Monty - Unknown (brown eyespot Caribbean)

[sedna]

Hard to hear, sorry that the inevitable is happening already. We are lucky he's been living with you, as you do such a great job of sharing with us all!

 

[Nancy]

Sorry about Monty, D. Such an attractive octopus, and you took such good photos to share with us.

Nancy

 

[corw314]

So sorry to hear. This has to be the hardest part of having them with us.

 

[Mike Bauer]

Sorry for you loss.

 

[tonmo]

Sorry D - will tweet this journal, thanks for sharing him with us.

 

[DWhatley]

Monty is still with us and still eating but not coming out and appears blind. Tonight he presented two arms when I was near his tank but still stayed in his LR. He came all the way out last night but only for a short time and I did not see him but Neal said he was not the solid white we have been seeing and closer to his normal gold color. The observation that he is not coloring and does not open his eyes strongly suggests that coloration is related to sight (recently, there have been thoughts that the arms might play a roll camouflage since they appear to have some kind of potential light sensing capabilities).

 

[Level_Head]

The closed eyes, while sad, are different from the opacity that you'd seen. We had some discussion here not too long ago on whether octopuses could close their eyes.

I hope that Monty has good, valuable, and comfortable time left with you.

Best wishes.

 

[DWhatley]

I see no deterioration in the skin, it is just the behavior and the obvious eye change (no swelling and nothing that looks like infection and both eyes are closed to bare slits all the time) so comfort seems OK. This is a different kind of end than the senescence I have seen in the other three species I have kept.

 

[DWhatley]

Monty came out today and was out for at least half an hour. The lights were off on the tank and when I put them on, he retreated to his den, turning them off again, he came back out. This makes me think that he may not be totally blind and perhaps is very light sensitive (?). His coloration is neither bright white or bright yellow but a cream, greyed mix of the two.

 

[Mike Bauer]

Hang in there! Good Luck

 

[DWhatley]

Monty has started refusing food and acts almost afraid of the offering (my guess is it is because of his sight loss). His color looks better in the photo than in reality.

 

[Level_Head]

Thank you for keeping us included in the process. It is a bittersweet time for you, with beginnings and endings happening together.

Little Monty's life has been interesting and pleasant; he's been well taken care of and has had an environment with intellectual stimulation, while providing the same, for you and for us as well.

Best wishes.

 

[DWhatley]

If wishes were horses ... Kara would have found a female and I would have had the opportunity to at least know if this is a small or large egg species. He is such a perfect aquarium octopus that I would be willing to commit resources to raising them if the young turned out to be benthic at hatching. I never know what will next find its way to my tanks but Monty is one of the special ones and I want to know more about the species.

 

[Level_Head]

I wonder if the small-egg and large-egg division in the octopuses is as clear-cut as the toothed whales versus the mysticetes. Or like the apparently earlier cirrate/non-cirrate octopus split.

 

[DWhatley]

I don't think so. When I asked about the New Zeland and Australian equivalents of our GPO, Steve O mentioned that physical egg size a relative term, noting that these two octopuses had relatively large eggs but the hatchlings still had a pelagic stage.