One last fact for good measure, and we’ll get to the sole reason you’re here! I could spend countless hours on sharing jumping spider facts and information. Though Jumping spiders are quite small and their brains being the size of a poppyseed, are actually quite intelligent. Scientists have proven they even have the ability to learn. There are several examples available on google, but one being; that a scientist in New Zealand developed an obstacle course in which they were surprised to learn that jumping spiders navigated successfully. This obstacle course involved towers, platforms, and moats. Jumping spiders avoid water, as getting wet could be deadly. They have the ability to plan and adapt, known as “genuine cognition” meaning they think before they act. 🤯 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. 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. 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.

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.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. 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. 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. That being said be sure to offer your jumping spider a variety of things to climb as a way to offer enrichment, which will aid in prolonging the life of your spider.

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. 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. Arachnid Shop, I highly recommend arachnid shop for jumpers that require more extensive care like the Hyllus Dardi and UVB lighting. 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.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. 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. 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. 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. The spider web effect created by Redone Spider Wax during styling emphasizes its ability to deliver a strong and long-lasting hold. It enables you to express your unique style with a powerful and durable hold that withstands daily activities. Not only does Redone Spider Wax give your hair a well-groomed and shiny appearance, but it also provides a strong and flexible hold, thanks to its exceptional formulation.