Care Guide

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Welcome to the wonderful world of jumping spiders!

I’m so happy you have decided to love one of these magnificent creatures. These unique, cute, smart and inquisitive little creatures will soon jump their way into your heart and you will find yourself wanting to welcome more into your family in no time!

These Care Instructions are from my own experiences and some of my own research I’ve done on these precious, wonderful spiders. 

Before your spider arrives:

When jumping spiders are under i5 they are very delicate and can die suddenly without an obvious explanation or from a bad molt. If you are a beginner I would not recommend adopting anything under an i5.

Hey, wait, what's an instar? :

Instars are how many times a jumping spider has molted. When they first emerge from their eggsac they are already an i2, since they molt 1 time before even leaving the nest! Jumping spiders can have a varied number of molts before they reach full maturity. I have noticed an average of about 9 to 12 molts to reach maturity. Once a jumping spider reaches maturity they will no longer molt again. Females, once mature, will most likely lay an egg sac. Don't worry though, if that female has never gone on any dates with a male those eggs will be infertile. I do recommend you leave the egg sac in the enclosure until she leaves the nest. Removing the egg sac while she's still sitting on them can cause her unnecessary stress. Some females will eventually eat the infertile eggsac as well.

Enclosures:

I recommend you have your spider's enclosure ready before arrival. Enclosures should always open from the bottom or side, since they tend to build their hammocks towards the top. This way you will avoid destroying their hammocks when you open their enclosure and prevent them from becoming too stressed. Cross ventilation is a MUST! To keep enough humidity, I recommend you spray with a fine mist at least 1x a day to every other day, depending on the climate you live in. The cross ventilation helps the enclosure to dry out enough to help prevent mold growth.

Jumping spiders need things to climb on and hide in. Silk plants are great and you can find them at craft stores quite easily. Etsy also is a great place to find a lot of great items you can purchase or Google some videos for inspiration! I recommend if you do use anything with wood to make sure it is sealed or that you seal it to help prevent any mold growth. Lots of people choose to use Dishwasher Mod Podge or a non toxic polyurethane Varnish.You don't have to worry about mold growth on PLA 3d printed items. 

You can secure your decorations and hides using Gorilla brand hot glue, or with neodymium magnets secured to the items with Super Glue. Please make sure all glue is dry and cured before you add your spider to the enclosure. I find that Sphagnum moss and moss mats are great for the bottom of the enclosures! Please just make sure the mosses are animal safe. Please be careful with using craft mosses, as most are dyed with toxic dyes.

Juveniles, or i5 - i7: 

The size I recommend is a 3x3x3 for a juvenile sling that is under instar 7. Young juvenile slings can have a hard time finding their food, so it’s best to keep their enclosure small. It’s also important not to clutter the sling enclosure with too many decorations so you can really keep a close eye on them. You want to make sure they are eating and doing well.

Enclosure Sizes:

Sub-Adult & Adult, or i7 - Maturity:

The size I recommend is 4x4x8. Jumping spiders are arboreal and always seem to go Up.

Seniors:

I recommend downsizing to a 4x4x5 while they can still produce silk. As jumping spiders age, they lose their ability spin web & to grip the sides of the enclosure, which makes it difficult for them to get around. You can assist them with this by adding some moss mat to the sides, creating little steps with some wooden ledges, or adding a burlap ribbon. Once they lose their ability to make web, please never relocate them into a brand new enclosure that doesn’t have any web hammocks. If you do they will have nowhere to comfortably sleep.

First Day Home:

*Please note, if your spider is in a heavy thick web that is closed please leave them alone in their travel cup. They are most likely molting. Once they emerge you can then carefully relocate them into their new enclosure.

Shipping can be a stressful time and they may be a little extra “jumpy” when you first receive them, so please take extra care when transferring your new little spider into their enclosure. I recommend you use a soft paintbrush to help carefully guide your spider into their new enclosure. Your new little friend will be quite thirsty so be sure to spray the enclosure with a fine mist spray of bottled water. Please never use tap water. I recommend distilled water since this can help to prevent any water/mineral spots on the side of the enclosure. I would give them a few days to settle in before attempting to hold your little spider. 

SPIDER CARE:

Water: 

NO TAP WATER! Only bottled or distilled water will do. Spiders cannot live without water. You will need to mist the enclosure at least once a day. Once every other day is fine, as long as the humidity stays at 50-60%.

