Veterinary Leeches | What Can Leeches Be Used For? | Applying Leeches | Maintenance & Products | Downloads
Maintenance for Veterinary Leeches
The two most important things to avoid are heat and chlorinated tap water. Leeches can live for months on one blood meal so feeding is unnecessary if they are to be stored prior to use.
Temperature
The leeches will survive quite happily in a refrigerator or in a cool place, provided the temperature does not exceed 15°C. Special care and attention should be taken if the leeches are to be used in a heated veterinary surgery. Keep them as cool as possible until they are needed. Never put leeches into direct sunlight.
Leeches should be placed in a slightly warmer area immediately prior to use as they are more active and likely to want to feed when they are warmer. If they have been kept in a fridge simply taking them out and getting them to room temperature will be sufficient.
Leeches should be placed in a slightly warmer area immediately prior to use as they are more active and likely to want to feed when they are warmer. If they have been kept in a fridge simply taking them out and getting them to room temperature will be sufficient.
Water
Distilled water plus HIRUDOSALT™ is recommended. However where distilled water is not readily available bottled spring water can be used as a short-term solution. HIRUDOSALT™ is a specially formulated recipe for making up water ideally suited for maintenance of the medicinal leech. Distilled water with HIRUDOSALT™ added is far superior to dechlorinated tap water which contains unwelcome additives and varies through the year. Do not use distilled water alone as it will deplete the animals "ions". Simply stir 0.5g of HIRUDOSALT™ into each litre of distilled water. The water is now ready for use. Aeration is unnecessary.
Container
Our leeches are disptached in a secure container, but if you would like to source your own a lid is essential. Leeches are amphibious and like to crawl about. Perforations are advised but they must be very small indeed, as the leech body is elastic and capable of going through remarkably small openings. A cloth cover secured tightly with string, rubber band or tape is useful. Do not overcrowd. The greater the amount of water, the less it needs changing.
Our Products
We at Biopharm are continually researching new methods of storing and transporting leeches and are confident that our range of leech containers will suit all our customers' needs. Whether you prefer to maintain the leeches in Water* or Hirudo/Mix gel, store them in the refrigerator or at room temperature, one of our containers will meet your requirements.
NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH! – VET ‘EAR KIT’
COMPLETE LEECH KIT FOR AURAL HAEMATOMAS
Our new Veterinary ‘Ear Kit’ is the complete package for the use of leeches on aural haematomas. From the Next Day postal service to the leech disposal items, this kit includes everything in one affordable price. Including Leech Nosda™, our new specially formulated solution for the humane disposal of clinical leeches. Years of research have allowed us to discover the most humane method of euthanizing leeches, and now it is also the easiest.
Each ear kit includes:
Royal Mail Guaranteed Next Day by 1pm Service (Weekdays)
3 x Veterinary leeches
Two 100ml bottles of Leech Nosda™, our humane leech euthanization solution (one for Part A 8% solution and one for Part B 70% solution).
Two small disposal pots which are labelled as ‘Clinical Waste’ and have space for Patient Number and Date. These pots can be used for individual leeches or for up to four.
One pair of plastic leech friendly forceps, which can be used to transfer the leeches from Part A to Part B.
One pair of medium sized latex free gloves.
Instruction Sheet on maintaining, applying, and disposing of the leeches.
Contact our UK office for further information.
COMPLETE LEECH KIT FOR AURAL HAEMATOMAS
Our new Veterinary ‘Ear Kit’ is the complete package for the use of leeches on aural haematomas. From the Next Day postal service to the leech disposal items, this kit includes everything in one affordable price. Including Leech Nosda™, our new specially formulated solution for the humane disposal of clinical leeches. Years of research have allowed us to discover the most humane method of euthanizing leeches, and now it is also the easiest.
Each ear kit includes:
Royal Mail Guaranteed Next Day by 1pm Service (Weekdays)
3 x Veterinary leeches
Two 100ml bottles of Leech Nosda™, our humane leech euthanization solution (one for Part A 8% solution and one for Part B 70% solution).
Two small disposal pots which are labelled as ‘Clinical Waste’ and have space for Patient Number and Date. These pots can be used for individual leeches or for up to four.
One pair of plastic leech friendly forceps, which can be used to transfer the leeches from Part A to Part B.
One pair of medium sized latex free gloves.
Instruction Sheet on maintaining, applying, and disposing of the leeches.
Contact our UK office for further information.
Container 5020
We now despatch most of our UK small orders in new plastic containers with Hirudo Mix™. This will allow for short-term (up to 2 days) storage in a refrigerator when they arrive at the surgery. This container is ideally suited for use with our Hirudo Mix/Gel products for transport (i.e. to the veterinary surgery) and for longer term storage of small numbers of leeches. Additional containers are available at a small cost.
Specification
Capacity: 250mls Hirudo Mix/Gel / 10 Leeches (Max)
@
5°C to 10°C (refrigerator)
Maintenance Regime: Check
leeches upon arrival. For long-term storage check leeches regularly, rinse or replace Hirudo Mix/Gel when required.
Other Products
We have a complete range of other containers, including larges ones and those which we classify as EasyCLean.
HirudoSalt™, HirudoMix™ and HirudoGel™ are all available for those who wish to keep the leeches in their optimum condition.
HirudoSalt™, HirudoMix™ and HirudoGel™ are all available for those who wish to keep the leeches in their optimum condition.
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Leech Nosda™Leech Nosda™ is our new complete kit for the humane disposal of clinical
leeches. Each kit comes with two bottles of solution, Part A and Part B, four small labelled disposal pots and one pair of leech friendly forceps. The solutions are ready and easy to use, so no more time consuming mixing or diluting is necessary either on the ward or in the pharmacy. Our new kit ensures that the most humane way to dispose of our leeches is also the most simple. |