Yorkshire Jumping Spiders
Caring for your Spider
Enclosures
Jumping Spiders are arboreal, which means "living in trees" they love to be up off the ground therefore an enclosure which is taller than wider is ideal.
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The size of the enclosure depends on the size of the spider, a larger enclosure maybe ideal for an adult jumping spider but a small spiderling would struggle to hunt in such a large space, so will benefit from a smaller home to begin with.
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Any enclosure you choose needs through ventilation and ideally be front opening, it is best to avoid top openings as you could disturb any webs whilst feeding or misting.
Food & Water
All of our spiders here at YJS are fed on flies, starting off with the tiniest melanogaster fruit flies, progressing to d.hydei fruit flies, curly wings/house flies, green bottles to blue bottles.
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Flies are preferable as cannot harm your spider, but please remove any type of feeder from the enclosure if not eaten that day.
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Take care not to over feed your growing spider as this can speed up moults and shorten their lifespan.
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They can also feed on crickets, mealworms, moths and wax worms, although the latter don't have much nutritional value for the spider and are quite fatty- much like junk food.
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A fine misting of water from a spray bottle on one side of the enclosure daily is sufficient for humidity and a drink, please don't give water bowls.
Heat & Light
Most Phidippus Regius (Regal Jumping Spiders) originate from South East America and some Caribbean islands, so need a little help keeping warm in our colder climes.
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Your spider is best kept out of draughty areas and any direct sunlight. A heat mat and thermostat (never use a heat mat without one) will help keep your enclosure warm enough at a temperature between 24-26 degrees celsius (a couple of degrees either way will be fine).
The heat mat should be ideally placed behind the enclosure not underneath with a small gap between. This ensures your spider can sit on the back of the enclosure to keep warm or move away from the heat if needed.
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Jumping Spiders are sight hunters so need sufficient lighting to catch their prey, an LED lamp is great for this and 12 hours on, 12 hours off is what is recommended to mimic the day/night cycle.
Moulting
Jumping Spiders need to moult every so often to grow, casting off their exo skeleton. You will notice your jumping spider building a thicker web and spending a lot more time in there with less interest in feeding.
This is normal pre-moult behaviour and no need to worry.
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Moults happen on average every 3-4 weeks, but the time between can increase as they head towards final moults, as can the time it takes them to moult from one or two days to several weeks.
Please leave your spider alone whilst moulting, just continue to mist their enclosure daily.
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Do not offer any food until your spider is done with moulting and is actively out of the web searching for food. This can take a few days for them to harden up and any falls or knocks whilst still soft could prove fatal.
Keeping your Spider safe
DKS (Dyskinetic Syndrome) is a fatal disease that affects a spider central nervous system. Symptoms are characterised by jerky motions, loss of coordination, falling and flipping over which almost always results in death.
This can be caused by any strong smelling substances such as-
perfume, cleaning products, scented candle, reed diffuser, air fresheners, animal flea treatments and smoking/vaping.
So please be mindful of substances used around your spiders enclosures.