Jumping Spider 101

Before we dive into what it takes to look after a pet jumping spider there are a few interesting things you need to know about them first.

It’s often easy to forget when you’ve been keeping jumping spiders for a while that some of the very basic and what a seasoned keeper would think of as obvious facts and information about them aren’t always so obvious to brand new keepers. 

I’ve compiled some of the most frequently asked questions, topics, facts, and funky quirks about jumping spiders that you may or may not already know. 

I plan to go into more detail for most of these topics eventually and dedicate a whole write-up to each one, but for now, these are just quick and basic answers to get them out there and make you aware of them if you are totally new to the wonderful world of jumping spiders. 

If you have a question, want to know more about a certain topic, or if you've currently got jumping spiders and remember a vital piece of information from when you were first starting out and wish someone had explained in more detail, then please get in touch as I’d love to add it to this article for others to read and learn from, and remember no question, topic or assumption is too silly! We were all new to jumping spiders or a pet at one point in our lives and our care of animals only gets better with knowledge, asking questions, and of course, the process of actually owning one, so never stop asking questions even if they’re just to yourself.

Size

Jumping spiders come in a vast range of sizes depending on things like species, diet, genetics, and of course their age. There can also be some confusion depending on whether the size measured is just the body, or includes their leg span as well, and you’ll find different countries and different breeders use different methods. For the sake of this article, I’ll use the measurement which includes their leg span. 

The largest of the jumping spiders comes from the Hyllus genus and can reach up to 4cm in some cases, with the smallest species of jumping spider being as tiny as just a millimeter.

The most commonly bred jumping spider here in the UK is the Phidippus Regius, and its average size is around 15mm depending on which locale it is. 

Females are usually slightly larger than their male counterparts as they’re a little chunkier in the butt, with the males being more athletically built and having slightly longer legs at the front.

Lifespan

The lifespan of jumping spiders is something that sadly will never be long enough for their owners, and some people are even put off by the fact they won’t get to spend a long time with their spider friend like they would a dog or cat. 

Males tend to mature faster than females with a typical lifespan documented to be between 18 months to 2 years, but we are actually starting to see more and more spiders living past that average as our knowledge and care of them get better in captivity and we're are able to extend their lives a little. 

I currently have males and females that are over 2 years old, and although they’re classed as very elderly they’re still active and eating well with no signs of them struggling or having a poor quality of life.

The key is to not overfeed them as this speeds up their growth and shortens the time between moults, which in turn makes them mature faster.

Overfeeding them is often done with no ill intent of their owner, they just assume their spider is hungry every couple of days when in reality these spiders can go weeks without food. 

Arboreal

Jumping spiders are arboreal, meaning they prefer life off the ground and up in higher places like trees and buildings. Living up high gives them a great vantage point for hunting their food and launching a sneak attack and it means they’re out of reach from many ground-level predators that would happily snack on a jumping spider. Living higher up allows them to spot those predators that are able to reach them long before they get too close for comfort. 

Diurnal

Like us, jumping spiders are diurnal which means they’re awake during daylight hours and they sleep at night. This is why we advise using a bright LED lamp over their enclosure for 12 hours a day to mimic the natural light they would get from living out in the wild in their country of origin. Much like us, they require daylight to see, to help stimulate their bodies and minds to get out of bed in the morning, hunt for food, and just go about their daily spider duties.

Sexually dimorphic

Jumping spiders are mostly sexually dimorphic, meaning that once mature, males look different from females in colour, often in size, as well as some differences in their body shape and parts. 

Some species can be sexed as early as L5 if you know what to look for, but there are also some spiders that love to keep us guessing right until the very end, and even then, some at first glance can appear as the opposite sex.

Male vs Female, what are their care differences?

There aren’t any really unless you’re wanting to breed them. The only difference is more to do with their behaviour and if your female is laying an egg-sac(fertile or not), but ultimately as just companion pets, their care parameters are the same.

I will do an article on their behavioural differences soon as it can be an interesting topic with lengthy answers when digging super deep into it. 

Just how jumpy are they?

Despite them being able to jump around 50 times the distance relative to their size, when inside their captive habitats they actually don’t “jump” around it all that much and instead choose to scuttle around the walls of their enclosure. They will pounce on their prey though if need be at feeding time, and given enough room outside their enclosure they will try to jump from one thing to another if it looks within their reach. 