Slings– Be very careful that your water droplets are not too large; they can drown in the smallest of droplets as they breathe through book lungs which are located on their underside. I recommend you keep the mister up high and spray water to one side of the enclosure, so one side stays dry.

With Adults you don’t need to worry as much about drowning. Never use a water dish for jumping spiders, as this is a serious drowning hazard.

Alsp, please never spray your spider directly!

Feeding:

Jumping spiders will take down a variety of prey and can and will take them down even if they are 3x their size.

Recommended food:

• i2/3 Slings:

Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies.

Feed every 2-3 days.

• i4/5 Slings:

Drosophila hydei fruit flies.

Feed every 3-4 days.

• i5/7 Juveniles:

Bottle Fly spikes or XS mealworms.

Feed every 3-6 days, as abdomen size indicates.

*PLEASE NOTE:

Mealworms can bite. Never leave them  unattended with your spider. If you must, then crush their head to prevent a bite.

• Sub-Adult to Mature Adult: 

Bottle Flies, Bottle fly spikes, Wax Worms (only as a treat), Mealworms.

Feed every 4-7 days, as abdomen size indicates.

Lighting and Heat:

Jumping spiders thrive best in temperatures between 70-80°F. If you're comfortable, then your spider will be, too. However, if your house is quite cold, then you may need to get a supplemental heat source. Please be sure that the enclosure doesn’t go above 80°F. 

Jumping Spiders LOVE bright lighting. They also need bright light to hunt. I recommend LED lights with timers kept on a 12 hour day cycle....on near sunsrise & off near sunset. I keep all my spiders like this and they thrive! 

If you do use natural light please be sure not to leave the enclosure in direct sunlight. This can quickly turn fatal due to increased heat inside the enclosure.  

Molting: Super Important Info

As your spider grows, they need to shed their old exoskeleton.

They will go into what is called a pre-molt and build a super thick web hammock. Your spider will close the opening of the thick web hammock while the new exoskeleton forms under the current one. Please do not disturb them EVER as this can cause undue stress, which can cause a bad molt. 

Make sure there are no live feeders in the enclosure once this process begins. Continue to mist the side of the enclosure. During this time I would recommend a daily misting at least twice a day to keep the humidity up during the molting process. Once the new exoskeleton is ready, the spider will excrete special fluid into space between the old and new exoskeleton in order to separate them. Your jumping Spider will proceed to crawl from the old exoskeleton.  It has to get out of the old exoskeleton while the new one is still flexible. If your spider delays in this process the new exoskeleton can start hardening while the old one is still on top of it. Dehydration is believed to cause some of the bad molts in spiders. Once successful, and when your jumping spider is ready, they will create an opening in the web hammock and venture out in search of hydration and food. You can breathe a sigh of relief that your spider survived a very stressful time in their life. 

Health Issues:

DKS (Dyskinetic Syndrome):

Many keepers have experienced a condition that consists of  jerky motions, poor coordination, loss of appetite and eventually death. Scientifically, the cause is unknown. The theories of what can cause DKS include pesticides, essential oil, diffusers and infections. There is no known treatment or cure. Sadly, most spiders that exhibit these symptoms typically die within a few days. 

Sudden Death:

If you followed all care recommendations by me and fellow successful jumping spider keepers and they just pass away, then know it’s not your fault. It's just part of owning spiders and it can unfortunately occur. 

Non-Thriving & Treatment:

There are no scientific proven treatments when a spider becomes non-thriving. However, fellow keepers have successfully used sugar water, honey water, and orange juice to revive a spider. You can saturate the end of a Q-Tip with any of these mixtures. Your Spiders actually may drink from right from the Q-Tip. If not, you can try fine droplets as another option. 

Key Points to always remember:

• Bottled Water only. NO TAP WATER. Distilled is recommended.

• DO NOT Disturb your spider if they are closed up in their Hammock.

• No Direct Sunlight

• Handle with Clean hands (No lotions or chemicals) 

• NEVER EVER use bug spray, chemicals or scented sprays or candles anywhere near your spider.

• Topical flea treatments on your pets has

been known to be a possible cause of DKS.

Please, feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

Jumperspoods@outlook.com

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