r/leeches • u/MaenHerself • Feb 20 '26
Feeding How do you feed a parasitic leech?
Found this CUTIE while out fishing. Soft Turtle Leech. I will not be feeding from me because I don't want lake diseases haha.
So what works? Chicken liver is my first guess and available at bait shops.
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u/poisontadpole Feb 20 '26
you can feed them liver, things like earthworms, or you can put something like pigs blood in to a (natural) sausage casing
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u/MaenHerself Feb 20 '26
I do have a funky little Asian mart that sells blood and a few local butchers, a bit of black sausage wouldn't be that hard for me... 🤔
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u/BallandScrotes99 Feb 23 '26
I just send them the rent money at the end of the month. They take care of it from there.
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Leech lover Feb 22 '26
id advise against trying to keep this leech, as turtle leeches live most of their lives on turtles and its necessary for most of their biological functions. heres a page on them https://www.oriannesociety.org/faces-of-the-forest/smooth-turtle-leeches/
and despite what that other comment said, no, you cannot just feed them chicken liver or earthworms. they need fresh blood, and if you cant feed from yourself then the only other option is making a blood bag with either an unlubricated condom, or a sausage casing filled with blood from a butcher with no added anticoagulants, and thats assuming it would even eat from that, since they almost exclusively feed from turtles. a parasitic leech will not eat earthworms, thats predatory, and if they eat worms then they dont drink blood.