Maverick the Jumping Spider Feed, Resource & Care Guide

​

               

 

 

 

 

​

Welcome to the World of Jumping Spiders!
Ready to care for the coolest, most curious critters around? These tiny acrobats are low-maintenance and endlessly fascinating. Please read this guideline to make sure you are ready for this pet!  This is meant to be a resource guide for you to review at any time.

​

1. Condo Sweet Condo

Your spider needs a cozy home to thrive!

• Size Matters: Choose an enclosure based on age and size.  A 2.5x 2.5 will be appropriate for those instar 4-5 babies. It’s appropriate to move them into a 4x4 or 5x5 at i6/i7 or if they are growing fast.  5x5x8 is as big as I go for them. As they become a senior spider and have challenges with grip…moving them back into a 4x4x4 enclosure will help keep them from injury. Spider webbing on the sides can really help them and offering things easy to climb or grip.

​

• Ventilation is Key: Plenty of air holes to provide ventilation and help prevent mold.  There are good options from other breeders.  I've provided a few leads on this site. 

​

• Decorate! Exciting enclosures include flowers, plants, branches, ledges, hides, perches and hiding spots for climbing, sleeping and webbing. 3D Printed is safe.  If you must put in something porous that could mold, you will want to seal it.  You can use Varathane Polyurethane Water Based coating found at the hardware store.  Let it cure 48 hours before putting in habitat.  Hot glue?  The only safe product I have heard of is Gorilla Glue sticks.  Avoid superglue IMO.  Not worth the risk of neurological problems related to DKS which is fatal.  My favorite places to shop are just Hobby Lobby.  They LOVE to have some artificial flowers in their condo to make a rest area.

​

• Lighting! Amazon is a hero here!  Please invest $12.00 in a LORDEM grow light for your spider.  You can easily set a 12-hour timer to “rise and shine” at 8 am, and it will turn off 12 hours later for “bedtime”.  Your spider needs sleep just like you, and sleeps when we do…at night.  They also appreciate the daylight as it energizes them, and they can see better.  Jumpers hunt by sight, so they need bright lighting to see their prey. Heat can vary for spiders, but 72 degrees minimum is best for them.

​

• Base of the Enclosure: Felt, moss mats, moss, bio active is an option, but that is not my specialty.  A word on dehydrated Moss.  Test it first by placing it in water.  If it bleeds ANY color, it is not safe and has toxic chemicals to your spider which can cause neurologic symptoms that are fatal.  I’ve had success and no bleeding from Michaels Ashland Naturals 14 x 48” moss mats that you can cut to fit your sanctuaries.  Most decorator moss bleeds dyes.  Research closely first. Reptile stores also carry safe brands that are animal safe but talk with them first.

​

• Dry Climate?  You can use a moist cotton ball in their enclosure to boost humidity.  They still need spritzing for drinking water on a daily basis.  Try to achieve around 50% humidity and that keeps most spiders quite content.  Spray the sides of the enclosure and avoid direct spraying of the spider.  If you cannot spritz daily, I suggest leaving wet cotton ball for them when you leave for a day or two. 

​​

2. Feeding Frenzy!

Spiders are natural hunters. Keep their diet exciting!

• Favorite Foods: Fruit flies, small crickets, blue or green bottle spikes, small dubia roaches, live flies, micro and small mealworms, lesser worms (hard to find).  Please don’t expect your baby to do well on hydei flies; they need protein and a real meal with protein and some fat.  It will be important to mail order or have a food resource established.  Sweet treats can be strawberries, grapes, bananas, watermelon, or mangos. If your spider is needing high fat on occasion, you can choose wax worms which are 22% fat.

​

• Feeding Schedule: 1 x week on average as a near adult (subadult is one molt away from maturity). There isn’t an exact schedule, but I would offer at least 1xweek. For younger i6/i7/i8 feeding twice per week is appropriate. Once they reach about i9 they can go to once a week.  If your spider had a big meal, they may not need to eat for a few weeks.  Watch their abdomen and get used to recognizing if it looks smaller or engorged.  Overfeeding your spider shortens its life so keep an eye on this.  You can send me a text picture if you are worried.  Adults and elders eat less often, but you can offer a once/week snack.

​

• How do I feed a Spider? You can feed by moving your baby out of it’s condo and into a deli cup or the container it arrived in.  That way you can keep a close eye on both the prey and if after a period of time, (an hour or so) if they are going to take the food.  If not, then wait a few more days.  Some get a feeding cup and feed inside the enclosure.  I don’t personally do this because I don’t want their food to be dropped alive and crawling around in there.  If you chose this method, find a clear feeder acrylic cup that the mealworm can’t escape.  Clear out remnants of dead feed to prevent bacteria over time. 

