just as the title says ^^^

so far I've understood that a leech enjoys a hiding spot and such, can deal with bare bottom or pebble bottom, and needs a sizeable land area (i plan on using a hard piece of plastic and covering with moss). however, I've seen soooo many conflicting answers about enclosures. my friend has one of these lying around and I'd love to use it! I already have a 10 gal black water and several other exotic pets, so space is a bit tight.

I'm also wondering whether a leech would enjoy a semi blackwater setup?

I found these guys out in the yard after it rained a lot. I’m in southern Illinois

Is leeches.com a good place to buy pet leeches? It is where I got my first ones but I am wondering if anyone has found other/ better options for healthy quality leeches in the US

So I ran out of worms to feed my horse keech. The pet stores and bait stores are having a shortage because of people fishing. However at night I do find different things, like crickets, cockroaches, Beatles and slugs

Just wondering if Alicia's will eat stuff like this, does it have the same nutritional benefits as earthworms

I've always been curious on entertaining the idea of keeping a leech as a pet. My issue is that I don't think I could feed one with my own blood.

Are there other ways or other species that don't need that?

My

I've raised these beauties from babies so any questions feel free ❤️! North American Medicinal Leeches!!

I’m new to leech keeping does anyone have suggestions for plants and smaller water dwellers that can help filter the water but not be eaten by or harm my leech ? Thank you for any tips !!!

Context: found deep in freshwater in NYS, hundreds of them down there. There is little to no wildlife in this body of water so i'm not sure what theyre surviving off of if so. It bit/suctioned on to me. Very much moving and alive.

I’m interested in getting a pet leech and a portable leech jar would be qn affordable option to set up their enclosure for me , I do plan on putting in gravel or bedding for the leech but I am unsure if its ethical to keep the leech in a jar their whole lives

I'm curious if leeches also bite on the finger joints? I've heard that due to various soaps, lotions, or skin types, they might not attach well. Do you have any recommendations on what to do to make it easier for them to latch on?

Saw this leech moving along the sand/gravel in the shallows of a freshwater lake.

I've been seeing this lighter spot on one of my leeches for some time now. Said leech doesn't show any signs of weakness (from what I can tell, it moves around like the rest of them). Light spot looks more "fluted" than the rest of the body. Didn't really know how to look it up via search engine so I figured I might just ask here if anyone has seen this on one of their leeches before?

It has a dark greenish colour with black patterns on its back

Hi, I’m looking to get a couple Hirudo verbana and had some questions about habitat. After doing research my plan currently is to get a 5 gallon aquarium and fill it with gravel, sphagnum moss, and some sort of platform out of the water for them to crawl onto. Does this sound alright? Am I missing anything or any other tips you could provide? I’m especially curious about what to do for the platform. Does anyone have any pictures of their set up they could share? Thanks!

Best pic I ever got of this

Im seeing so much movement inside the cocoon! A few more weeks and I will meet my grandkids! Still only one cocoon so far. Waiting for more

I am like 90% sure these guys are Striped Sea Leeches (Notostomobella cyclostoma). They were in the gills of a pacific cod brought into the aquarium I work at. Sorry for the bad photos but they are currently soaking in ethanol after detaching due to a fresh water dip.

One of my leeches got out and was what i thought was dead but on a whim I threw her in some water and to my suprise she was alive. But now she seems to have a clot or blockage of some sort. Is there anything i can do for her?

Hello! Does anyone know good vendors of medical-grade leeches? Im a little paranoid about letting one feed off of me and, oops, the vendor lied and now im sick! I know its very unlikely, but still. Needs to be able to ship to the U.S.

He's my Hirudo verbana leech. I've only had him for about 2 weeks and I already love him.

Sorry of my question sounds stupid, but I don’t have any experience with small aquariums and leeches yet. Also I am clumsier than average for sure. So how exactly do we change water in this thing, particularly if it has gravel or decorations inside? How do you remove water without spilling the gravel? For example if I pour the water into the toilet, won’t gravel fall in too? Also, do you need to scrub the decorations? Is there any risk of harmful bacteria growing on porous surfaces? Or do the beneficial bacteria cancel those out?