help blue ring octopus!!!!

[Lady Elizabeth]

my friend bought a blue ring octopus, i told him it's very poisonous, some of the sellers in the LFS told him this also, and worst of all he bought 2!!! he didnt listen. i just don't want any accident. i'am pretty sure it's a blue ring octopus because one of it died this morning and the blue ring on it is as clear as the sun. please help me find a site in the net i can show my friend so he would learn about the dangers of this octopus and how poisonous it is. This poor animal should be left alone in the wild where it belongs. i know they would only bite if their life is threatened.

 

[indy]

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/octopus/Blueringoctopus.shtml
http://www.earlham.edu/~sheedjo/blue-ringedoctopus.htm
http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-great-barrier-reef/blueringedoctopus.htm
http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/bluering1.html

 

[vega]

There is no anti-venom for blue ring, so the bite is fatal.... blame the lfs :x :x :x

 

[Wolf]

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/jspfk.php
http://www.octopets.com/
http://www.tonmo.com/
They're usually dark brown but when agitated turn vivid yellow with electric blue rings. The bite may not be felt, victims experience dizzyiness and have diffulculty breathing. HTH

BTW what's he housing it in?

 

[Wolf]

oops! that's just octopus care sites.

 

[c0mf0rt]

I can't believe a lfs is even allowed to sell those.... Tell your friend their so deadly that they were on the Animal channels 10 most deadly creatures in the world.......... I saw it about a month ago on TV...

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Oh my gosh....

 

[Wolf]

people have died in less than 10 minutes from a bite

 

[Wolf]

I think there is no antivenon

 

[Wolf]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=34688&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

[Wolf]

TTX is a potent neurotoxin that blocks the movement of sodium (Na+) ions across neural membranes by attaching to a Na+ channel receptor and capping the Na+ channel. TTX is particularly effective blocking the propagation of nervous impulses in mammalian myelinated peripheral nerves which produces flaccid voluntary muscle paralysis. This interferes with the muscles of the diaphragm and chest wall and leads to respiratory failure. There is little or no direct effect of TTX on the heart or brain (because it does not cross the blood-brain barrier) until a lack of oxygen causes these organs to fail. One milligram of TTX can kill a person, making it one of the most potent natural toxins known. There is no antidote to TTX. Treatment consists of life-supportive measures including artificial ventilation. This is why researchers in my laboratory studying blue-ringed octopus are required to work in pairs and must be trained in CPR. Patients who survive 24 hours typically make a full recovery, unless lack of oxygen to the brain has caused permanent damage. Interestingly, blue-ringed octopuses are not affected by TTX, probably because they have evolved a slightly different sodium channel receptor that does not interact with the TTX molecule.

 

[Wolf]

http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/bluering1.html

 

[c0mf0rt]

WOW... I'm comming to Wolf with any future questions...

 

[RocketSeason]

Why would the LFS stock them if they knew what they were!!!!

 

[Lady Elizabeth]

the other octo died this morning, poor thing. damn LFS here in the Philippines are so stupid. they told my friend it's poisonous and still they sold it to him. they should be selling animals like that to people, they could killl someone. he housed it in his reef tank, but both of them didnt survive. this could be very serious and very fatal. i'm now trying to find a way to report them to the authorities.. thanks so much guys

 

[indy]

Good luck with that. Most places it is not inherently illegal to sell a poisonous animal as long as they don't misrepresent it. Lots of people keep and sell venomous snakes for example. If the store told him it was venomous like your 1st post said they did, it's his responsibility to house and care for it as such. FWIW, he shouldn't put any kind of oct. in a reef tank.

 

[wlam18]

It was selling in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago for ~$8 US each. When I visited the store, the owner told me he flushed all the animals into the toilet.....

 

[vega]

I know one lfs in my area sell baby sea turtle for us$20 ea illegally. When i ask the owner what they fed them, he told me he feed them with white rice 8O 8O 8O

I reported to WWF but the WWF officer told me the turtle was sold out and there is no evidence for the case :x :x :x

 

[Umberle]

Sale of venemous critters is legal in the US but it's with permit usually...sometimes not though. I worked (briefly) in an exotic pet store in Detroit when I was a kid and we had at least one pit viper at any given time, several larger tarantulas of the species that are venemous (most aren't particularly), a few dart frogs, etc. I think we might have had a blue ring octo but by mistake and they gave it up because I think they've been quite illegal here for private collectors for a while if I'm correct.

It's rough but there's no law against being dumb.

Most of the laws in the US are not about banning it but more about controlling it and monitoring it. I think the reason blue ring octos are illegal here may not be bacause they are dangerous but because they are endangered. *shrug*

 

[Hara]

It is still the situation that if people want to buy them, the stores will sell them.....
Even if it was "by permit only", there would still be folks wanting to buy it. Probably for the sole reason that they ARE deadly and the person thinks they are something special for owning one.