Kalypso (O.briareus)

[Nancy]

Happy Birthday, Kalypso and congratulations, Dale, for taking such good care of Kalypso.

Nancy

 

[Animal Mother]

YAY!! happy... anniversary I guess haha. = )

by the way how is that blue spot sea hare working out in your tank? I happened to see one when I went to my lfs right after I read this thread and it was the perfect size for my 29 seahorse tank (about half the size of a golfball) so I picked it up. I plan to move it to the octo tank once its ready.

I put the sea hare in the tank, watched it crawl around for about 20 minutes, walked away and never saw it again.

 

[sedna]

Congratulations Dale and Kalypso!

 

[runn3rb3an]

hmm. in that case I might just keep it in the tank its in now. Dont want it to be a snack haha

 

[sorseress]

Congrats!

 

[bluespotocto]

Thats awesome had a little sea hare for lunch Man kalypso has grown like crazy!!!!!!

 

[Animal Mother]

I fear Kalypso appears to be entering senescence. No interest in food tonight and his activity as of late has declined quite a bit. He wasn't interested in wrestling with my fingers much, his grip seems significantly weaker, and his arms were all curled up.

Last Wednesday was 13 months.

 

[DWhatley]

It looks like that time of year . OhToo is not going to recover but he languishes agonizingly. I can't euthanize him (I don't think I can do that again after the Dane) and he will let me gently pet his mantle without trying to grab. Anything close to his arms is still attacked and I tried giving him a shrimp tonight, just in case, he did try to attach to my finger but not as violently as yesterday. He took the shrimp under his webbing but I doubt he ate it. He appeared very hungry yesterday and took several piece of scallop with gusto but today I found them uneaten.

 

[cuttlechris]

shiva is of decent size and i'm wondering when to expect senescence. He's not as large as kaylpso but i'm sure will be there soon (3-4months). I'm worried about the emotional stress associated with watching a beloved pet wither away. I'm really sorry to hear about Kalypso. If theres anything i can assure you it's that he's been a prime example of what this hobby is about.

 

[Nancy]

I guess it's that time of year - young octopuses on the market, and the older ones are passing away.

Yes, it is hard to see a beloved octopus grow senescent and die. They don't all go the same way - some seem to lose motor control and then pass away, others seem to have a "heart attack" and die quickly, and infection is still another route. But whatever, it's hard to live through, especially since there's not much you can do.

Sorry for all of them, and you,

Nancy

 

[dreadhead]

Sorry to hear it AM..

 

[Animal Mother]

He's still holding in there, color looks good, but he won't come out of his den and his arms are all curled up tight. I still try offering shrimp, but no interest.

 

[Animal Mother]

Still alive, but hasn't eaten in many, many days. He blows food away, and has taken to pulling all the small rocks around his den. He's always in the same position, rolled into a ball. No interaction at all.

 

[DWhatley]

AM, the pulling at the rocks part has a familiar ring and I suggest NOT letting the arms come in contact with your hands. With OhToo it was like the arms had a strange mind of their own (touching the mantle had no effect and seemed to relax him once I got him into the net). Out of curiosity, you might try offering something soft (like a plastic turkey baster with the bulb off so it sinks or any rubber type toy) to see if he grabs and holds on to it. Initially, OhToo took several pieces of food but just held them for a few hours and did not eat them, the rubbery sphere he held onto almost 'til the end. I have noticed (and journaled) that the mercs wanted to hold/touch something soft in their last days as well but did not think about it until just now.

 

[Animal Mother]

Yeah, D. I let him have the bulb of the baster and he does move it around his den, and there's a plastic soda bottle in there but he doesn't mess with that. He won't even hold on to food. He blows it away immediately.