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Maintain reproduce and sell Medicinal Leeches.

2006-09-29 04:39:03 · 3 answers · asked by cingular11111 2 in Health Alternative Medicine

3 answers

These folks raise leeches.
Their site also mentions some university folks who might be able to help you.
http://www.metsamoor.ee/metsamoor_en/saa2.html

2006-09-29 04:51:03 · answer #1 · answered by DadOnline 6 · 0 0

Description: Leeches have segmented bodies like an earthworm, but unlike earthworms they are slightly flattened rather than round. They have a sucker at the head and the tail end and the one at the head surrounds the mouth. The mouth contains three jaws that can break the skin of their hosts to suck their blood. Medicinal leeches are greenish brown on their backs with thin red stripes running along the body and paler below. They grow up to 20 cm in length.

Lifestyle: Leeches live in shallow muddy pools and ponds with plenty of waterweeds. When hungry, they attach themselves to a passing animal, break the skin with their jaws, and inject special chemicals that prevent the blood from clotting and reduces any pain. They then suck the blood of the host until they are full, when they withdraw their jaws and drop off into the water. They can consume 15 grams of blood - ten times their own body weight, before they are full, but they only need to feed every six months.

Family & friends: Like slugs, leeches are hermaphrodite, having both male and female parts, but they still need to come together to mate with each other.

Keeping in touch: Little is known about leech communication.

Growing up: After mating, 15-50 eggs are laid in a spongy case or cocoon, above the waterline often under stones. The eggs hatch in 3-5 weeks and the young leeches need two seasons of feeding before they are ready to breed themselves.

Conservation news: The removal of millions of leeches for medical use in the 19th century reduced the numbers of wild leeches dramatically and in the last century, numbers were reduced further due to drainage of the ponds and ditches that they live in. The reduction of plough horses on farms (now replaced by tractors) has also affected leech numbers as horses used to be a favourite source of blood when they went to drink in ponds and ditches.

Now try to recreate an artificial environment like the one that is described above and you will have become a LEECH Millionaire
All The best

2006-09-29 11:47:00 · answer #2 · answered by john k 1 · 0 0

google

2006-09-30 17:52:56 · answer #3 · answered by jyd9999 6 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers