How do you keep Jumping Spiders?

Jonathan Wilhelm

Arachnopeon
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Dec 16, 2006
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34
I found this little guy in my bathroom a week ago. It is about 2.5mm total size. Any idea what kind it is (Platycryptus)? I am new at this. Also I he runs from the cricket in the pick, it’s the smallest one I can find. So I ordered some fruit flies for it but it has been really cold out here in MI so I think they are waiting to ship them. I really wish it would just eat the cricket.




 
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wyllomoon

Arachnopeon
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Oct 27, 2006
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23
Widowman10 said:
from my experience and research ( i've owned a few of these) they seem to be ALL OVER the place- everywhere, very common. they are also cool because they grow really big for jumping spiders (like 5/8 inch or bigger!) and eat almost anything and are very easy to care for.
Yeah, this was the first time I had ever run into a jumping spider so big. Ususally the ones I see around here are just tiny little things. Gotta love those alien looking eyes on them! So cute!

Widowman10 said:
P.S. how big is yours??
About half an inch I think, maybe a little smaller. I can't guess how old it might be or if it will get any bigger. I need a good camera to take some actual decent pictures!

Thanks again!
 

Widowman10

Arachno WIDOW
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Jan 25, 2007
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About half an inch I think, maybe a little smaller. I can't guess how old it might be or if it will get any bigger. I need a good camera to take some actual decent pictures!

Thanks again![/QUOTE]


what do you feed your little guy? store bought stuff or do you catch stuff?
 

ZergFront

Arachnoprince
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May 2, 2009
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here is a picture of a female P. Johnstoni that i allow to live in my roach colony for a while.
You have a gorgeous girl there(yeah, bringing back a dead thread I guess but why start a new one?)

 

Spider-Spazz

Arachnobaron
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Mar 15, 2009
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I found this little guy in my bathroom a week ago. It is about 2.5mm total size. Any idea what kind it is (Platycryptus)? I am new at this. Also I he runs from the cricket in the pick, it’s the smallest one I can find. So I ordered some fruit flies for it but it has been really cold out here in MI so I think they are waiting to ship them. I really wish it would just eat the cricket.





Ha! That little jumper would be on his back eating him while the cricket walks around clueless!
 

RindyA

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
3
Hello,
I have been rearing Phiddipus otiosus spiderlings, and have been losing more and more of them as they go through molts. They seem to die right after molting. I keep them housed individually. I feed them drosophilla weekly and I give them a small moist cotton ball once a week. Sometimes the cotton balls and fly carcasses become slightly moldy after a few days. Could the mold be killing them when they are vulnerable after molting? There seems to be a trade-off between keeping their environment a bit humid, and mold problems. Or, is it simply that molting is hard on them and I should expect to loose a few with each molt? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 

ZergFront

Arachnoprince
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Jumping spiders really don't need substrate, likely they won't be on it most of the time. Mine have various things to hide in, climb on or jump from to grab insects though; like two twigs laying crossed over each other suspended by the inside of the container. I've noticed that if one of my jumping spiderlings is spending more than a day on the ground there usually was something wrong with it.

I remove any dead prey from the containers on sight of it to prevent mold just like with my tarantulas. I've also had a very difficult time keeping leaves from getting fungal so I try to switch it up with any natural materials in there. My funnel weaver had a big mold problem because of all the leaves so I had to clean out the whole container.
 

neubii18

Arachnosquire
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Dec 14, 2009
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here is a picture of a female P. Johnstoni that i allow to live in my roach colony for a while.
I just caught one of these and I was wondering what sp. It was.they are absolutely gorgeous.I got to watch it chase down a cricket.it was pretty sweet.I have mine in an acrylic cube enclosure from container store.it uses all of the space.
 

RAZZBERRY

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
34
Hello,
I have been rearing Phiddipus otiosus spiderlings, and have been losing more and more of them as they go through molts. They seem to die right after molting. I keep them housed individually. I feed them drosophilla weekly and I give them a small moist cotton ball once a week. Sometimes the cotton balls and fly carcasses become slightly moldy after a few days. Could the mold be killing them when they are vulnerable after molting? There seems to be a trade-off between keeping their environment a bit humid, and mold problems. Or, is it simply that molting is hard on them and I should expect to loose a few with each molt? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
I am not sure but this is what happened to my daring jumping spider, it molted and then died, and when I looked at her, she had mold and stuff on her body and around the ground...
So I think you may be right about it...
I learned my lesson, NO SUBSTRATE is way better!!!
 

GiantVinegaroon

Arachnoprince
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Jul 14, 2008
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ALSO, do you have any regrets taking them from the wild? For some reason they look sooooo beautiful and i think putting them in a little jar would be mean! :|
No one answered this part of the man's question lol.

I have no regrets. If you find one spider or any bug, there's always hundreds more where it came from. Now if it happens to be one of those inverts with a status, then I'd be concerned.
 

Bikibikim

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Messages
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Here is one we caught in the yard several months and one molt ago! We call him 'Buddy' and he likes flies and roach nymphs and dancing in the moonlight.



---------- Post added at 09:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 PM ----------

I also have no regrets. Buddy has grown quite a bit. He was about 1/2" when we found him and is now about 3/4"!

Buddy has lots of adventure in his new home, plenty to eat and is not frozen as he would be if left outside... I will get a picture of his home. He has substrate, and some silk holly with berries. He likes to be up on the lid most of the time.

 

Bikibikim

Arachnopeon
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Jan 14, 2011
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Home for my Jumper

Buddy's studio.jpg Here is the studio apartment i have for Buddy . . . I think it is a cricket keeper or a Beta fish bowl about 10" by 5" by about 8" high.
 
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