I often allow the spiders that I handle to jump from one hand to another, or I put them on one of my big monstera plants which they seem to enjoy using as a jungle gym of sorts and hop about from leaf to leaf, abseil by their butts to leaves lower down before jumping their way up to the top again, and even sometimes launch onto me just to give me some added heart palpitations and see how fast my “catch me” reflexes are.

Females lay eggs - even if they haven’t had a boyfriend!

Female spiders once sexually mature may lay eggs even if they’ve never had a special man in their life 😉 This is actually something I didn’t know myself until after getting into keeping jumpers as it wasn’t something that was mentioned in the Google care research I found, and my first spiders were a male, and a female who never actually laid any eggs at all. 

If you have a female spider and you know for sure that she’s never been paired with a male then don’t panic as the eggs will be infertile. She will either eat or abandon them within a couple of weeks of laying them and go back to being her usual self. 

Some other cool facts about this topic include that females are able to store sperm for up to one year after mating, and also that just one pairing with a male can result in up to 10 fertile egg-sacs!😅

Hunters

Jumping spiders are incredible hunters and they actually have a completely different method of catching their food from other true spiders and tarantulas. 

The usual method for other true spiders is to build a web out in the open, then sit and wait until something comes along and either gets stuck in that web as it’s flying past, or they touch the web as they crawl past it causing vibrations, and alerting the spider to the presence of a potential meal. 

Tarantulas also use a similar approach as they also tend to lay in wait for the prey to come to them before grabbing it and dragging it back to its burrow, but they web the floor surface around their burrow as they aren't able to climb using just one strand of their silk as true spiders do.

This type of catching their food requires a lot of patience on the spider's part meaning they will go weeks without food while waiting for something to come their way, and it’s not very common for them to leave their burrow to go out to look for food purposely. 

Jumping spiders on the other hand do the opposite. They don’t use an intricate web to catch whatever may happen to be passing by, they leave their nest and actively go out to hunt down their food. 

Their incredible eyesight and strength mean they can spot a potential meal from a distance, stalk it, and then take down prey far larger than themselves. In the wild, they’ve been photographed having caught lizards and frogs over 4 times their size. Check out this article to see pics of them in action. 

It’s because of their amazing hunting abilities that I recommend not tweezer feeding a healthy jumping spider while they’re sat in their nest as it denies them the enrichment and exercise they get from seeking out the food themselves and tackling it. For creatures as intelligent as jumping spiders, there’s nothing worse than boredom and lack of enrichment for them.

Eyesight

Jumping spiders have amazing eyesight for a creature that small. In fact, their eyesight is only 5-10 times less than a human's eyesight. How crazy is that! 

They also have 8 eyes and each pair of eyes does a different job including giving the spider nearly a 360 view, meaning even if they aren’t facing you they are still watching you!

The front two pairs of eyes that are also the reason these spiders look so darn cute in comparison to other spiders, give them a narrow but clear image in HD colour. The two side pair of eyes give the spider a black and white blurry image of things around and behind them. If these side pairs of eyes detect shadows and movement the spider will turn to face it and get a better look with its front pairs. 

Their eyesight plays a huge role in why these tiny bit mighty spiders are able to spot, stalk and hunt down their prey. This article does a far better job of explaining it than I can if you fancy delving deeper into this topic.

Solitary & Cannibalistic

Jumping spiders are solitary creatures and must be kept in an enclosure on their own. Putting two of them together would result in a fight to the death and one of them being eaten by the other and the possibly the death of both of them if they manage to bite each others. Unfortunately, there have been some Tiktoks and other social media posts where the spider's owners have shown multiple spiders being allowed outside of their enclosures to “mingle & play” together. Please don’t ever try this yourself as 9 times out of 10 it won’t end well.

Even when mating a male and a female, it does sometimes result in the female having a munch on her man before, during, and even after he’s performed his duties. 😬

I’ve personally witnessed a spider as young as L3 eat 2 of his siblings at the same time which came as a shock because they don’t usually start to cannibalise until L4 when you need to separate them from each other and keep them in individual pots. 

Can they be handled?

The answer to this isn’t so black and white as it actually depends on the spider believe it or not. What I will start by saying is that they don’t “like” being handled, they merely tolerate it and will become accustomed to it over time.

