Proper Care for your Spood
Spooder Bop Shop has done thorough research on the proper care for jumping spiders. We're still always learning & researching as there's so much to learn! We recommend you continue to do your own research for these little guys! Below are some basic care needs for our lovely spoods to help get you started! We have different species & their care differs from species to species.
Enclosure
Spooder Bop Shop will NOT ship Phidippus Regius slings smaller than i6! (i6 will be explained in the molting section below!) Phidippus Audax or other species may be shipped at i5 or up! They'll come in a small deli/sauce cup (seen in the picture on the left) with a damp paper towel & some fruit flies for their journey home to you!
When you get your sling you can take the damp paper towel out. We highly recommend your Regius are placed in a small enclosure with coco coir substrate at the bottom that you'll keep moist during pre-molt and molting, if they appear to be in pre-molt ALWAYS wait to move them to a new enclosure until after they emerge from molting.
As an alternative you can use a damp paper towel & keep it in their enclosure. This is to hold humidity! Which is important for Regals to be comfortable and to be able to molt successfully!
Jumping Spiders need light 12 hours a day. DO NOT place your spider in direct sun-light. Their enclosures are like an oven. Never use a heat lamp for your Jumping Spiders. I recommend a LED light. You can find them on amazon.
Proper Misting
Jumping Spiders need a daily misting on the sides of their enclosures. For Regals you can lightly mist the sides & lightly mist their coco coir substrate or paper towel to hold more humidity! Regal jumping Spiders need 75-80% humidity. Use a fine mister that allows small droplets no bigger than your sling. Tip: Keep the fine mist bottle about 6-8 inches away from cup & mist no more than twice. This allows the droplets to be small & fine. I recommend using filtered or distilled water.
Warning: Creating big droplets of water can potentially drown your new sling.
Cross Ventilation
Make sure your jumping spider is in an enclosure with proper cross-ventilation. Having lots of holes near the top of their habitats {near their home} & the sides is a great way for cross-ventilation & keeping humidity! Another great tip is to make sure the opening of the enclosure is either at the bottom or on the side! Opening from the top will likely ruin their hammock which they utilize to sleep, molt & lay egg sacs in!
Molting
You measure jumping spiders ages by something called instars! Instars are the number of times they have molted since leaving the egg sac! Molting is a VERY fragile time for your jumpers. Messing with them during or even after a molt can result in complications or even death.
Note: After they molt & push their old exoskeleton out, they will need a few days to harden. So please leave them be.
Signs of a Pre-Molt Phase:
- Bigger Abdomen
- Thickening of hammock
- No sign of eating
- Staying in hammock for days to weeks
Tip: If you see your jumping spider in a pre-molt phase, you can add a damp paper towel or cotton ball in with them to raise their humidity.
Feeding
Feed your sling every other day. They are currently feeding on Hydei Fruit Flies however soon you can offer mini/small meal worms, or small Dubia Roaches but we highly recommend blue bottle fly spikes from bigfatphids.com
Never feed your captive bred jumping spiders wild caught bait from outside. It can cause lots of different problems & potentially result in death.
View the Feeding guide below!
Little ICU Spood
Sometimes our jumping spiders may become weak, lethargic, dehydrated, stuck in their molt & or have a mismolt. They might need a little help with intensive care & to be monitored more frequently. Don't Panic! First, try reaching out to a recommended breeder ASAP for some help & advice as soon as you see something might be wrong. There are many factors that can play into this.
It may seem like our jumpers aren't doing much. You might walk by them & notice they're just laying in their little hammock hanging out! But they are little busy bee's! They can spend days or even weeks preparing to molt. Sometimes they aren't eating before a molt & during the molt they aren't drinking enough water. I've seen many different times these little babes coming out of a successful molt, but becoming lethargic or dehydrated-then not making it. Their abdomen will become shriveled & pretty skinny. They might lose an appetite & refuse food. This means they're declining.
Here are some things to look out for...
- A shrunken Abdomen (dehydration)
- Slow movement / hanging out at the bottom of their enclosure (signs of death)
- Can't push off their exoskeleton during their molt (not enough humidity)
Here are some things you can do!
If you see that your jumper has a shrunken abdomen, you should offer sugar water on a Q-tip! You can offer food but sometimes they won't have an appetite. In this case you might have to take matters in your own hands.
Trigger warning:
You can take some crushed bug guts & offer it to you jumping spider with a Q-tip! You can rub the bug guts on the their pedipalps or chelicerae.
You can make a temporary ICU cup for your spood by taking a smaller deli/sauce cup & placing paper towel all around the cup & at the bottom. This is so they can't move very far & if they fall they will be cushioned! Give the paper towel a nice mist & monitor them every hour or so!
OUT OF ICU
"This is Natasha, my very first Jumping Spider! She has been in & out of the ICU all her life! She's currently in ICU, She has a hard time eating & drinking. Which has caused her to decline many times. With a little hard work, determination & love, Natasha has made it out of FOUR ICU trips. I love her a lot & have came to the realization that I have to keep a good eye on her!"
This is Natasha healthy!
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