live aquaria question

[SabrinaR]

You shouldn't be complaining, you already have three.

I know I know... its just that I have been waiting for literally 2 years for them to sell a Caribbean octopus... I just ordered baby on Friday from Live Aquaria. Had I known I would have waited. Just makes me a little sad is all.

 

[octomatic]

i checked today and they had both....do you know what species is the caribbean?

 

[iAlex]

If it's actually from the Caribbean, it might be a Hummelincki, Briareus, Vulgaris, or Mercatoris. I think they the are from there, but I want to hear from D on her opinion.

 

[DWhatley]

Live Aquaria has not had a Caribbean species (but have had a couple on their WYSIWYG Diver's Den platform) that I can remember. It could be any of the ones iAlex mentions and with the perceived quantity of octos this year I would not fathom a guess. Calling them has gotten mixed results depending upon the enthusiasm of the help desk people but I would give it a shot and ask them for arm length, if they came from Haiti (then likely hummelincki), and what color they are. Good answers to those questions might give a guess. You can also ask if they have a circular disk that shows blue and yellow below each eye at the top of the webbing or if they show green fluorescence when photographed. You'll not likely get answers but it is worth a try.

 

[octomatic]

also on a side note, when you order are you ALWAYS home to get it right away? whats the max time you have let the box sit outside if at all?

 

[SabrinaR]

I ALWAYS have the octopus shipped on days I know I will be home. The LONGEST an octopus has been in the box for me (from the time they packaged it till the time I opened the box and this one died) was a full 24 hours as they shipped UPS and they lost the box and then didnt redeliver until after 7pm. I will never use UPS for octopus shipping again. This was not with live aquaria. If you cant be home Monday-Friday have it shipped on Saturday. You can order it any day of the week and have it scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, however if they sell out before then you are put on a waiting list.

 

[DWhatley]

If I don't set up an early AM delivery and stay home until it arrives, I monitor the shipping with email notification and leave the office when I get the notice that it is delivered. In the case where I am not home I leave a notice for FedEx to put the box INSIDE the garage and leave the garage door unlocked. I have a great FedEx delivery person and Carol always leaved me a little good luck note since she knows what's in the box ) An alternative if you are close to a FedEx hub, and what I am doing with the bimac from Joe-Ceph, is to have it delivered to the FedEx hub and pick it up at noon (check the times for your closest facility but I believe the noon pickup is standard). This will avoid the time in the delivery truck (avoiding summer and winter extremes). This is a nice option if you happen to work/go to school close to one of the FedEx facilities and I have used it with other shipments in the past.

 

[octomatic]

the problem for me is i usally get off work at about 1-2 pm. and it takes me a half hour to get home. i contacted fed ex and they said if i ordered M-F it would be at my place next day at about 10:30 AM. thats WAY to long to have it outside. and my wife works til 530pm. i guess that the saturday shipping is gonna have to work for me. that makes it about $120 for an octo!

 

[DWhatley]

Check on-line for their nearest location where you can specify hold for pickup. If there is one near your work or near your house, this will keep the animal indoors while it is waiting to be picked up, minimize handling and be a cheaper alternative to Sat delivery.

 

[octomatic]

the closest holding facility is redmond. its like 20 mins from my house. also, my wife just said she could stay home and bring the package inside our house. that way it was in a warmer climate (about 75 or so) would that be ok? then i could start acclimating as soon as i got home. (i wouldnt want her to feel responsible if something were to go wrong, i would feel more comfortable acclimating)

 

[DWhatley]

IMO that is more of an anxiety call and I THINK you should be OK with that arrangement (she would need to stay home an additional 3 hours to acclimate if she opened the box so keeping it unopened in the dark and quiet would be best if acclimation is not started on arrival). Smaller animals should be shipped with enough oxygen to survive the additional couple of hours. If it did not arrive until 3:00 most would be anxious but fine with that but knowing it is in an accessible box and could have inked or needs air is human torture.

 

[octomatic]

well, i would never intentionally torture an animal. I just explained to my wife the acclimation process and she gave me the "i'd feel more comfortable if YOU did it look" although my wife is more then capable to handle the task i NEVER make her do something that makes her feel uncomfortable. im hoping this will work....she stays home until fed ex drops it off. she brings it inside and then heads to work. then i get home and start the acclimation. ill try to plan it on a day when i KNOW that i can be home alittle earlier. whatdya think?

 

[DWhatley]

You missed a key word in my thoughts. I said HUMAN torture. Just as you missed the keyword because we are all sensative to giving the animal the best shot, it seems that waiting the extra time is inappropriate but I can't logically justify that thought since it could easily not arrive until later in the day and be bouncing around in a truck without temperature control.

 

[octomatic]

i understand....in an ideal setting i would be home at the exact moment that fed ex arrived. i too feel that waiting in a box is pretty lame and that it would be in the best interest and health of the animal to be out of the shipping container and into its new home asap. im just really excited! but i do need to be logical about this and it seems that even though i dont want to pay more money for shipping on saturday it would be the best thing to do. (for me and the octo) i really want to thank you DWhatley with all of your comments and help (ur always the first person to answer my questions) and I hope that you know that nothing that I said was meant to belittle you or sound rude in any way. thanks

 

[DWhatley]

I am in absolutely no way offended. I try to be practicle (not always succeeding) and think of what I have and have not tried but tone is not always clear in writing. I am always excited when I get a new octo and have to go through a similar self debate (by this time I know most of the shipping options). The one I am expecting on Tuesday, I will pickup. It could arrive sooner if I opted for early arrival but it works best for my work schedule to go to the FedEx facility (being directly accross the street from my office is a major part of this decision ). It will be available at noon but I will likely work until 1:00 and then not return to work (thus not rushing the acclimation) and make up the time over the rest of the week. Every situation is different so finding out the options and then deciding what works best is all we can do.