my octo's leg is dead i think?

[fishkid6692]

i saw my octo for the first time in about a week and a half but it looks like it bit off one of its legs and another leg is all shriveled up and it doesn't move it.

 

[dreadhead]

In that week and a 1/2 did you shift your live rock looking for him?

 

[fishkid6692]

no

no i never even touch the rock. and i tryed to feed it a fiddler crab today and it grabbed it but then let it go.

 

[dreadhead]

Have you noticed any shift in your live rock?

 

[fishkid6692]

nope

no not at all but he stopped eating.....i'm almost positive i saw eggs with her last week but i think she ate them.....could she just be stressed? she was very active this morning and played with my hand.

 

[shipposhack]

She is at the end of her life. Autophagy (an octo eating itself) is very common in senescent octopuses. Egg laying, and constant hiding are other signs of the last couple weeks of an octopuses life, as is refusal of food.

 

[fishkid6692]

...

but she played with me today.......i started to get attached to her. thanks for the help.....how much longer do you think she has?

 

[shipposhack]

It really depends on the octo. Some can take 1 week after showing the first signs of senescence and some will take up to 6-8 weeks, though that long is uncommon. Refusal to eat is usually one of the final steps. If your octo does not eat anymore I wouldn't expect her to last longer than a week, but if she does you might have a couple more weeks with her.

 

[fishkid6692]

oh

the last time she ate was about a week and a half ago and she stayed in her den and never came out until today. and today she was very active and playful. based on that description abut how long does she have to live?

 

[shipposhack]

I would guess up to a week but it could be more. A lot of times males will become extremely active the last few days before they die, and females can as well if they stop brooding their eggs.

 

[fishkid6692]

ok

ok thanks for all your help......

 

[shipposhack]

You're welcome. This is the worst part about keeping cephalopods.

 

[Jlnune07]

Sorry to hear fk.... good luck with whatever happens

 

[fishkid6692]

few days left =[

my octo stopped coming out yesterday and hasn't moved from her den. she ate alot of her legs and the legs she does have are all cork screwed. i think this is it for her.

 

[Jean]

FK can you check (after the sad event) exactly Where she bit off her arms? If she bit them off very close to the buccal tissue (the mouth) there is a very good chance she has autophagy disease. It's nothing you did wrong if this is the case, (not that I think you did anything wrong anyway) but it is HIGHLY contagious and you will need to start again and sterilise the tank and equipment (contact me if this is the case and I'll tell you what to do).

If she has stumps then is it simply old age (sad but not so nasty) and your tank will be fine.

I'm sorry to hear about your wee friend ().

J