Is it possible for oxygen to increase a tarantulas maximum size?

AmbushArachnids

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I was talking with my Dad about my tarantulas and how fast they grow at higher temperatures. He told me he had seen on TV that they used to be giants the size of dogs some 300 million years ago when oxygen was extremly high. Would it be possible to increase a tarantulas maximum size by dosing it with oxygen? (not that they would become much bigger than normal) I am pretty sure that they would grow faster. Just curious if anyone has heard of this being done to increase growth rate and maximum size. :?
 

james206

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only thing i have heard about making them bigger is power feeding but it shortens lifespan
 

webbedone

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Power feeding and high temps can make your Ts growthrates spike up for sure. i wouldnt know about oxygen tho, it took millions of years for tarantulas to evolve where they are at right now i doubt that increase of oxygen will improve size or girth the change would probably come in genetics of offspring and be spread out over a VERY lengthy time period. Everything in this world addapts to its environment just not in hollywood sort of way.

It would be interesting to try and experiment with oxygen saturation inside tarantula tanks and size relationship but seeing how Tarantula females live for 20+ years, genetic adaptations carry over and take effect in offspring it would definatly take half a life time and alot of study
 

AmbushArachnids

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It would be interesting to try and experiment with oxygen saturation inside tarantula tanks and size relationship but seeing how Tarantula females live for 20+ years, genetic adaptations carry over and take effect in offspring it would definatly take half a life time and alot of study
Not all females live 20+ years. For instance pokies and avics live 8 years on average.

Also, I wasnt looking for opinions. :rolleyes: Someone that has scientific facts, or majors in biology would best be suited to answer this question. Thanks though. :)
 

JimM

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I was talking with my Dad about my tarantulas and how fast they grow at higher temperatures. He told me he had seen on TV that they used to be giants the size of dogs some 300 million years ago when oxygen was extremely high. Would it be possible to increase a tarantulas maximum size by dosing it with oxygen? (not that they would become much bigger than normal) I am pretty sure that they would grow faster. Just curious if anyone has heard of this being done to increase growth rate and maximum size. :?
Doubtful.

FYI, the atmospheric makeup millions of years ago supported large insects and arthropods. Seems like I'm repeating what you said above right? But think about what this means. Even if you had some magic way of getting a T. blondi to 18" in some fancy artificial ICU, it couldn't survive in the current makeup of the earths atmosphere.

There's a reason why spiders, dragonflies, etc are all much smaller now.
 

AmbushArachnids

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Doubtful.

FYI, the atmospheric makeup millions of years ago supported large insects and arthropods. Seems like I'm repeating what you said above right? But think about what this means. Even if you had some magic way of getting a T. blondi to 18" in some fancy artificial ICU, it couldn't survive in the current makeup of the earths atmosphere.

There's a reason why spiders, dragonflies, etc are all much smaller now.
I agree with the above. It would be similar to taking a deep sea fish from the bottom and bringing it to the surface. Would be cool to hold the record for the biggest blondi. Heck the biggest T could be an Avic if it really worked. ;) {D
 

Lorum

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Don't you think it could cause troubles in the respiratory system?

Millions of years ago, arthropods were bigger and they were adapted to a different, 'high concentrated oxygen' atmosphere. Now they aren't. If you expose several T's to high concentrations of oxygen, they won't grow up more (T's die of old age, not because they don't have enough oxygen to keep living). Some will probably die (if not all).

If you continue the "experiment" for thousands of years, maybe, with the pass of generations, they will adapt to the new atmosphere conditions (not one T in a lifetime, but after several generations).

After that, the bigger size should have some kind of advantage above small size (if not, there would be no reason for T's to grow that much), there should be enough food, etc. Natural selection, millions of years. Not you nor your kids nor your grandchildren could live enough to see a 3 ft long tarantula. Sorry.

P.S. I hope I was clear, as english is not my first language, hehe.
 
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AmbushArachnids

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http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1690/1937.full.pdf I found some rather interesting information. Quoted: The effects of hyperoxia on growth and body size are less
consistent and often nonlinear (Harrison et al. 2009).
Body size increases in the giant mealworm, Z. morio
(27% O2; Harrison et al. 2009) and in the scarabaeid
beetle C. texana (40% O2; Harrison et al. 2009). However,
in five tested species, there is no increase in body
size at any tested level of hyperoxia, and M. sexta are
smaller in hyperoxia (Harrison et al. 2009). Drosophila
melanogaster reared in population bottles are larger when
reared in hyperoxia (Frazier et al. 2001), but neither
mean nor maximal sizes are larger when flies are reared
individually, suggesting that hyperoxic effects on size in
the population bottles are owing to evolutionary changes
occurring in a single generation (Klok et al. 2009). The
species showing the most positive responses of body size
to hyperoxia are ground-dwelling beetles like Z. morio,
suggesting that species which develop in occasionally
hypoxic environments like soils may be more likely to
benefit from atmospheric hyperoxia. In Z. morio, there is
a distinct >-shaped response to hyperoxia, with mild
hyperoxia increasing size and more extreme hyperoxia
reducing size.
 
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Toirtis

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It would likely work with enough time (and generations)...got a few hundred thousand years to spare?
 

smallara98

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Imagine leaving your t in a nice oxygen filled tank , and to wake up in the morning finding a 24" T on you :p
 

AbraCadaver

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Absolutely off topic, but I am very pleased to see you've dropped you're brattiness, smallara! It will make it alot easier for you, and us.. And without the annoying stuff, you're actually a very nice guy!

Doug, are you sure it wasn't "high" and not big? I woul dnot experiment with that, imagine a lividum on a trip.. *shudder*
 

AmbushArachnids

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Absolutely off topic, but I am very pleased to see you've dropped you're brattiness, smallara! It will make it alot easier for you, and us.. And without the annoying stuff, you're actually a very nice guy!

Doug, are you sure it wasn't "high" and not big? I woul dnot experiment with that, imagine a lividum on a trip.. *shudder*
LOL a giant haplo?!? Ooooh i want i want! :drool: Like a gator on a leash!
 

AbraCadaver

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I was thinking more of a drugged one.. Imagine that.. Teeth falling out, skinny and paranoid.. Freaky thought.. Freaky..
 
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