Spider's paws (yes their feet are actually called paws, how cute!) are incredibly sensitive and just like human hands, their paws can feel things like temperature, airflow, direction, movement, and vibrations, and if some scientists are correct, they can even feel the blood pumping through our veins as well as our bioelectrical current. Basically, it’s a super weird sensation when they touch our skin! Imagine you're standing on a train platform and one comes belting past without stopping at the station. All that noise and vibration, the heat of the train engines, the warm air as its disturbed, and the wind it all creates, that’s the comparison I use for how it must feel to a jumping spider when being handled by us. Similar to how we get used to being in train stations, your jumping spider may also get used to being handled by you.

I also want to mention that some spiders won’t ever get used to it and won’t tolerate being handled at all. I have a couple of such spiders which are “look but don't touch” and others that I can and do handle, but that’s absolutely their choice.

One of many cool things about jumpers is that they don't NEED to be handled or have physical interactions with us to live happy healthy lives. They’re quite content in their little habitats providing all their basic care requirements are met, and they’re just as fascinating to own when only admiring them through the walls of their enclosure.

Do they bite?

As with all spiders, yes they can bite, but it’s pretty rare they do. It’s usually either due to a mistake and them thinking you’re food, or when they feel threatened, which they will actually give you plenty of warning about before they do feel a bite is their last resort of self-defense.

They do have venom although it’s not medically significant to us, and nobody has ever died from a jumping spider bite (as far as we know. The chances of anyone having died are closer to zero, but for legal reasons, I have to say “as far as we know”).

I have actually been bitten 4 times in total, 3 of which were dry bites (no venom injected) and I don’t actually class them as bites at all because of the circumstances surrounding them. In this particular incident, I was actually bitten by 3 of my spiders within minutes of each other which was the first sign that there was perhaps something else going on other than them biting me for the sake of it. 

I had washed my hands as I always do before handling my spiders so I’d like to think there wasn’t anything on my hands that could have caused their reaction. 

All 3 spiders interacted with me first and chose to come onto my hand as I was only in their enclosure doing some tank maintenance with no plans or attempts to handle them, so I know it wasn't caused by me forcing them to be handled.

All the spiders very very slowly and gently just applied the lightest pressure with their chelicerae (fangs) and it felt like a tiny pair of tweezers on my hand. Once they felt the resistance of my skin they immediately stopped and went back to their own enclosure as if they were just testing my hand out and seeing if I was edible or something. There were no threat poses from them, no fast movements like they were startled or feeling they needed to defend themselves, it was all just very strange more than anything as all 3 did the same thing minutes apart.

I came to the conclusion that there must have been something on my hands that either interested them or made them feel they needed to check it out further. They never broke the skin or left any marks, and they never did it again.

The 4th time I was bitten was actually by accident and as I went to pop a fly into her enclosure she went to jump earlier than expected and just as I let go of the fly and it moved, she made contact and grabbed my finger where she dangled for 5 full minutes before realising I wasn’t food and let me go. 

Now unfortunately this wasn't a dry bite meaning she gave me a good dose of her venom given how long she dangled there by her fangs, and I can’t lie and tell you it was completely painless when it wasn’t. 

Now I do have a pretty high pain threshold and would describe the pain as a little less than a bee sting, but I have heard other people that have been bitten compare it to a full-on bee sting sort of pain, so obviously it depends on your personal pain threshold. It did also break the skin and bleed a little, and continued to sting for around 30 minutes afterward, although I’m sure some antihistamine cream would have reduced that if I had any available at the time.

All in all, it hasn't put me off jumping spiders or made me scared of them or never want to handle one again, but it’s something that made me change the way I feed my spiders going forward and realise my reactions aren’t as fast as a flies are and to keep my chubby little mitts away from spiders when feeding them.

So there you have some little facts and observations to help with your decision making of if a jumping spider is the right pet for you. Don't forget to check out the rest of our blog articles for more jumper topics as well as the care sheet below for how to look after them.

Jumping Spider Care Sheet

I thought we could start by going through the basic care for the most common pet jumping spider in the UK, which is the Phidippus species, and in particular the Phidippus Regius, or the regal jumping spider as they’re commonly known. Regius also come in different locales such as Florida, Bahama, Isla Juventud, Blue Mountains etc, which basically just means although they’re the same species of spider, they come from different places in the world. Most species of jumping spider can live in a similar setup as each other, but make sure to check what the temperatures and humidity levels are in their specific country of origin and try to keep as close to those as possible. I will be compiling a list soon with all the individual species and their different requirements. 