​

• Pure Water: Mist the enclosure lightly for drinking droplets.  Spritzing the sides of enclosure daily helps to keep humidity also.  Locate and avoid spritzing your spider.  Their lungs are under the thorax, and you can drown them if you saturate a spider.  Get a FINE mister and use bottled spring water. I use bottled “Just Water” as an example. The chemicals we put in our water are likely not so awesome for these fragile creatures.  Another resource is to filter your own water with a Brita to remove chemicals.  If it is bad for us, it’s very bad for them. 

​

• Feed Shipping Resources: I’ve had the best experiences with RainbowMealworms.com. There are others but that is my recommendation. Reptile stores have Hydei and Melangoster fruit flies, and longer living crickets over the big box stores.  

​

• Play after eating: Give them a day to digest.  Just like running after you eat dinner…doesn’t feel good.

​

• Sleeping Bag of Silk and Hydration:  If you find your spider is hiding and has been there some days, just mist near the hide so a “little” mist may hit it.  Your spider can drink through the silk.  Likely it’s in molt or possibly laying eggs and should not be disturbed.  I’ve noticed my spiders will eat a big meal before molting so something to watch for. 

 

2.5 Feeding the food:

Yes, you have to keep the food alive...

• Mealworms: every two weeks let them set out for a day or two and put an apple slice in the cup.  That will nourish your food, then return them to a cool environment (fridge) to keep them dormant until needed again.  They wake up quickly at 70 degrees.  Tweezers:  Take your plastic tweezers and pinch their head/jaw area so they can’t bite your spider.  Be aware of ensuring the mealworm is not too large for your spider.  Blue bottle spikes are very safe for younger less experienced hunters too. Micro mealworms are fabulous and available from Rainbow Mealworms.  

​

• Crickets: you can get all the supplies from your nearest pet store.  Crickets can be a beast of burden to keep alive, so I just go out and get what I need when I want to feed them crickets.  They also need regular water, and care to be available on demand.  Be very aware of the size of the crickets.  Small spider, smaller cricket.  Make sure the spider can have a chance to take down the cricket and won't be intimidated when they are young.  

​​

3. Cleaning Made Simple

Keep it fresh and tidy!

• Rubbish: Remove leftover food and debris weekly.  Ex: Dehydrated worms, larvae, molts, crickets.

​

• Poo Poo:  Wipe accessories with a wet Q-tip—no chemicals. Careful not to remove their webbing.  Keep cleaning products away from your spider.  Inhaling chemicals will make them very sick.  Pledge, bleach, Lysol, 409, incense, candles are examples.  When cleaning around your spiders, just use water to dust.  No aerosols ever.  I have found some animal safe products from Whole Foods and am just careful.

​​

• What are the Dots? As your spider explores their home they need safety, so they touch their boom Boom in many places leaving a carabiner should they fall.  These dots and textures left behind help them be stable and safer.  It is not advisable to remove this to "clean".  Your spider needs this as they age.

​

• Dirt Cleaning: If you use substrate for a bioactive enclosure, refresh it every few months. Check with our good friends at Barely Regal Spoods for premade enclosures that are bioactive, if that is your preference with plants, substrate etc.

​

• BioActive Enclosures: One way to keep a fresh home is to do feedings in a separate deli cup.  It’s also easier for the young and older ones to hunt and cleaner on their home.  I use a soft small paint brush to coax my spiders to come see me when it’s feeding day if needed.  YOu can use the travel cup they arrived in for feeding.

​​

4. Handling with Love and Patience

These critters will learn quickly to trust you.

• Hand Holding, Uppies, and Boops: Get to know your critters tolerance and interest in being handled.  Some will really respond well and use you as a jungle gym, climb your head and jump on your cell phone when trying to take photos.  Stay aware of their location so mishaps don’t happen…. People are clumsy compared to the jumpers.  Some spiders are rather reclusive and shy and really don’t want a lot of attention.  Others are in the middle, where a little kind encouragement with a paint brush to gently encourage them out then build some trust goes a long way.  Jumpers tend to settle down quickly once they remember you are their friend and not going to smoosh them.

