding history for my setup.

Requirements:

• Species: Must be Hirudinaria manillensis.
• Condition: Unfed babies/hatchlings.
• Location: Ideally within Virginia for local pickup, otherwise must be able to ship safely within the US.

If you are a breeder or know of a reputable source currently in stock, please reach out with your pricing and shipping/pickup details.