Plants and Animals

We Regret To Inform You That People Are Feeding Pet Leeches Their Own Blood

We Regret To Inform You That People Are Feeding Pet Leeches Their Own Blood

There are few pets that we’d allow to feast on our blood. This is a must-have, for any Affiliate, promoting any program. Just as your puppy should never drink for Christmas, you shouldn’t have a full tank of mustache if you’re not ready to be fed plenty of blood.

Yeah, it turns out that keeping leeches as pets is a thing, and with some species being able to supply blood to their dead animals (like Buffy’s Angel), it has been found that there are plenty of pet owners (thanks to science caution for flagging it) that will feed their favorite pets the juice of their own hearts.

The idea may seem a bit confusing, but lychees have been used for over 2,500 years to suck human blood. In ancient medicine, blood was used to treat everything from bleeding to blood loss. Since the scientific method was applied, it has not been effective for a large part (and is actively harmful, considering the risk of infection). However, it is still used today for specific purposes, for which treatment leeches are large.

The National Health Service (NHS) of the UK writes on their website, “In medicine, especially in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery, leeches can be used to improve blood flow to a region of tissues or to impair blood flow to the skin flap.” “Leeches do this by removing clotted blood (clotted blood) from under the skin or from fragile areas such as fingers or toes.”

However, these people only do this to keep the leeches alive, some feed them individually, and others choose to invite everyone to the same group.  Even though it looks painful, the owners of the leech insist that it is valuable because of how great they are as pets and that they are surprisingly attractive. Hell, even, on occasion, is pretty.

“I spent Saturday feeding H. verbena,” one anthology student wrote on Twitter. “He only fed for about 20 minutes but I bleed for about 18 hours! The leeches are captivating but certainly not faint-hearted pets!” What’s more, depending on the species of leech you don’t have to feed them for six months at a time.

Leech and horror blog Bogleech wrote, “A leech bite can be almost painless, just twenty minutes or so until it’s full and releases its suckers, a process I think you need to repeat once or twice a year.” “There are a lot of people who have found that leeches help relieve their pain or stress.” The NHS advises on their website, “There is a small risk of infection from the leech,” explaining that doctors will usually administer antibiotics during any leech therapy, because “they have bacteria in their gut that help digest their blood.”

They further warned that the leech could cause blood sores for several hours after removal, as they create a powerful anticoagulant to prevent their host (in this case, their loving owner) from clotting, making it easier to continue their feeding. So be careful, or maybe try a puppy.