Posted by Glavan Lucian on August 9, 2005

Q: Hello,

I am trying to find more exact information about how to grow leeches in doors!

As i have founded several information but i do not know the details like: what temperature do they like best for feeding,growing,reproducing!

Do they have special needs?

Do i must feed them with special food or just blood from any animal?

Can you help me with exact informations about them??

Waiting your reply as soon as you can!

Best Regards,

Lucian Glavan

A: Interesting, never knew anyone who wanted to raise leeches before! To begin with, be sure you know what species (kind) of leech you want to work with - leeches vary quite a bit. Leeches vary in adult size from about 5mm to 45cm in length and, believe it or not, many do not even feed on warmblooded animals! Depending on the species, they may be predaceous or scavengers rather than "blood suckers". Once you decide on a particular species, you can then concentrate on what it needs to eat, what kind of temperature it prefers and how to keep it alive and healthy. To the best of my knowledge, the medicinal leeches of the past were from Europe, not North America, so if this is the leech you're interested in, you'll need to find a source where you can buy this particular kind of leech.

As far as raising leeches, I don't have a clue how to go about this - I'd be more inclined to collect them. Guess I'd google leeches to see what I could come up with and you may find a source of information that will help. Good luck to you and thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( August 9, 2005)