Puddles is hitting the high point of an interactive octopus. Unfortunately, this phase does not last as long as one would like but it enamors you to them for life (yours). This animal and her cousin Beldar (not certain if they are the same species) are both extremely gentle animals. When she expects food she will come to my hand beak first but whether I have food or not, she never grabs. If I have a piece of shrimp, she just takes it very gently from my fingers and will keep an arm on my finger for a couple of seconds while she positions it under her webbing but she does not attach to me with her suckers at all.
Puddles has been squishing though my fingers for a week or so but I had to move my hand to pet her or surround her so she could slowly do her squish through pet (no real pressure but she kind of slowly pulls herself through only going as far as to get her mantle to the other side and then waits to be tickled or resurrounded. Tonight she discovered she could go back into my hand by herself so she spent half an hour or more going back and fourth. I use a red flashlight to see her and she is not crazy about it (but does not react like she does with white light). The top of the tank has a 3" black band surrounding the tank and she often plays in that darkened area so I really can't see her too well and have had to learn to trust her as much as she trusts me. The extreme gentleness of this animal is really quite amazing.
I remember Beldar discovering she could make me go away (I always try to come up with something they do naturally and use it to let them signal me they have had enough. Since it is a natural action you can't really call it learning but they do understand what it means and remember. I think that is called conditioning). Bel had me getting up and down for 2 full hours and I am not sure which of us was having the most fun. Puddles didn't show the same kind of enthusiasm but she did repeatedly go through my fingers and then return through the presented hole many times tonight.
If she is typical of what I have observed with starting a new interaction, she will likely not want to play for a couple of days now and then will suddenly remember and continue with the routine.
Puddles is eating well and seems to want to eat every other night but has "asked" for food two nights in a row this week. I can't detect any growth from when she came so I still believe she is full grown. Hopefully the increased food intake is not a sign she is ready to start developing eggs though. So far, there is no mantle swelling like I noticed in Bel before she started brooding. I am really hoping Puddles is male but only time will tell as the arm never hold still long enough to get a good look in the dim light.