Deku

Amanda

How to remove a leech:

http://www.wildmadagascar.org/overview/leeches.html

eiginh

Wow! I hope you get them out! I'm not sure if you practice medicine but actually they kind of heal people that have certain sicknesses. I saw it on discovery channel.

I hope you feel better and best of luck!

Deku

Yeah but these are wild leeches @_@ and thanks amanda <3

Amanda

Leeches are commonly used in medicine, they are used on healing wounds.
If you're feeling weak after one leech bite, you may want to go to a doctor. They shouldn't of taken that much blood for you to have that reaction.

Deku

Umm I got rid of the leech off of myself. a few hours has passed and Iam feeling slightly better. but its the turtle Iam worried about ill show you what they look like. Iam deeply worried. ;-;
ones like this.
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Arthro...PurwoLeech.jpg


the rest are like these (one of these is actually that big!!! the rest are small very small...)
http://img230.imageshack.us/i/leech2ky7.jpg/

Amanda

Literally just pull them off.

Deku

I was gushing out alot of blood... Like a lot... and my parents were a little tooo busy -_- so they helped me after 10-30mins later o.< so yeah ill be fine Iam more concerned about the turtles. The turtles are in a 10gallon confinement. And I think.... Rather than get a new giant fish. After being soo worried about these turtles... I am going to put them in a large 125-150 gallon tank with a community of fish. After they get those external parasites off.. Dx I mean leeches are cool and all. But Id rather be safe than sorry. My other large turtles I inspected and seem to be fine. I also got a wild caught freshwater clam I checked it. It has no leeches... I dont know how it happened. I mean my turtles are wild caught but were wild caught 2 years ago. And all the leeches were removed by a doctor that was our neighbor who saddly passed away.. So I dont know I might have to take them to the vet tommorrow but I need to take the leeches off.

Amanda

Take tweezers & pull off the leeches. It's just like pulling off a tick.

Deku

Will it harm the turtles?

Amanda

Well, leeches will usually fall off when they are full.
If it's just onw or two, I would venture to say that the turtles will survive. If it's an infestation, I'd say start pulling them off & killing them asap.
But one way or another, like I've said all the other posts, they need to come off.

eiginh

I think you are stressing out a lot and I understand but just listen to Amanda. You don't need a doctor to pull it off, it's real easy and they do not carry any diseases but please worry about your wound as it may get infected.

I'm no doctor nor genius with leeches but if you're still alive and the turtle is still acting normal I think he/she will be fine.

Deku

^^;;; sorry its my passion. Animals are a passion to me <3 and their comming off <3 Iam not killing the leaches except the one that bit me -___- that bugger messed me up so ill mess it up xD I put it in boiling water. xD it died. The rest ill put em in some sort of pond or something...

Amanda

Personally I would kill the leeches, it's not recommended putting something from your indoor tank back into the ecosystem.

Deku

I dont have the heart to kill something @_@

Deku

Maybe Ill keep it and feed it any fish that might be dying... Dx I just cant kill something. Its not in me.

Amanda

Well, you're potentially harming the eco-system by releasing them. It's the cardinal rule of fish keeping not to release ANYTHING from a tank into the outside environment. This hobby sometimes calls for you having to kill things, it's something you may want to consider.

penance

being silly here: pretend that they are mutant leeches out to eat you, you'll get the strength to kill them lol

being serious: if you can't kill them, then ask your parents, friends, somebody to get rid of them, you really don't want them repopulating in your tanks again, do you? it'll be more trouble second time around

Deku

Meh fine Ill just freeze them. >> or boil them. Didnt had trouble boiling them first time. Seeing as they bit me. Dx

fish_newbie

You don't have to personally kill them. Flush them down the toilet and let human waste take care of it.

eiginh

You can slice it in half and see what the insides look, I'm not sure if flushing them in the toilet would be a great idea. They'll have a chance of survival going down alive.

Deku

Not really xD my little brothers waste would kill anything xD lawls so Iam sure it wont survive. In fact iam 100% sure it wouldnt survive.

Tony G.

i also saw that discovery channel on leaches, and i rad somewhere else that if you grab a lighter , put it up to it and it will immediatly come off because of the heat. they are pesty, so i would do what amanda said and kill them all

Deku

I did. I boiled them and flushed them. My turtle-fugeum seems to be going good. <3 thanks amanda and the rest <3 o.o I went to a reptile-con today Omg box turtles are soo cute <3 I was told I could keep them in a 55g. I might keep one in that 55g my brother gave me x_x I have soo many tanks. xD