Ready to dive in?……

ENCLOSURES 

Let’s start first with their housing and enclosures. Jumping spiders are arboreal, this means they need an enclosure that is taller than it is wider as they like to be high up off the ground and they will rarely come down below the top few inches of their enclosure, but this doesn’t mean the height of the enclosure isn’t important though. Allowing your spider as much room as possible will improve the quality of your spiders life, even if they don’t seem to use all the space provided. 

If you buy your spider when it's still young they need to be kept in something fairly small to begin with. This is because when they're still small, building up strength, confidence and learning to spider, it's easier for them to hunt and catch their prey in a confined space. It also means a smaller height to drop from when they fall, and trust me, in the beginning they do have little tumbles and plenty of missing their prey leaving them twirling and dangling by their butts in mid air. I recommend keeping them in a smaller temporary "starter cup" until around L7/7th instar once they've been through a couple moults with you and are handling larger prey with confidence. I recommend the “lucky reptile critter box” from Swell reptile which is an online shop catering for reptiles and invertebrates. This is the link to the product https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/lucky-reptile-critter-box

For a sub-adult/adult jumping spider 15x15x20cm is adequate, and there are many great options available from a few reptile and pet shops online, each one offering slightly varied designs which suit people based on personal choice. 

My personal favourites are front opening acrylic enclosures by the Mantis Den. They’re lightweight yet sturdy, have super clear acrylic panels, a substrate panel at the bottom front so there’s no spilling soil everywhere when you open the door, top and side ventilation, and really easy to put together even though they arrive flat packed.

Purpose built enclosures aren’t the only option, and many people like to get more creative by modifying sweet jars, plastic storage boxes, and even glass terrariums, just remember they need to have all the following features to provide your spider with safe housing. 

VENTILATION 

Air flow is a key point, and jumping spiders benefit more from cross ventilation, not just top ventilation. This can be anything from some tiny holes drilled at the sides or large mess panels, just make sure there are no gaps large enough for your spider to escape through. It’s also important to make sure they aren’t in an area where there’s a draft. Good air circulation is important, but a drafty area can be dangerous for them. Air quality however, is vital, and any air fresheners, scented candles, home fragrance devices whether they’re the plug in type or just a bowl of poipurée, cigarette smoke, even e-cigarettes and vaping smoke can be fatal to your spider.

DOORS & ACCESS 

Being able to get into the enclosure is another important feature. Whether you decide to handle your spider or not, you still need an access point to be able to get at least one hand inside to feed, water, do some basic tank maintenance throughout your spiders life, and also for if there’s an emergency and you need to get your spider out of the enclosure. 

With them being arboreal you’ll find that they make web hammocks in the tops of their enclosure, so having a top opening one will mean destroying their hammock every day or two and you risk unsettling your pet as well as possibly fatally injuring them if they happen to be molting at the time. For this reason I recommend front or side opening enclosures only.

For younger spiders that are usually under 8mm, or spiders that are a little nervous and have been a bit slower to grow and settle into spider life, a smaller enclosure is advised, so make sure to check the age and size of your spider before it arrives so you can get the correct enclosure set up first. Most people will buy their spider at the age where they need a small enclosure first, and in a couple months can then purchase the spiders permanent adult enclosure for when it’s ready to be upgraded.

(Side note-never purchase a spider under L4/4th Instar as they are way too young, small and fragile at this stage, and any breeder/seller that allows their spiders to leave at this age then it raises many questions about their care, morals, experience, knowledge, and intentions. L5/5th instar and over is much safer for the spider.)

