A Niche hobby In Wales

I love niche hobbies and I can’t think of a special interest that embodies more of the things I like than this one.

I had a talk with Adz, he’s 21 and lives in Wales. Adz keeps and breeds a range of creatures; beetles, antlions, giant golden orb weavers, scorpions, centipedes and tarantulas to name a few. This in itself is very impressive and requires a specific and in my opinion an enviable knowledge base. The stand-out species in Adz’s insectarium and the one I am going to interview Adz about is everybody’s favourite predatory worm the leech.

SM:

Why do you breed leeches? Are they simply a special interest or is there a market for them?

ADZ:

They are of special interest to me and have been since I can remember, yes there is a market for them and there has been since ancient times, but I keep and breed these specifically for the niche pet hobby, whereas most of the world does so for medicinal purposes.

SM:

Do you need a license of any kind to breed leeches? Surely you would require a license or some kind of certification to breed them for medical purposes?

ADZ:

You do not need a license to breed leeches (unless they are the wild endangered Hirudo Medicinalis which are native to the UK) anyone can breed them and use them for medical use.

However, only 2 FDA-approved breeding facilities exist globally and (one of them is in a small village in Wales) they supply hospitals and clinics internationally. The farm has hundreds of thousands of medical-grade leeches on hand at any given point, meaning that there are always more leeches than there are people who need them.

Leeches are classed as single-use medical devices and I believe only qualified nurses or experienced practitioners are allowed to use them in hospitals and clinics.

SM: Do you have a favourite species or a specific species that you breed?

ADZ:

Yes! Without a doubt, my favourite species comes from the Hirduniaria genus, or the giant Asian buffalo leech, which as the name suggests originates from Asia and is often found feeding on the blood of Water Buffaloes. They are known to be the second largest leech in the world, sometimes growing longer than the average human forearm. Allegedly second in size to Haementeria Ghilianii, or the giant Amazon leech, however, I have personally seen larger specimens of buffalo leeches so am skeptical. I have put a huge amount of effort into importing some of these from Malaysia and will hopefully be receiving 200 or so in the following weeks. My favourite specific species of Hirudinaria is probably H. Thailandica because of its beautiful blue/dark green underbelly, its incredible Piano key side markings and its green top.

External morphology of the holotype of Hirudinaria thailandica sp. nov. in preserved state A dorsal and B ventral views of the whole body C dorsal views of somites XIX-XXIII D ventral views of somites X-XV e dorsal and F ventral views of somites I-VIII G dorsal and H ventral views of somites XXIV-XXVII and caudal sucker. Abbreviations: an, anus; fg, female gonopore; mg, male gonopore; np, nephridiopores; and ss, sensillae. Scale bar: 10 mm (A, B), 5 mm (C-H) source

SM: How are leeches safely shipped?

ADZ:

They arrive in small plastic containers filled with Hirudo gel to keep the leeches clean and moist.

“Hirudo gel is a Non-Toxic Water gel for Leeches. This hydrogel is specially formulated and designed for leech transportation and storage purposes. When you receive 50 grams of gel, this will turn into to a couple of bucketfuls of plump and gelatinous hydrogel crystals, after the dry gel crystals have been dissolved fully in plain tap water. Leech gel is mainly a transportation and storage device. A couple of spoonfuls of hydrated gel are enough for every 3-4 medical leeches to be shipped over long distances or taken on long journeys to their leech therapy destination.” source

SM:

I’m sure this is a question on the mind of all who see the pictures that accompany this interview; Why are you allowing them to feed off of you?

ADZ:

There are alternative methods to feed them such as cow’s blood but allowing them to feed off of yourself is the safest way as they’re prone to digestion issues.

Feeding time - Adz

SM:

I’m not sure if I’m remembering this correctly but is it true that removing a leech by force while it feeds can lead to infections as it leaves part of its head embedded in your skin?

ADZ:

This applies mostly to ticks, however, if you disturb a leech when it’s feeding, by say yanking it, burning, putting salt on it etc the leech can regurgitate the contents of its stomach into your bloodstream which can cause infections or diseases, especially in the wild as you don’t know where the previous blood meal was from. I allow my leeches to simply drop off on their own. they can overeat and burst or sometimes fall asleep during feeding (most commonly with the buffs) in this case you can carefully remove them with your nail or a credit card, but I only advise that method for buffalo leeches as they have less suction power compared to other medicinal leeches.

SM:

Can leeches carry blood-borne diseases?

ADZ:

If bred in sterile conditions they will not carry any diseases, it is extremely rare and not known for leeches to pass on blood-borne diseases. It is possible, but only if you are in a country where some infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Hepatitis B etc are common, there have not been any reports of such instances occurring and Leeches carrying such diseases can become disease free after some months of digesting the infected blood.

SM:

Excluding infections caused by improper dressing of the feeding site, can a leech that has been bred in a sterile environment cause infections?

ADZ:

There is very little risk of infection apart from not addressing the open sore correctly, even then the risk is little to none. If there was a thing to be worried about it would not be infection, but allergic reactions to the leeches saliva, especially if the person has a history of allergies.

SM:

I assume leeches produce an anti-coagulant to aid them in feeding, what steps do you take after you have fed them to clean and dress the feeding sites?

ADZ:

Yes, leeches have a powerful anticoagulant in their saliva known as Hirudin/Bufrudin (depending on species) which keeps blood flowing for 24-36 hours. I start with washing the bite area with warm water to try and lessen the effects of the anticoagulant, then I put a period pad (hey, it works!) on the area, wrap it with gauze and then follow up with some duct tape, this usually does the job, although the more leeches I feed simultaneously the more difficult it gets. I also take antihistamine tablets to combat the histamine reaction and reduce swelling and itching.

Feeding site on the mend - Adz

SM:

What kind of environment do you keep your leeches in?

ADZ:

I choose to keep my leeches in large plastic storage containers, with lots of hides and gravel to help them shed. Other people keep them in small jars and so on but I like to try and replicate their natural environments, it also helps with breeding and keeping them stress-free.

SM:

Can you tell me how often you feed them, how much blood they roughly consume and if you follow a diet or do anything specific to prevent anemia?

ASZ:

I am quite a big fellow at 6’6 tall, so I probably have more blood to spare than some. I do try to keep a healthy lifestyle, eat lots of red meat, fish and leafy greens, always drink plenty of water and work out some days too.

I feed depending on the size of the leeches, hatchlings/smaller leeches require feeding much more often, around every 2 weeks. Fully grown leeches can feed 1-2 times a year as they have the ability to store blood in their giant crop (which takes up 2/3 of the leeche body) and have 10 lateral blind pouches/caeca or “stomachs” which contain bacteria that slowly digest the blood meal.

The amount they drink is dependent on the species, take the smaller Hirudo Verbana for example (commonly used medicinal leech) they will only take 5-10ml. Giant adult buffs can drink up to 230ml, perhaps even more, but more studies have to be conducted as the pet-keeping hobby is relatively new (though there has been evidence of keeping leeches as pets in both the Egyptian and Victorian times)

1. feeding a buffalo leech

2. feeding a baby

Thank you for Adz, I appreciate you answering my questions!

follow Adz on Instagram @retardedsaiyan