Sooner or later, most kids ask their parents if they can have a pet. Cats, dogs, fish, and hamsters are all popular family pet options, but what about when a child wants a difficult-to-care-for sea creature such as an octopus? That's exactly what happened to a family in Oklahoma.
A TikTok dad named Cameron Clifford surprised his 9-year-old son, Cal, with a pet octopus, an animal he's been obsessed with for years. His videos have captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of social media users since adopting the unusual creature. But the Clifford family was in for a huge surprise when their pet laid eggs and dozens of baby octopi hatched.
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Cal is obsessed with octopi, and he finally convinced his parents to let him get one.
"I've just loved them since I was 2 because they're the closest things to aliens," Cal told Good Morning America of his long-time love for octopi.
Recently, Cal's dad bought a tank and promised his son he could get an octopus. They learned that a local pet store could order one for him, news that brought Cal to tears in a TikTok video Cameron posted. Before long, they were the proud owners of a California two-spot octopus named Terrance.
Then, 'Terrance' laid eggs ... and welcomed 50 babies.
After dealing with an electrical issue and buying a bigger tank, the Cliffords learned an interesting tidbit of information: Terrance is actually a female octopus and not a male as they were told, as she suddenly laid dozens of eggs.
"We kind of estimate there was about between 40 and 70 eggs but every one that hatched, that I saw, I was able to catch and contain. It was exactly 50," Cameron told GMA.
Of course, each baby received a creative name, such as Seayonce, Swim Shady, Jay-Sea, and Bill Nye the Octopi.
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They rushed to separate the babies and temporarily house them in individual containers.
As more baby octopi began hatching, the Cliffords were tasked with collecting them individually for their own safety.
"When the babies started hatching faster than I could kind of catch them, I had to move a lot of them into the bathroom in these small containers because they would eat each other if they were put in the same container," he told GMA.
It didn't take long for the containers to take over their bathroom. They named their temporary living space "Clamsterdam" before a local reptile expert helped house them for the time being.
Cameron has documented the whole journey on TikTok, where his videos have gone viral.
Cameron has shared regular updates every step of the way on TikTok. From learning how to properly prepare the tanks to feeding to dealing with system failures, and welcoming 50 baby octopi, it's been quite the journey. His videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of viewers each, with some even attracting views in the millions.
Still, the Cliffords would not recommend getting an octopus as a pet.
After experiencing what it's like to have a pet octopus give birth to 50 babies, the Cliffords would not advise others follow their lead. "No, don't," Cal told GMA. "Scientists don't recommend it."
Still, Cal said they would do "nothing" different. "I think he nailed it," the 9-year-old said of how his dad handled the undertaking.
We have to agree!
