Question on gender of a T

DarkRAM

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 30, 2003
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101
I was wondering...
Is the tarantulas sex determined when the egg starts to develop and only really distinguishable later after it matures?

Or is it asexual when its born and the sex is determined based on environment/diet factors as it grows from a spiderling then becoming distinguishable later once it matures?

:?
 

MrT

Arachnoking
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Aug 13, 2002
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Darn good question.

Thought I'd bump it back up..:)


Ern
 

DarkRAM

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 30, 2003
Messages
101
Thanks,
I'm not certain but now I'm leaning towards the 2nd one. Someone had mention in another thread here about power feeding and hoping for females. But I'm still far from sure this is how the spider developes...
 

krtrman

Arachnoknight
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Nov 8, 2003
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i would imagine that it would be determined when the eggs were developing. some arthropods are parthenogenic meaning they can reproduce without fertilized eggs. in some species all offspring are male for other species all offspring are female. since tarantulas require fertilization and they cannot change their sex as some frogs can then the sex should be determined in the early stages of egg development. i could be wrong but this is my best guess based on my available resources.
 

krtrman

Arachnoknight
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Nov 8, 2003
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i believe that the post was refering to power feeding in regards to helping the slings grow faster and not neccessarily in turning them into females.
 

DarkRAM

Arachnosquire
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Jun 30, 2003
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101
Ah... ok I miss read the post I was refering to above. Which is this one. Quoted below:

Originally posted by Buspirone
Gut loaded crickets(main diet), superworms, orange head roach nymphs, beef heart and silkworms. I just try to vary the diet as much as I can. I'm hoping to grow out a BIG female and the only thing that I can control that might affect size is the nutritional intake.
 

Mendi

Arachnowolf
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Jul 19, 2002
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I'm pretty sure that a tarantulas sex is determined like ours, at conception. I'm basing this on the fact that the female T can't reproduce viable offspring without first having mated with a male. Matter of fact, if she happens to lay eggs when she hasn't had a partner, the eggs will not even try to hatch... A lot like our breakfast eggs, unfertilized... So Ts are pretty much just like us as the matching set of dna is supplied via sperm, and the male spider sperm carries either an x or Y... If it were up to the female, all offspring would be female, though they may not be able to reproduce themselves. Bees and ants are prime examples of this, the queen must have and use at selective times, the genes from a male to produce offspring able to reproduce. Ts are evolutionary more advanced than a cockroach or even an aphid which can have a population from female clones. Bees and ants are also advanced creatures as well, as the reproductive female chooses whether they lay eggs that procreate...

As for power feeding, that might cause them faster growth, which means they can be sexed sooner. Environmental factors don't cause them to be a certain sex or to morph into the opposite sex... So, even though it might not feel like it at times, you get that 50-50 chance of either sex when you deal with slings.
 
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