The reason we recommend that you don’t put younger spiders straight into large enclosures is because when they’re still young and learning how to spider it can be difficult for them to hunt and catch their prey in large open spaces as the prey is usually faster than the spiders at this point. Young spiders are also still a bit wobbly on their legs and will loose grip of the sides of the enclosures quite often. It’s nothing to worry about though and is all part of their learning curve. Having a smaller space if they do fall means it’s not from a great height, and as they tend to miss more times than not when they pounce on their prey it’s easier for them to corner and catch their dinner in a more confined space. Once they’re confident and more stable on their legs nothing gets in the way of a spider and it’s dinner!😉

DECORATION & ENRICHMENT 

Once you have a suitable enclosure you can start thinking of how to decorate it for your spider. There are many differing opinions on what should and could be used for this, and in the future I will do another care sheet to delve into the hot topic of bio-active VS naturalistic VS fantasy decor. I personally only have bio-active habitats for all my spiders, and this option has so many benefits including the most important one of being great for your spiders health, but for now I will run through the easiest and most purse-friendly option that the majority of people opt for with their first jumping spider, which is naturalistic. This basically means that the enclosure looks as close to what the spider would have in the wild with the exception of the majority of items like plants being artificial. For the floor of the enclosure and to help with humidity a little bit of substrate is still needed in the form of sphagnum moss or purpose made spider, insect and reptile soil mixtures which will retain a little moisture without becoming sodden or waterlogged and leading to moldy bits growing.

Next comes the fun creative part of filling the enclosure with plenty of enrichment for your spider to climb on, hide in, and web up. You can use anything from fake aquarium plants and flowers, to sticks and branches providing they’re non toxic if man made, or have been cleaned and baked properly to remove any insects and pesticides if these items have come from your local woodland or garden. I have little rope bridges for my larger and more active spiders to use. You really can let your imagination run wild for decorating the enclosures providing anything you use is non toxic, clean, safe, and benefits your spider. Just keep in mind that your spider will only really ever use the top couple of inches in its enclosure so you want to focus as much as you can on giving them things to do and use in the very top area. 

There are loads of places you can find suitable enclosure decor, from pet shops and online reptile retailers, to garden centers, fish and aquarium websites.  

HEATING 

Another thing to consider is the temperature that the majority of Phidippus species need their habitat to be due to them being a non native tropical species not really suited to the natural climate over here in the UK, not our winters anyway. This is a fairly debated topic within the hobby and people like to use the rule of “If you feel a comfortable temperature, then they’ll be OK”. This is something I personally disagree with as like I’ve just said, they’re a tropical species, plus we all prefer different temperatures to each other and have different tolerances. I can be sat at home in the depths of winter, the house temp at 14 degrees, a window open, and still be sweating! So having a heat mat connected to a thermostat, even if it hardly turns itself on is a no-brainer in my opinion. Just be sure to check the recommended temperature and humidity tolerances for your specific species of spider, but most of them are happiest around 25 degrees Celsius during the day, and can drop to 22 degrees Celsius at night. 

Some people do keep theirs at room temperature and will argue that their spider is alive and has been living at those colder temperatures for a while. Yes, some spiders will “survive” at colder temperatures, but they won’t ever really thrive and their quality of life will always be a little less than if they don’t need to fight to stay warm. Remember these are a tropical species and as such we have the responsibility to try and recreate their natural habitat as best we can. Having a heat mat also helps with humidity as they prefer it to be around 70%. You can buy a hydrometer to get accurate readings of the humidity levels. 

When using a heat mat it’s important that you don’t put the mat inside the enclosure, underneath the enclosure, or touching the enclosure itself. You want to put the mat behind or to the side on the wall or shelf where you keep your spider with a gap between. The reason for this is so that it’s not a direct heat and will allow your spider to move toward or away from the heated side within its enclosure to find the perfect spot where the temperature is most comfortable for it.

When using any type of electric heating equipment you MUST also get a thermostat to control the temperature. I’ve seen and heard some horror stories where people haven’t connected a thermostat and the consequences range from an overheated dehydrated pet, to some being cooked alive, and the worst case scenario of the house burning down. I sound dramatic I know, but these heat mats can get super hot if allowed to run continuously at full power, and I know thermostats are the most expensive part of the set up, but it’s a small price to pay to ensure you don’t kill your spider at best, and burn your house down at worst. 

The way thermostats work is by plugging them into your wall socket, and then the heat mat gets plugged into the thermostat where you can set a temperature limit, for example 25 degrees Celsius. You then put the little temperature probe between the heat mat and the enclosure so it can detect the temperature. Once it goes over 25 degrees the thermostat will automatically turn the heat mat off. Then when the sensor detects the temperature has dropped below 25 degrees it will automatically turn the heat mat back on, thus ensuring that your spider has the perfect temperature day and night, whether you’re home or not, and keeps your spider from getting boiled to death or burning the house down. 

