So much for my theory that the smaller hummelincki's are less social than the larger one . Monty was in a viewable rock cave this afternoon so I sat down near the tank and tried to get him to come out. He obliged and would come and touch my fingers but then acted a bit strangely by just sitting in one spot on the glass with his arms mostly curled. He would touch and hold my offered fingers but did move from his position on the aquarium wall. He occassionally flashed his eye spot but there was no other change in color. It was close to his supper time (6:00 ish) so I thought perhaps he was expecting supper and not a playmate. Neal fed him and he took his shrimp without excitement but did take it to a sheltered area to eat. Later he was back in his viewable cave area and I sat with him again. This time he was all about having his mantle massaged and squished in and out of my fingers for the better part of an hour (much more contact than the tickle touches in the above video).
When I have an interactive octopus, I try to establish a "petting" area that they will approach when they want attention and a "take your hand out of my tank" signal. The area and signal are established by natural actions and not perdetermined with each animal but the human action is reinforced and the ones that have come for petting learn/establish these two things very quickly. Monty's tank is small so estabilshing the play area is difficult and is anywhere in the upper half of the front three sides of the hex tank. Leaving the wall and embracing the live rock is the hands out of tank signal. During the second round of interaction he went to the LR twice, the first time he waited for me to remove my hand and then returned to the wall shortly to play more.
After my hand had become a prune and he went to the LR a second time I expected that to be it for the day and left the tank but an hour or so later Neal saw him again in his cave opening. Just as Neal mentioned it, Monty slipped down into the LR and we expected him to go to sleep for the night but as he was disappearing it appears that he spotted me and wanted to play more. He came back out for another maybe 45 minutes but refused to come to the side of the tank with the camera. I tried taking photos but they did not come out well enough to keep. I am almost certain that he identifies me as an individual or at least can tell the difference between Neal and me. His reactions when the dogs pass by also suggest he knows they are different again.
It will be interesting to see if he shows up for interaction tomorrow or sleeps all day from all the activity today.
When I have an interactive octopus, I try to establish a "petting" area that they will approach when they want attention and a "take your hand out of my tank" signal. The area and signal are established by natural actions and not perdetermined with each animal but the human action is reinforced and the ones that have come for petting learn/establish these two things very quickly. Monty's tank is small so estabilshing the play area is difficult and is anywhere in the upper half of the front three sides of the hex tank. Leaving the wall and embracing the live rock is the hands out of tank signal. During the second round of interaction he went to the LR twice, the first time he waited for me to remove my hand and then returned to the wall shortly to play more.
After my hand had become a prune and he went to the LR a second time I expected that to be it for the day and left the tank but an hour or so later Neal saw him again in his cave opening. Just as Neal mentioned it, Monty slipped down into the LR and we expected him to go to sleep for the night but as he was disappearing it appears that he spotted me and wanted to play more. He came back out for another maybe 45 minutes but refused to come to the side of the tank with the camera. I tried taking photos but they did not come out well enough to keep. I am almost certain that he identifies me as an individual or at least can tell the difference between Neal and me. His reactions when the dogs pass by also suggest he knows they are different again.
It will be interesting to see if he shows up for interaction tomorrow or sleeps all day from all the activity today.