[Octopus]: Abe

[tonmo]

keep us posted, sedna!

 

[sedna]

Abe is absolutely on his way out. He's wandering around the tank looking like he'll die any moment. He's looked like that for three days now, though… It seems like it's taking SO long for him to die, but he doesn't look as awful as some of my dying octopuses have. He's still dancing on the glass even though he won't take food. I wasn't sure before if he was autophagic, but he is. The end of his one arm is all shaggy and white, and 3 others are stumpy.

If you aren't sure if your octo is autophagic or just a casualty of a powerhead, think about WHICH arms are shortened. If I'd been paying attention, I'd have thought about the fact that an abdopus would be exploring with his front arms, not back 4. It's his back arms that are stumpy, eaten off at the tips and now the skin is beginning to peel off.

Abe has a remarkable ability to be in a place in the tank where I can see him but can't get a decent picture to save my life! It's like he knows I'm going for some really good shots of senescence but just won't cooperate. Figures the longest senescence in my tank is the one who is now camera shy!

I know he's dying, and I'm not hoping for more time than he COMFORTABLY has, but I am hoping that he's still feeling ok since he's hanging on so long!

 

[sedna]

Death Watch- Day 5

I can't believe he is STILL alive! He comes out and dances on the glass twice a day still. His back arms are shorter by the day, his skin looks thin, like a really ripe banana. He is mostly black and grey now. Every now and then I go to check on him and I'll see one eye poking out of his den at me as if to say in Monty Python style, "I'm not dead yet!"

 

[sedna]

Abe has officially passed away. He was a cool octopus who gave us all a LOT more time than we ever thought we'd have with him! It wasn't awful, he wasn't being eaten by tank mates, just did his curly armed dance until he didn't anymore. Good bye, Abe!

 

[DWhatley]

I wonder if the arm shortening was from clean up crew more than self inflicted. It occurs to me that aculeatus can throw an arm and it would seem that they might do this rather than naw at dieing tips. The thought is a rhetoric question not an observation. The only animal I have had consume arms was Octane after he had been exposed to an overhead fan when he escaped the tank.

 

[tonmo]

Thanks for sharing Abe with us, @sedna!

 

[corw314]

Loved your story about the snail abuse! Sorry to hear Abe passed away.

 

[sedna]

Here are some shots of Abe in senescence. He was always happy to pose until I really wanted him to! The one shot is really trying to show his arm tip afar autophagia had set in. He actually had eaten off at least 4 or 5 tips at this point, but when I went to take this shot he curled them up. What an imp he was The other shot shows his color looking grey and "muddy," as if some of the definition of the pattern has blurred. His arms are starting to curl up more. He just looks messy and unkempt compared to how he looked as a younger guy. He lived for at least a week after these pics.