LIGHTING 

This is something that people get wrong quite often, and it’s also one of the main reasons for an inactive spider that won’t eat, and generally looks like a bit of sad spider spending their days tucked up in a web hammock. People hugely underestimate just how bright these little guys like it and need it. Because their eyesight is different and far superior to other types of spider, they actually need the light to help them hunt and catch their prey, and the light also stimulates them to go out and hunt and basically do their spider chores each day. You’ll often see your spider basking under the light and having a little sunbathe each day. It doesn’t matter how much natural light you think your house gets, you need an LED light to put over your spiders enclosure for 12 hours a day. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a bright LED desk lamp will do, even in summer. 

FEEDING 

There are several options when it comes to what jumping spiders can and will eat, and the majority of the time it’s a delicate balance between what the owner is OK dealing with, and what the spider needs to stay healthy. Just remember that whatever you do decide to feed your spider, it will all be live food and as such will need its own care routine in addition to your spider. Some don’t take up much space or upkeep, and some will need enclosures of their own as well as food and bedding. 

It’s important to remember that the healthier and more well fed the feeder insect is, the more it will benefit the spider that’s eating it. These little spiders have amazing strength which allows them to take down prey far bigger than them. However, I don't recommend feeding anything that's larger than your spiders abdomen. Jumping spiders are opportunistic feeders, and if they were in the wild, they wouldn't say no to an easy meal even if they only ate the day before. Captive bred spiders still have this instinct, so it's very easy to overfeed them. Overfeeding your spider has several negative effects on their health, mainly that it considerably shortens their already very short lives. The other main reason to feed sparingly is that while feeding, their abdomens become visibly larger and distended, and some even look like they're going to pop. Were they to take a fall or a bump to their abdomen they can in fact rupture it, which is fatal to them.

How often you feed your spider depends on it's size, species, and the prey item you're offering. My basic rule of thumb is that when they're out of their web hammock and actively moving around their enclosure, then it's usually a good sign that they're hungry and could do with a meal providing their abdomen has returned to a healthy size since their last meal. Never force your spider to eat when it's in it's web hammock, that's their safe space where they go to chill out and be left alone.

Another thing people often get wrong is tweezer feeding their spider. Jumping spiders love to hunt, and they're amazing at it. Some will spend a little time stalking their prey first, and some will just pounce straight away, it totally depends on the spider. Allowing them to hunt as they would in the wild provides them with enrichment and stimulation. So when feeding I recommend putting the prey item into the eye line of your spider, and then leave them to do the rest on their own. The only time I do think it's OK to tweezer feed is for very young spiders that are moving onto larger prey for the first time, injured spiders that may need a little helping hand, and for very old spiders that find it very hard to hunt.

Below is a basic rundown of some of the foods available for jumpers that I have fed to my gang along with some of the pro’s and con’s of each. In time I will release a comprehensive guide of feeder insects including how to care for each and also how to breed them if you want to save some money instead of having to buy new ones every few weeks. There are various other feeder insects you can use but I haven't actually used those myself and don't want to provide information on things I haven't experienced first hand. My advice, if you don't want to try any of those I've mentioned, is to ask in the Facebook groups for jumping spiders and ask other keepers what works for them.

DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER-SMALL FRUIT FLY

Is the smallest flies available to buy and are actually flightless even though they have wings. This makes them perfect for feeding 2nd-3rd instar spiders. They have a fairly short life span but they do breed a lot and without any help from us providing they have a food source and a bit of warmth. 

DROSOPHILA HYDEI-LARGE FRUIT FLY

These are exactly the same in terms of care and breeding as the small fruit flies but they are slightly larger and perfect for feeding up to 4th instar spiders depending on the species. 

A little tip for getting one fly out of the tub at a time is to cut a hole in the lid of the pot and get a piece of sponge to bung the hole. When you want one out just move the sponge to one side with a pencil or tweezers, let a fly out and then close the hole before all it’s little friends follow it. Some places that sell pre-made fruit fly cultures come with pots that already have a hole and sponge bung. Another trick is to pop them in the fridge for 5-8 mins as this slows them down and makes them sleepy, which then makes it super easy to get one of two out without the rest escaping. 

