MadGlow Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Hi, Probably not your typical question for here.... I found a leech here in TX. I want to keep it alive for my daughter to use in a 5th grade science fair. I’ve tried feeding it with earthworms, snails, chicken hearts but it is not feeding. It becomes active and starts coming towards me when I am near. Understandably I do not want it to attach to me to feed. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudofish Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 I'd keep trying 1 earthworm each week. Some quick internettin says that in the wild they can go months without food but in captivity they should be fed once a week. I think when it gets hungry enough it'll eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanoNano Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 (edited) It looks like it may be a Placobdella Parasitica or "Turtle Leech". It's a blood sucker you're likely going to need to approximate something similar to the body temperature and blood characteristics of a turtle to get it to feed. I think earthworms have hemoglobin but no red blood cells, so they might not work as food. Ramshorn snails have both hemoglobin and red blood cells if I remember correctly (thank you Youtube videos on Assassin snails)- were those the types of snails you tried? Edited June 14, 2021 by NanoNano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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