[Octopus]: New Bimac: Octavia

[RCLasley]

Day 6:

Octavia was resting in her den this morning peacefully! I was able to steal a few moments before work this morning to sit with her. Gosh, she is just so perfect! When I sat down she moved closer to where I was while staying in the den. I reached my finger up to the glass and she came out and perched on rocks by her den. The interaction lasted about 30 seconds but man what a way to start your morning!

She slept through my lunch break. I won't lie I got a little nervous- she was wedged in-between the rocks in her den unlike usual. I held my breath until I saw her mantel rise and fall. Whew! Nothing like a mini mid-day heart attack to get the blood pressure going after a quick YouTube search I was able to put my fears to rest. She was just sleeping!

A half hour or so after I got home from work she woke up! I thawed a piece of shrimp out and she took it rather quickly from the safety of her den. A few minuets later I offered a slightly bigger piece and she took that as well! She pulled on the skewer I had the shrimp on and WOW! Wasn’t expecting that kind of strength!!

An hour or so later she came out of her den and went to the other side of the tank (first time we have witnessed this since her arrival) to disgard the piece of shrimp she didn’t eat. I think I may have to cut it up into smaller pieces. While she was out I managed to snag a picture. She has gotten bigger!

 

[DWhatley]

I found that offering eye sized pieces (at least initially) seemed to be the most accepted food, regardless of what the food being presented.

 

[RCLasley]

I found that offering eye sized pieces (at least initially) seemed to be the most accepted food, regardless of what the food being presented.

The first one she ate was about that size so I will keep feeding that amount more frequently! I assumed with as big of an appetite that she has she would accept a larger portion happily lol

 

[DWhatley]

Once the "eye sized pieces are quickly consumed on a regular basis, then you can start increasing the size until you get rejection. However, it is not necessary to offer larger food.

 

[RCLasley]

Day 7:

Hoping to have something interesting to report soon… Sweet girl stays in her den. Anything that moves within arms reach is on the menu. My favorite snail became lunch today Escargot seems to be a house favorite for her lol

 

[RCLasley]

Day 8:

Another day passes with her staying in her den. This feels like a failure on my part

 

[RCLasley]

I never thought I’d stoop so low… I have resorted to spending the last half hour showing her videos on my phone of people playing with with octopus She appeared unamused with me.

Sigh… the waiting continues

 

[RCLasley]

Day 9:

Sweet girl is a homebody like her momma! She loves her den and doesn’t want to leave. I offered an eye sized piece of shrimp tonight only for her to take it and spit it right back out. An hour or so later she came to enter an entrance of her den and spread a few arms out to try and find any passing by snail or hermit. When nothing was right there she went back inside and hasn’t left since.

 

[RCLasley]

*She came to the entrance of her den*

Sorry guys- I have been a little sleep deprived since she got here and my late night's are catching up to me! If the admins would be so kind to correct that typo please delete this comment

 

[RCLasley]

Day 10:

She still rests in her den during human waking hours. I’m starting to wonder if she’s coming out after we are asleep?

 

[tonmo]

it would be cool if you had a Nest or Arlo camera, or something with motion detection, so you can see what's happening (and enjoy some sleep!

 

[RCLasley]

it would be cool if you had a Nest or Arlo camera, or something with motion detection, so you can see what's happening (and enjoy some sleep!

My husband and I were just talking yesterday about setting one up! We’re gonna look into ordering one soon!

 

[RCLasley]

Day 11:

I was finally able to get my hands on some live clams over the weekend! I threw them in a bucket to purge them and yikes Those things were dirty! I took a meat cleaver and busted one open and dropped it in the tank. She immediately came to the front of the den and peaked out. When she saw me she slinked inside the den so I took a few steps away from the tank where she couldn't see me and she grabbed the clam and ate it! It breaks my heart she is so scared of us. I continue to sit by her den each day but have not attempted to try and force her to take food from me. After three days of rejected eye sized shrimp pieces I figure maybe she just needs more time to herself.

Day 12:

She did not emerge from her den during the water change. She did however grab the net I was using to scoop out the fiddler crab remains and gave a strong pull. She totally caught me off guard and I *may have* jumped causing me to drop the handle of the net in the water

Later that night I busted another clam open and sat it 2 inches from the entrance of her cave. She did not immediately go for it like the night before so I turned the lights off and sat on the couch. I got up at one point to check on her and she still hadn't grabbed the clam but was positioned to where she was watching the TV! When I was doing my final round making sure all the animals were good for the night I noticed she still had not grabbed the clam I busted for her but had a whole one she found herself to eat. I will be interested to see if she can get it open.

Day 13 AM:

This morning the clam I busted was still there which was a little surprising to me as she has had a healthy appetite since day 1. She was perched on top of an empty open clam shell inside her den as if to say, "I'm a big girl I don't need your help" I removed the busted clam before heading to work. Live food seems to be a favorite around here! As much as I would love the bonding time we could get by stick feeding as of now it is more important to me that she's eating and isn't stressed out by me forcing contact. Crossing my fingers we get to a point later down the road that it happens!

 

[RCLasley]

Guys- it happened!!! She FINALLY came out

 

[RCLasley]

Day 14:

Sweet girl has stayed in her den all evening. I have noticed her curiosity is at its maximum around 10:45-11:00PM CST. Today when I would put my finger on the glass she would emerge from the back of her den to the front. She acts like she wants to come out but and will sit half in half out of her den before thinking something along the lines of, "Ehh... better not"

I put half of the clams in the DT for her to eat at her leisure and put the other half in the sump. I dug one out of the sand in the DT (without cracking it since she's a "big girl who doesn't need any help") and she excitedly took it.

Day 15:

Woke up this morning to her having two opened clam shells in her den! They are blocking one of the openings that she likes to use to watch TV. It will be interesting to see if she continues to keep them or if she moves them. So far she has been meticulous in cleaning her house.

She has continued to keep the clam shells in place through this evening. She now is feeling brave enough to sit at the entrance of her den to see the TV and what is going on in the room.

While stick feeding has been rather unsuccessful for Octavia, I do tend to still stick feed my serpent star. Tonight I was feeding the star and the peppermint shrimp some small pieces of thawed shrimp and Octavia came peeking out to see what was going on. I still had quite a bit of shrimp left so I tried offering her a piece. The stick coming from above her seemed cause some sort of fear. She slowly retreated back into her den but stuck an arm out to grab it. I moved on to my other tank (reef tank in the making) and fed the brittle star in that tank and when I returned to Octavia's tank I offered her another piece that she took without as much hesitation. After waiting a few more minuets I offered another small piece but she gently pushed it away from her so I assumed she was full.

The trust seems like it is developing slowly but surely. I am so appreciative of this experience