Beware!

[dmm0724]

I was surfing the big auction site as usual...i am typically apalled at sellers selling majanos and mini starfish (why would you pay for like 5 starfish that come as hithchikers?) as well as mantis shrimp (they offer no warning as to how dangerous they can be). Well I think they have reached an all time low...
there is a guy selling 'dwarf' octopi on there which ok isn't that bad until he mentions the cute blue ring they have.....

If you do not know about these guys, do a search on here and you'll see. Sadly the seller has great feedback and doesn't mention one word about how dangerous they are.
I am not sure that it is the same species that is so dangerous as the seller has a picture of the octopus in his hand, but its worth thinking about before buying.

 

[jmcnaz]

they might be blue ring octopus. live around indo-pacific area. if they bite you(or our kids) you dont have much time to live(with in a hour I think), there is no antivenin.-jmcnaz

 

[bronco300]

you talking about the guy that said there will be blue rings around his eyes when they get older?

 

[alyssia]

I can't find it

 

[bronco300]

only one i find is when searching "live octopus"

 

[royal gang]

mcafee siteadvisor..

 

[dmm0724]

Yeah if you search live octopus you'll see a guy selling like 3 of them that says they have blue rings when they get older. Like I said i'm no expert...but i'd be weary!

 

[ice4ice]

blue-ringed octopus + bite = death !! They have rings all aound their bodies. As Steve Erwin would say : "Cricky ! DANGER, DANGER, DANGER !!!!"
Obviously the seller is knows what he has but won't say more about them let alone a warning ! Besides, aren't they illegal to own ??

 

[michaeltx]

unforetunatley no they arent illegal to own.
The blue rings only show up from my understanding once they get aggrevated as a warning then they subside.
Here is some info on them.
Mike
An individual blue-ringed octopus tends to use its dermal chromatophore cells to camouflage itself until provoked, at which point it quickly changes color, becoming bright yellow with blue rings or lines. It hunts small crabs, but will bite an attacker, even a human, if provoked or stepped on.
Poison
The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a golf ball, but its venom is powerful enough to kill humans. There is no known antidote.
The octopus produces venom that contains maculotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine.
Maculotoxin is a type of tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin produced by bacteria. Tetrodotoxin is found in Pufferfish and cone snails. It blocks sodium channels, causing motor paralysis and sometimes respiratory arrest leading to cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen. The toxin is created by bacteria in the salivary glands of the octopus[1].
First aid treatment is pressure on the wound and rescue breathing. It is essential, if rescue breathing is required, that it be continued until the victim begins to breathe, which may be some hours. Hospital treatment involves respiratory assistance until the toxin is washed out of the body. The symptoms vary in severity, with children being the most at risk because of their small body size. The victim might be saved if artificial respiration starts before marked cyanosis and hypotension develop. If the victim lives through the first 24 hours after the bite they generally go on to make a complete recovery. The blue-ringed octopus is currently the most toxic known sea creature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus

 

[ryanhayes9]

not illigal but who woul;d want to?
i emailed the sellr and will wait for a response.
o you see..... hes holding them in his hand!

 

[michaeltx]

Hapalochlaena lunulata is the blue ring octos latin name and if he has the right latin name of Cep O. mercatoris then its a different species of octo the only thing is when you do a search for Cep O. mercatoris nothing comes up so I have my doubts on what he really has.
Mike

 

[bronco300]

i dont think thats a blue ring octopus....if it was i think he'd have some blue rings now, or at least from what i've seen of juvi bluering pics...

 

[bronco300]

he said "no"

 

[xdave]

Their juvi colors are the same as adults.

 

[dmm0724]

Who knows, makes ya wonder though doesn't it?

 

[imurnamine]

It's still scary...

 

[ice4ice]

Yep.

 

[ginarox]

i totally agree....scary :scared: i had know clue that an octopus was that deadly, thanks michael for the information,,,have a great day...

 

[fender]

An octopus can change colors (not the rings tho) and shape so a perfect identification is very difficult even by an expert. However...
It is easy to tell that they are not blue rings. He states they get blue rings around their eyes, the poisonous ones are covered in bright blue rings, not just around the eyes and they are born with them. Also while perfect identification is hard these are gulf octopii, blue rings are from Australia, kind of hard to mix the two up if you know where they originated.