​​

•  To Hold or Not to Hold: Some people are very reluctant to interact with their spider when it arrives.  I have had good success calming and reassuring them by handling upon arrival.  They can pick up your sound vibrations and have some cognition to recognize your care and concern.  I feel it is better then putting them in a condo and letting them be for sometimes weeks on end.  IMO, it is hard to build a trust bond when they don't know you or where they are.  Others may have different opinions; this is mine.

​

• Playtime: To support stimulation, you can get a butterfly sanctuary and put climbing objects in it. Let them play for a bit each week. 

​​

• Grabbies: Let them crawl onto your hand—never grab them from around corners or things in their enclosures.  They are fragile and not always in the mood to play.  You can lightly encourage with a soft fan paintbrush; and usually they come around.

​​

• Molting: Avoid handling during molts; they need time to recover and firm up from that process.  I recommend spikes (not pupated fly larvae) or small crickets after a molt.  Molting nests/hides are typically quite thick compared to their typical sleeping nests.  Misting this is okay so they can drink through the silk during molt.  Don't saturate, be light with the water.

​​

5. Owner Health Checkups

A happy spider is an active spider!

• Active or Sedentary: Watch for normal jumping and webbing.  They may be less active if it’s a cooler home.  They will be very active at higher temperatures but avoid direct sunlight penetrating into their enclosure.  Indirect light is best and artificial lighting.

​​

• Keep the Webbing: Please don’t remove their webbing to “clean” their habitat/condo.  They only can create so much webbing in their lifetime, and they need it as they age to help climb safely and minimize falls.

​​​

• Dehydration/Getting Too Skinny: If the abdomen appears to be flattening or shrinking and they aren’t eating try honey water on a Q-Tip to rehydrate to get them feeling stronger, then eating something later that offers hydration such as a fly spike.  Water is very important.

​​

• Humidity: Buy a thermostat/hygrometer that offers the humidity for only a few dollars.  See Essentials on this site.

 

• What's with the STars? it's good to follow your molts after you get your spider.  At birth they are an i1, and second molt they become instar 2.  Instar 3 and 4 they are learning to hunt, eat and survive.  With each molt they are increasing their chances of survival. Getting to molt i6 is a big hurdle for them.  I don't recommend buying babies prior to i6 as you may be disappointed.

​​

• When is she grown up? Molting is hard on them, and many don't survive at young ages.  For Females, we call subadult when you can view an epignium on their underside.  That is revealed the molt PRIOR to being an adult and resembles a belly button.  At the next molt the epignium becomes shiny and they could now breed.  If your spider gets "Fat" after maturity but is not Gravid (Pregnant) that very well could mean they will be laying eggs.  Even if they aren't fertilized, a female will Lay eggs.  YOu don't want to put her on a diet.  She is egg filled and hungry just like before. A Female can lay 4-6 clutches in her life.  Think carefully if you want that many babies to tend for.  A female only needs to breed once to have hundreds of babies and they are a lot of time and energy to raise.

​​

• When is He Grown up?  Males will develop what looks like boxing gloves or ballet slippers at the ends of their chels.  This is their sexual organ storage.  So you need to observe closely if they are full in appearance. in a final molt the front arms become stronger, longer and more developed for dancing, distracting, and manipulating the abdomen of the female.  Until you see all of that, the spider may be subadult and not quite mature.  If you try and breed a premature male, he will likely try to get away from the female.

​​

6. Helpful Resources

An educated spider parent is a happy spider parent!

• New Community:  The Facebook platform has several groups you can join such as The Friendly Jumping Spider, Jumping Spider Newbies, Jumping Spider Cuties, Jumping Spider Adoptions, Show Me Jumpers and more.  Read up and you will learn and can ask questions in your spood community.

​​

• Accessibility: I am always here as a resource if you have questions; I will try to address your concerns as best I can.

​​

• Local Food Options: Visit your local reptile and pet stores to familiarize what is available for food sources.  Soft blue bottle fly spikes, micro and small mealworms are great for everyone and make great snacks for the larger ones also if you want to give a small treat. Crickets and mealworms can bite, so make sure you are offering a size that is relative to your spider’s size and what they can tackle and eat. Check on your spider often until it has paralyzed its prey with its attack.  If you have a full grown spider, I would still be careful not to drop huge prey in the container....give them something they can manage.

 

Final Words of Encouragement!

Jumping spiders are tiny bundles of personality and charm. With this guide, you’re ready to give them the care they deserve. Enjoy your baby and keep checking back!  It's hard to have just one....speaking from personal experience, Ahem! :)

​

Warmly,

Maverick the Jumping Spider Family

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​