Octopus Bites

[jugglematt]

I've had a few experiences with octopus bites.
With the gloomy octopus .
After a number of experiences diving. with bold octopus grabbing my hand and having a nibble on my finger till I had enough , I decided to let it go a bit further and see what happens .
While on a scuba dive in Jervis bay , I made friends with a gloomy octopus , who came out of his den and grabbed on to my hand , he pulled my hand into his den and started exploring me with his suckers . He then moved my hand to his mouth area and started nibbling . I had the feeling he was just checking me out , having a taste, there was no aggressive behaviour .
After a couple of mins of this he managed to get a good few nips in and I guess he broke the skin and some of his saliva made it in ,
I noted a numbness in my hand , which started to travel up my arm . That's when I decided to end the experiment .
So now I know that the gloomy octopus has something in its saliva and its prob not a good idea to let one take a chunk out of your hand .

When I got back on my boat I noted a small bite , and after about an hour all feeling fully returned to my hand and arm .
Sorry for the long post
matt

 

[tonmo]

wow! not a long post - great story... pretty adventurous of you to allow that kind of exploring!

 

[nguyentam140991]

Good advice! Species identification is difficult in the field, the amount of venom delivered by a bite can vary considerably, and people may be allergic to the compounds delivered. I would like to have an image of the wound to include in PowerPoint that I present to classes going into the field. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

 

[vanburet]

Good to know thanks, we are getting a Bimac soon, so I am happy to have found this in case anyone gets bitten.

 

[tonmo]

Good to know thanks, we are getting a Bimac soon, so I am happy to have found this in case anyone gets bitten.

Cool - start a journal here when you do!

 

[ladyocto]

Anyone ever get bitten by an O. Bocki?

 

[Hadla]

Species of octopus: bimac
Age of octopus: 2ish years
Size of mantle: 1.5in
Type of bite: nibble, testing feel maybe
How did it occur? General interaction letting it explore my hand, was amazed at how strong an octo this size is! Had only interacted with smaller species before
Reaction: just redness, nothing more
Comments about the bite and your reaction: was two tiny nips, I think he was just testing the feel of my skin, felt like a teeny pinch
Photos: the pic of him covering my hand is when it happened