A dad on TikTok gave his son the surprise of a lifetime by gifting him a pet octopus only to be surprised himself when it laid more than 40 eggs within weeks.
Dad Cameron (@doctoktopus) said his son Cal was only two or three years old when his fascination with owning a pet octopus started.
He told PEOPLE:
"He's always been infatuated with marine biology, especially octopus. For most birthdays and holidays, he would ask for a pet octopus."
When Cal's requests failed to fade, the family acknowledged it wasn't just a phase.
"We always laughed it off. We'd replace it with a stuffed octopus or a toy octopus, but as time went on, he persisted — over many years."
"We realized this wasn't something he was just going to forget."
Finally, Cameron contacted a pet store to see how difficult it would be to fulfill this request.
"They told me it's not common."
"You have to make sure that it's done right and that you're responsible about it, but theoretically, it can be done."
"So I got to work and did a lot of research, found some reputable websites, some experts and the rest is kind of history."
Below, you can see Cal's emotional reaction to hearing that getting an octopus *might* be a possibility.
Cameron said that it took some time—at least a couple of months—to even prepare to own an octopus.
"The habitats required for these species aren't just your run-of-the-mill saltwater tanks. It requires some additional components that ensure that it's a safe, suitable environment for the octopus."
"That alone takes a really long time, both to cycle the tank as well as acquire the equipment."
"You have to read up on how to take care of them and find a suitable food source. You have to ensure that they are constantly stimulated and have all of the things necessary in order to have a safe habitat. That took us quite a while — about two months or preparation to be able to receive an octopus."
"So it was a lot of work, but certainly well worth it."
And Cal's reaction to finding the tank proves just that.
Not long after, Terrance the two-spot (bimac) octopus arrived in his (or so they thought) new home.
But after just a couple of months, Terrance, who they discovered was actually female, started acting out of character.
"Terrance was very interactive and loved to be visible with us and involved in the action. So for her to hide out in a cave for a few days straight was extremely unusual."
After researching and contacting local experts, the family learned that Terrance had laid eggs.
"It was pretty disheartening because we were under the assumption these eggs could not have been fertilized."
"After speaking to others who knew more about it, we came to the conclusion that these weren't viable eggs and that we would have several weeks after the eggs were laid until we'd lose her."
But as it turns out, the eggs were, in fact, fertilized!
Cameron told PEOPLE:
"We were not prepared to take care of so many babies, but at the same time, we were extremely surprised."
"It's a rarity, I would say extremely rare in Oklahoma, to breed an octopus. I've come to find out it's been done in other places, but it's pretty rare to do so domestically."
He estimated that Terrance laid between 40 and 60 eggs total.
"At one point, we had 50 babies in their tiny, little containers that we had actually kept alive for a week. So, at one point, we were feeding 50 babies at once."
Viewers of this family's journey were fully invested and could not get over how it all panned out.
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But all in all, the story just absolutely melted the hearts of all Terrance's followers.
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@doctoktopus/TikTok
And for everyone wondering about Terrance, the family says she and most of the babies are still doing well.
"We've been able to keep half of them alive."
"It's extremely difficult to keep them alive. The literature states that if you can get about a 5% yield of babies from the hatched eggs, and that's in favorable conditions."
"We initially managed to keep about 50 of the babies alive. We lost quite a few in the first few weeks, a lot of which had to do with transporting them and feeding them."
"Now, at 60 days after hatching, we still have about half that are still with us, which is a pretty hallmark time."
For now, the babies will stay with Cameron and Cal, but will move on once it's time.
"Our plan is to re-home them to professional and suitable homes, to get them to people who can obviously take care of them."
"We have had great traction with bigger aquariums and research institutions. Some universities have expressed interest in them."
"And we've actually had a few that committed to taking them. The issue is, for now, they're just too small to be moved anywhere."
But if needed, the family is committed to continuing to care for Terrance's babies.
"We're totally prepared to do so, if we need to."
"However, if we can get them to these organizations where others can also enjoy and appreciate them and learn about and from them, we have a resolve to do so."
"Protecting this species is our ultimate goal."
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