Enclosure/Environment

Jumping spiders are arboreal, meaning they like to live high up. In the wild you'd likely find them in trees and on walls in secluded areas. In captivity we recreate this by providing them with an enclosure that has plenty of anchor points at the top for them to secure their web.

There are lots of different enclosures available but personally I use the Mantis Den medium (these can be found in our shop). You want to avoid a top opening enclosure as that is where your spider will make its home so you want an enclosure with a front opening door. I recommend a bioactive set up to help keep the parameters perfect for your spider. Plenty of foliage, bark, moss and twigs provide an excellent environment for your spider to hunt its prey, and lots of places for them to make a web hammock. A decent substrate such as Arcadia earth mix will help hold humidity and provide a soft landing should your spider fall during a particularly daring hunt. We now stock a full bioactive set up in our shop.

When your spider first arrives it will be too small for its big enclosure so will need to live in its temporary home. This is usually in the form of a smoothie cup with some decor and substrate.

Heat/Humidity

Phidippus regius hail from far hotter and humid climates than we have here in the UK and so your spider will need additional heat to stay healthy and active. A cold spider will be lethargic and will be less inclined to move around and hunt. And in the worst case, being too cold can be fatal for your spider. I have found the best way to heat your spider is with a heat mat and a thermostat. I place the heat mat behind the enclosure with the thermostat probe on top or as near as possible as I can get it. I keep my spiders between 24-26c and around 70% humidity. Using a thermostat ensures a safe, constant supply of heat and it will turn itself on and off as needed.

Lighting

Jumping spiders rely on eyesight for hunting and need a nice bright light to simulate bright sunshine. For this, LED lighting is perfect as it gives off little additional heat. I personally use LED strips on the underside of the shelves and have the lights switched on for 12 hours per day. If you only have one spider, you could use a lamp. Again, LED is preferred and there are many designs available.

Drinking

Daily misting is the best way to maintain humidity and hydrate your spider. A fine mist on one side of the enclosure will provide your spider with droplets of water to drink. Take care not to create big droplets of water, as your spider has book lungs located on the underside of their abdomen that they breathe through.

Moulting behaviour

As a spider grows it needs to shed its exuvia. During this period the spider will usually make a thicker web hammock and spend most of its time hiding away. They may poke their head out or come out for a stroll but will shortly return to their hammock. A moult can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks and as a rule the process takes longer as the spider gets older. Moulting happens around every 3-4 weeks or so for a captive jumping spider but this can vary for a number of environmental factors. Ardens are a slower growing species and the moult process takes longer than we are used to. Sometimes hiding away for weeks.

Feeding

Jumping spiders are excellent hunters and prefer flying prey. Depending on spider instar (size) will depend on what you feed them. Fruit flies, house flies, Greenbottles, bluebottles and small locusts are all good feeders. Occasionally I will feed wax worms as a "treat". I avoid using crickets and mealworms as feeders for my jumping spiders as they can carry parasites and have the ability to bite and injure your spider. Ardens are fairly timid particularly in the earlier instars and they seem to prefer to take on smaller prey for longer.

i5- D.Hydei Fruit Flies

i6- Curly Wing flies

I6+ Greenbottles

For jumping spiders larger in stature I feed 2 greenbottles or one bluebottle.

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