GREEN BOTTLE FLIES

These can be found online in their pupa stage and are known as castors. These take up the least room and require little care, they can be stored in the fridge until you need them and are relatively cheap for the amount you get. The biggest issue with these is hatching them successfully and I aren’t afraid to admit that I have issues with this. Some people seem to be naturals at it, whilst others just aren’t. To trigger the fly to hatch you take a few out of the fridge and pop in a small container with holes, then put the container somewhere warm. Within a few days they will hatch. If only it were that simple for all of us! For this reason it’s hard to have a reliable supply of flies as some hatch, and some don’t. I have a video tutorial in the blog section from a friend of mine who shows you how he hatches his flies.

DO NOT use the flies buzzing around your house that come through the window as these can be harmful for your spider and you don’t know what they’ve landed on and could be covered in pesticides and other toxic substances.

You can also put green bottle flies in the fridge for a few minutes before feeding to your spider to slow them down and make them easier to catch. These can be fed from 4th - 7th instar depending on the size and species of the spider.

BLUE BOTTLE FLIES 

Exactly the same as green bottles but larger and can be fed from 6th instar onward. If feeding these to sub adult/adult spiders you may need to feed a little more frequently than if feeding them locusts. 

MEALWORMS

These can be fed from 6th instar onward depending on your spiders size as they’re strong little worms that can also nip your spider given the chance, so always supervise your spider when it’s hunting and eating a mealworm. These also burrow into the substrate and then turn into beetles which can be fatal to your spider if it bites it as they have really powerful mandibles and hard exoskeletons meaning your spider won’t be able to defend themselves. So if your spider doesn’t eat it within half an hour, remove it from their enclosure. 

They’re very cheap to buy considering how many you get, and really easy to care for as they’ll eat just about anything. They take up little space, but they can smell a bit in my opinion. They’re also quite fatty and not the best nutritionally for your spider. It’s advised to feed these only as a treat or part of a varied diet occasionally. 

WAX WORMS / WAX MOTHS

The wax worm stage of its life provides a nice treat for your spider but is a little fatty, so again don’t feed them regularly. They’re quite strong and wriggly so younger spiders may have trouble keeping hold of them at first but eventually get the hang of it. I recommend feeding these to spiders 7th instar onward as it’s a very big meal for a little spider. They’re also cheap, take up little room and require little care from us. You can also let them turn into wax moths which can be safely fed to your spider as they don’t have mouth-parts to be able to bite. The spiders also seem to quite like hunting these.

CRICKETS 

Many people opt for crickets as a regular food source and they come in a range of sizes and types, and they’re nutritionally better for your spider than mealworms are. Personally I’m not a fan of crickets for several reasons, and the first being that they can nip your spider and be fatal if they manage to get a good bite to the right place. Loads of people do use them without issue though, and if you do want to use crickets I recommend supervising your spider while they eat one. Never leave a cricket in with your spider longer than you must, so if it hasn’t been eaten within half an hour of putting it in your spiders enclosure then I’d remove it and see if your spiders hungry another day instead. 

The other issue with crickets is that they require their own enclosure, food, and care to ensure they’re kept healthy to be fed to your spider. They aren’t hard to care for, but it’s more than what flies would need for example. I also find they smell quite a bit as well if they aren’t regularly cleaned out. Due to them being nippy, I wouldn’t feed these to anything under 6th instar, but this is just my personal opinion and many people will counter argue this. 

By far my biggest issue with crickets is that they carry parasites, like the really nasty type that will burst out of the side of your spiders insides like a scene from Aliens long after your spider has eaten the cricket!

There are also studies that link crickets as the reason for something called DKS in spiders. I will cover this topic in full one day, but until then you can google it and read for yourself. I have had myself, and also had people contact me for help with a spider showing signs of DKS, and sadly they have all died not long after showing symptoms. There is no cure for it, and it's not a nice thing to watch happen. For this reason alone, I no longer feed or encourage others to feed crickets.

LOCUSTS

These are my go-to feeder insects for my spiders once they are ready. They start at hatchling size which most 4th instar spiders can hunt and catch providing they are supervised and of a good size for their age. Locusts tend to be a bit dumber and slower than crickets, but they can still give a nip and be fatal if left in the spiders enclosure when they're going through a molt. Locusts also tend to climb upwards rather than scuttling around the floor like crickets do. This makes it a lot easier for your spider to catch and they also seem to really enjoy stalking them first. 

