Edmond family grows unexpectedly after pet octopus lays eggs

Natalie Clydesdale/KFOR
·2 min read
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EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) – For years, Cal Clifford dreamed of raising a pet octopus.

“I just fell in love as a little kid,” said Cal, a third grader from Edmond. “Out of all the pets in the world, I was just amazed.”

His dad Cameron said Cal would always ask for one for Christmas or for a birthday.

“It was kind of this running thing,” said Cameron. “It was always just kind of funny… So we always gave him a stuffed octopus or some form of an octopus toy.”

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After looking into it, and some peer pressure from his friends, Cameron finally caved.

Terrance the octopus. Image KFOR.
Terrance the octopus. Image KFOR.

The Clifford family spent weeks meticulously preparing the tank and Cal got the octopus, named Terrance, for his 9th birthday. Terrance was shipped to the Clifford’s Edmond home in a Keurig box.

“I love her so much,” said Cal. “She’s just so energetic and it’s so fun to come home after school and put your hand in the tank.”

Raising an octopus is no small task.

“At least an hour or two a day,” said Cameron. “General maintenance and cleaning and making sure she’s okay and making sure parameters are good and changing water and feeding.”

But in December that responsibility multiplied… by 50.

Edmond octopus lays eggs. Image KFOR.
Edmond octopus lays eggs. Image KFOR.

Terrance unexpectedly laid her eggs and the Clifford’s soon had their own octo-army.

“You have to separate them because they will eat each other and then you have to feed them individually,” said Cameron. “Then those same sensitive water parameters of the main tank you have to keep in each individual tank.”

The Clifford’s recently started documenting their journey on Tik Tok. Their account has more than 350,000 followers.

Currently, the 24 surviving babies live with a nearby scientist, Dr. Tim.

“I have no doubt that we’ll raise these up,” said Dr. Tim.

Sadly, an octopus giving birth signals the end of her life. The Clifford’s plan to raise one or two of her babies as pets once Terrance passes.

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Cal told KFOR he’s sad to lose Terrence soon, but is beyond grateful for the experience.

“I have an actual octopus in my room, which is insane because none of this was even supposed to happen,” said Cal.

As for the rest of the babies, Cameron said he plans on getting them to aquariums that can handle them. If not, he and Dr. Tim will continue to care for the 24 octopus.

A venmo account has been set up to help care for Terrance and her babies.

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