My Octopus

Thought I'd post an update on Kaleidoscope a just 2 weeks after getting him. His eyes are getting a lot better. First it was the right eye to glaze over, then several days later the left started to as well. The day after I noticed the left eye glazing over I bought some Gel Tek Tetracycline to treat him. I dumped about 1/3 of the bottle into the tank and started injecting his food with it. At one point he was fully blinded by the white glaze over his eyes. I got really worried about him! He probably went 3-4 days not being able to see before the right eye started showing signs of healing. Right now the right eye seem to be completely free (or at least 90%) of any damage. It's hard to tell exactly because he still keeps them tucked in to his mantle. His left eye is getting a lot better too. The film over that eye is now thin enough that I can see his eye through it.

I was feeding him once a day with the medicated food. he started to become reluctant to take the food and would run across the whole tank with me chasing after him trying to get him to eat until he would finally take it. He never ate very much of the shrimp either. I decided to put him back on the schedule I originally had for him; which was every other day feedings. Now that he should be able to manage catching his own food again he can eat a snail if he gets hungry on the off days. Today was the first day he went without me feeding him. He seemed fine. Hopefully this will encourage him to come out more and maybe start to display the colors and textures that he used to.

He still mainly sticks to the glass. Possibly right now more than before because he wasn't able to see very well. Today I saw him using some different routes than he has been using to get around the tank so this is a good sign that he is healing too. That's all I can think of for now.

Thanks for reading.
 
thanks for the update, :fingerscrossed: from me, too. Please keep us updated, since there's not that much information out there on treatments of disease in these animals. gjbarord's talk at TONMOcon2 was fascinating, but made me realize how much we really need a knowledge base of symptoms and treatment for these animals, so stories of what worked or didn't with enough details for others to try the same thing are immensely helpful!
 
Glad to hear there has been improvement! You're right to observe very carefully and the fact that he's taking different routes around the tank is encouraging!

Maybe food stuffed with tetracycline doesn't taste very good!

Yes, fingers crossed for your octo.

Nancy
 
Shipposhack,
I seem to remember that Trapper eventually started getting difficult to feed with the antibiotic stuffed shrimp and I quit guttloading it for the same reason. Hopefully he got enough to fight the infection without it coming back. Since Trap never showed signs of skin problems (my use was preventative) I can't say whether or not the treatment had any effect. I can say that it did no harm.
 
Kaleidoscope's eye problem hasn't really progressed for better or worse (noticeably, at least) since my last update. Both eyes still look the same to me. This could be because he hasn't been accepting food, so hasn't gotten medicated. Tonight he did finally accept a shrimp, after a small struggle of getting him to want it. I don't think it had much medicine in it by the time he got it though; I think most all of it dissolved in to the water. He turned super white while he was eating it. He was probably the whitest I have ever seen him since looking at him in the shipping bag.

Ever since he went completely blind up til now he hasn't been using his chromatophores very much. The only time I see him change color dramatically is when he is eating. Texture changes are extremely minimal. He still sticks to the glass the majority of the time but he will sometimes venture on to the rocks.

My favorite thing to watch him do is swim. He doesn't do this very often; I've probably seen him to it just a handful of times since I got him. Tonight he swam for me a little bit (I believe 3 very short times). It was still fun to watch though.

Before today he totally refused food since the last time I fed him (3 days ago). He wouldn't accept the frozen shrimp. Yesterday I tried giving him an emerald crab and he would have nothing to do with it. Maybe feeling full is a side effect of the medicine? :biggrin2:

I think I'm going to start soaking the shrimp in Tetracycline again. That way it will absorb into the shrimp. I will keep injecting it too. I also might try to get him a new thing or two for his diet (maybe scallop if I can find a seafood market... Friday is my day off and I have nothing to do :cool2:). I think this will make him more enthusiastic to eat as well if he has more of a variety.
I am going to attach some pictures of him. One is of him eating, 2 are of each of his eyes, and another is a full shot of him.
 

Attachments

  • conv_291780.jpg
    conv_291780.jpg
    589.2 KB · Views: 80
  • conv_291781.jpg
    conv_291781.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 82
  • conv_291782.jpg
    conv_291782.jpg
    538.2 KB · Views: 67
  • conv_291783.jpg
    conv_291783.jpg
    991.3 KB · Views: 92
One sign of senescence in cephalopods is they lose the ability to change color as rapidly. Not eating is also a sign of senescence, as well as blindness or other eye changes. Is it possible that your animal is undergoing senescence?
 
It could be. Since he is a male he won't be laying eggs or anything to que off the end of his life. I believe he is supposed to get a good deal bigger though, but he could just be on the smaller side.

PS- I forgot to add in my update that he made a new (bigger) den a few days ago.
 
I came home from school today and Kaleidoscope was on a rock; he looked horrible. He was releasing his ink. I poked him with the net and he didn't move. I went and looked at my other tank and came back a few minutes later and he had moved. I poked him with the net again and he moved his arms a little. I came home from work and the serpent star was inching toward Kaleidoscope. I'm going to get another octo from my LFS within a week. I believe him to be Briareus. He's doing really good he's been there a while.
 

Attachments

  • conv_291815.jpg
    conv_291815.jpg
    498.8 KB · Views: 86
  • conv_291816.jpg
    conv_291816.jpg
    500.6 KB · Views: 76
  • conv_291817.jpg
    conv_291817.jpg
    499.2 KB · Views: 71
  • conv_291818.jpg
    conv_291818.jpg
    486.8 KB · Views: 75
When an octopus dies suddenly like that, you need to thoroughly examine your tank, water parameters and anything else that could have contributed to his death. It seems hasty to immediately think of a replacement.
 
He was a male, which from what I have read means he won't show a lot of signs that he is near the end of his life. I did a water change Sunday, and replaced all the carbon. I plan to do another water change and make sure all the parameters are where they need to be before I put in a new octo. Sadly, I didn't look at him last night for more than a total of about 10 minutes, so I wouldn't know if he was acting different or not then. I did try and feed him yesterday though, and, as usual, he wouldn't accept. Also, sorry for the bad quality pictures this time, we didn't have our camera at home so the only way I could take pictures was with my phone.
 
Yes, it's possible he was at the end of his life.

Very sorry about your octopus. RIP Kaleidoscope :angelpus:

It's good that you're cleaning up your tank.

Nancy
 
sorry Shippo. RIP Kaleidoscope :angelpus:

I'll second Nancy's suggestion to check all the water params, too... you're likely right that it could have just been old age, but you can't know that it's safe for a new octo until you've checked...
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top