They do require an enclosure of their own as well as food and heat to make sure they're in prime condition to then feed to your spider, but I do find that they smell less than crickets, and they also don't chirp like crickets! One thing to keep in mind is that they require a temperature of around 26 degrees Celsius to remain healthy and be able to properly digest the food you're providing for them. Remember, your spider is only as healthy as the feeder bugs you feed it.

HYDRATION 

Spiders get most of their moisture from the prey items they eat, but it’s still important to offer your spider a regular supply of clean fresh water to drink as well. Spiders don’t drink like most creatures do, and there are a few things to remember when offering them water. The first thing is to do with the position of their lungs, and how easy it is for them to drown. Spiders have what are known as “book lungs” and these are actually on the underneath of their abdomens and not on the inside of their body like ours and many others are. This means their lungs are closest to the surface they’re walking on. If their body is in water, even if their head is out of the water, they will drown.

It means that they don’t need a traditional water bowl to drink from and instead we can recreate the system they use in the wild, which is to drink from droplets of water that have formed on plant leaves and tree bark. So all you need is a little misting bottle filled with plain room temperature water and spray one side of their enclosure wall with 1-2 bottle pumps of water every other day. You can also spray 1-2 pumps of the same water onto their enclosure substrate at the same time to aid with humidity.

MOLTING

Like some reptiles and other insects, spiders also molt their outer exoskeleton as they grow and mature. How frequently they do this depends on how much they eat, and the more they eat, the shorter period between molts, and the shorter lifespan the spider has. They are most vulnerable when going through a molt and it requires a lot of energy, so a lot of spiders are quite inactive for the time leading up to it as they store up as much energy as possible. Most of them will begin by building a web that's quite different from their normal hammock. It's usually a lot thicker, appears more white in colour, and once inside it they will usually seal the entrance and leave a tiny gap for emergency exits and to peep through. They will then remain inside until they have molted and allowed their new exoskeleton to harden up which can be anywhere from a few days, to weeks. It's important during this time to leave your spider totally undisturbed and untouched as even the smallest amount of damage or stress can result in a mis-molt and death. You may still offer them a few small droplets of water close to the entrance of their wardrobe as some do pop out for a little drink every now and then if it's within a close distance to them, but do not feed them at all from the time they go into their wardrobe, until the time they come out. Don't worry, they won't starve to death, they can go weeks without food. Humidity is also a key factor as it keeps them hydrated and helps with the molting process.

EGG LAYING (Mature Females)

One last thing to note if you decide to get a female jumping spider is that once they reach sexual maturity they may lay an egg-sac, or multiple throughout their adult life. Obviously if the female has never been with a male spider then these egg-sacs will be infertile, but your spider will still behave a little differently during this time. Usually after a few days she will either eat or abandon them and go back to her normal routine.

She will start by creating a nice thick web, much like the one they make for moulting but larger. Once she’s laid her eggs she may stay inside the nest and refuse food but this is nothing to worry about as they can go weeks without food and will not starve to death. Continue spritzing a small area of the enclosure wall nearest to where the nest is, but don’t soak the web itself. Continue to provide 12 hours of LED light a day and the same temperatures/humidity as normal. 

If a couple of weeks have passed since her laying the eggs and she still hasn’t abandoned or eaten the eggs, and she’s starting to look a little lean in the abdomen you can gently use a small fluffy ended paintbrush and gently encourage her to leave it. Once she’s out you can remove and throw away the egg-sac so she can get back to her normal spider routine. You may find she goes back to make a new one fairly quickly but just follow the same advice and repeat the process. 

LIST OF RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS & WEBSITES

You can find a few items and accessories in our shop section here, but unfortunately since moving house in July 2023 and it being a lot smaller in size I just don't have the space to keep any inventory anymore, so the range of items I now stock is very limited.

For other equipment and alternative products I recommend Swell Reptile which is an online shop and they stock all the big brand names as well as their own brand of products which I have used myself for over a decade on various pets and they have never let me down yet. Their own brand of electrical products in particular are very purse friendly compared to the big brand names but with the same quality in my opinion.

For live food I get my fly casters from this private seller on EBay.

For all locusts I use Live Foods Direct. 

For fruit flies I use Advanced Husbandry.

As always, any questions you have, you're always welcome to contact me through social media or email.

Victoria xx