Hirudo Leeches (Hirudo Verbana)- Canada

We send the leeches to Canadian customers only.

Information about Hirudo leeches, how to buy and how to take care of the leeches		Hirudo Leeches
Leeches - Pricing and Shipping Information		Roughly 600 leech species have been identified to date, but only about 15 are blood-sucking leeches The first documented accounts of the use of Hirudo Medicinalis date back to the time of Hippocrates. In Sanskrit writings Dhavantari held nectar in one hand and a leech in the other. Leeches were also used in traditional Chinese medicine. Paintings of leeches have been found in pharaohs tombs. The Solomon Parables also make mention of leeches.. Leeches were also known in Ancient Greece, and they were even mentioned in the poem Alexipharmacia by Nicandros.. The famous Roman Galen too made mention of them in his scientific works.. Avicenna also studied these remarkable creatures. in many cases. The passion for studying them continued to thrive even after the Renaissance, with European countries in the 18th and 19th centuries imported over 100 million leeches every year to satisfy high demand. Leeches are 'worms' with suckers on each end. Leeches can range in size from from a half of inch to ten inches long. They are brown or black in color. Some feed on decaying plant material. Others are parasites, feeding on blood and tissue of other animals. Blood-sucking leeches suck a blood using two ways: they use a proboscis to puncture a skin, or they use their three jaws and millions of little teeth. They live just about anywhere where is water. Leeches find you by detecting skin oils, blood, heat, or even the carbon dioxide you breathe out. Leeches do not feed often. This is because they take in a big amount of blood when they feed. Doctors often used leeches in the past to draw blood. Today, leeches are being used for different reasons. Scientists are studying leech saliva. They believe the substance that stops or prevents blood clots will one day be able to be used on humans. Researchers have also identified several medical compounds which can be developed from leech saliva. The anticoagulant and clot-digesting properties of these substances make them potentially useful as drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Leeches can be "milked" for their secretions without being harmed, and research is continuing into the possibility of synthetically engineering leech saliva. Also studied is the nervous system of the leech, which is very similar to the human nervous system and is an enormous benefit to researchers in their quest for the answers to human problems.

How to take care of leeches

Leech Facts