“From Dream Pet to Domestic Nightmare: How a Family’s Octopus Adventure Turned Their Home Upside Down”

It’s not every day you hear a kid begging for an octopus instead of the usual furry companions like cats or dogs, right? But for the Clifford family, their son Cal was dead set on this eight-legged dream since he was just three! After years of relentless pleading, they finally relented, and on October 11, 2023, Cal’s aquatic wishes came true with a splendid octopus named Terrance for his ninth birthday. Get ready to dive into a tale filled with joy, wild surprises, and a hefty dose of chaos as the Clifford household transforms into a bizarre underwater adventure! You’ll never guess what happens next, but let’s just say it’s one for the books! LEARN MORE.

It’s not unusual for children to mither their parents for a pet while growing up, however, I highly doubt that ‘octopus’ is a common request amongst the pleas for cats, rabbits or hamsters.

And yet for the Clifford family, an octopus is the only pet their marine creature obsessed son wanted. After years of begging, US parents Cameron Clifford and his partner finally gave into their son Cal’s wishes to have an eight-legged friend — which had been a dream of his since he was three years old.

On 11 October, 2023 Cal’s dream of owning an octopus would finally come true when he was presented with Terrance for his ninth birthday.

Aaaand here’s Terrance! (TikTok/Doctoktopus)

Given that an octopus isn’t a commonly owned pet, there aren’t too many instruction manuals for parents looking to indulge their children’s marine fascinations.

With the Clifford family swiftly found out after a mix-up with Terrance’s gender would leave the family looking after an additional 50 baby octopuses to take care of — and it wasn’t long before their home was completely overrun.

Caring for so many octopuses was also pretty costly for the Oklahoma family ending up with a pretty hefty set of bills from spilled water and small electrical fires as well as setting up impromptu aquariums all over the home.

“Do not get a pet octopus unless you’re ready to lose sleep and your kids’ college fund simultaneously,” Cameron joked in an interview with USA Today, when asked about what it was like to own an entire octopus family, after the family TikTok account @doctoktopus went viral.

However the marine aficionados among us will be aware that tragedy was on the horizon for the Cliffords, as a female octopus laying eggs typically signals they are reaching the end of their lifespan.

Sadly, the eight-legged social media star – who had over 450,000 followers – passed away on 22 April, 2024, with the Clifford’s posting a poignant tribute online to their late pet.

“It was, understandably, a very sad day. After laying eggs, Terrance lived another astounding 135 days.

“Cal chose the name Terrance after a rebellious character in a book he had recently read. For many reasons, I always thought it was an odd name for an octopus.

“Life can be sad but still full of meaning and even though this tank now sits empty, this sleeping boy [Cal] just three feet from it, now feels his soul a little more full. So much joy from a not so tiny octopus.”

A recent glimpse at one of Terrance’s babies (TikTok/Doctoktopus)

Despite the fact Terrance had somewhat destroyed their home – which has been taken over by tanks for her babies, while being damaged by water spills and small electrical fires – they adored her being a member of their brood.

The family also went on to look after Terrance’s offspring, with around half of the brood surviving, a feat which astonished researchers.

Activity on the family’s TikTok account has since declined, with a final post from the Cliffords showing that the octopuses were now teenagers in July 2024.