Howdy. Paper towel or substrate for jumping spiders?

[wonderful]

I’ve seen it both ways and even some pics with felt on the bottom.
In the book “Jumping Spiders a pet owners guide” by Edward Dunbarn
he suggests paper towels.

what do you suggest? And why

 

[Nicole C G]

Paper towels are easy to replace in case of mold. Substrate is not, however if you put some springtails in the bottom (springtails eat mold) I would say it’s easier because then you don’t have to take out your decorations every time you need to take out the paper towel.

 

[Buggylookslikeyou]

Or you can use the fake moss and this one is pretty cheap on Amazon and works great I have it in 3 enclosures no problems and it’s widely used by spood owners and enclosure makers all purpose instant green check it and I just mist the top and the sides and leave a cotton ball at the bottom

 

[Nicole C G]

Or you can use the fake moss and this one is pretty cheap on Amazon and works great I have it in 3 enclosures no problems and it’s widely used by spood owners and enclosure makers all purpose instant green check it and I just mist the top and the sides and leave a cotton ball at the bottom

I’ve been wondering about moss actually. This is cool and I may get it to add some green accents to my enclosure for my Jumper!

 

[Buggylookslikeyou]

Yea we especially my wife were worried so I just picked the brains of a couple Etsy enclosure makers about the best glue and does and donts. My wife is also part of a Facebook group so I just ordered the stuff and took some toys my daughter didn’t want and random crafts from around the house and went nuts with the gorilla glue gun. I originally had some anti mold substrate and never had a problem just the natural twigs and what not kept becoming moldy. Once our first little guy passed I swore off substrate all together because when I took his favorite sticks and fake plants out the real sticks had a little mold. So besides the acorn and wood circle which are less likely to mold everything else is fake. One of our girls the web master just sits in her very elaborate hide she built and she’s the only one with substrate. If she ever comes out long enough I want to put her in a temp enclosure and upgrade her old one not disturbing any webs but I’m not sure if she’s molting or what and don’t want to disturb her.

 

[wizentrop]

For jumpers, either work but neither are necessary.

 

[Buggylookslikeyou]

For jumpers, either work but neither are necessary.

Oh of course but I’d rather something softer in case of a fall during molt or just them getting startled. Plus it looks cool and I feel reminds them of being outside.

 

[wonderful]

Thank you all for the replies. I think im gonna start with substrate and then go from there. I like that fake moss stuff I’m going to look into that. I use this mossy stuff for some of my plants and I’m thinking of putting some in the enclosure. Yay/nay?

 

[Buggylookslikeyou]

That looks so awesome I don’t see why not your little spood will love that picture being that small and having that to jump over just watch the mold but spring tails supposedly eat mold so you can get those to balance it out. I never mess with them only because I used to be an exterminator and had a couple infested houses and my worry is always if enough get out and mate you’ll have more worries than just mold. Same reason I don’t mess with the roaches. I know Dubia roaches are different then German brown banded and American that I’ve had the unfortunate experiences of smelling and seeing them Infest houses to the point that there’s no longer a floor or ceiling just roaches. Plus my wife’s allergic to roaches.

 

[wonderful]

I know Dubia roaches are different then German brown banded and American that I’ve had the unfortunate experiences of smelling and seeing them Infest houses to the point that there’s no longer a floor or ceiling just roaches. Plus my wife’s allergic to roaches.

oh man.. that infestation cockroach smell is just evil. I had a friend who rented a house was infested and the land lord was a slum lord. I would tuck my jeans into my socks by his recommendation on the rare times I went over to his place. We liked to say he had 100 thousand roommates who don’t pay rent. They tore the house down when he finally moved. He had to throw away so many belongings cause of the smell just never left. I dont know why he lived there so long I would have moved instantly but . Now those big ”water bug” roaches that fly into your face are the only bugs that legitimately give me the heebeegeebees and make me squeal and run away.


Oh and I’m also allergic according to a prick test years ago. They stay away, I stay away

 

[Edan bandoot]

you dont need substrate at all for the babies, but paper towel works.

people dont use coco because it can be hard to see them on it, and it's a lot of work to prepare coco for 100 small spiders.

 

[Stardust1986]

you dont need substrate at all for the babies, but paper towel works.

people dont use coco because it can be hard to see them on it, and it's a lot of work to prepare coco for 100 small spiders.

I have also heard moist paper towels work, but as a rule of thumb, copy it's natural environment as best as possible, and they will thrive

 

[JoyforJumpers]

I love how fake moss looks, may have to end up using that when I eventually make an enclosure and get a jumper.

 

[Buggylookslikeyou]

I love how fake moss looks, may have to end up using that when I eventually make an enclosure and get a jumper.

If your close to New Jersey I have a wild caught p audax that just laid her second clutch your welcome to some slings lol I have plenty

 

[Stardust1986]

I love how fake moss looks, may have to end up using that when I eventually make an enclosure and get a jumper.

I strongly belive copying the animals natural environment will make it happy, Iso that, and i cant imagine how you can go wrong, best of luck and wishes

 

[JoyforJumpers]

If your close to New Jersey I have a wild caught p audax that just laid her second clutch your welcome to some slings lol I have plenty

I'm all the way in Kansas so that would be quite a ways away, but thank you for the offer! I've been trying to look for places online to purchase some slings or juvies, so far I found someone on Etsy selling P. Regius but I haven't seen any other sites. Starting to wonder if I should just wild catch one.

I strongly belive copying the animals natural environment will make it happy, Iso that, and i cant imagine how you can go wrong, best of luck and wishes

Thank you, do you have any experience with leaves? I'm curious about using fake leaves in an enclosure vs natural, I wouldn't want the spider to get any parasites/unwanted visitors, or the leaves to get moldy if they were real. I know though that some fake flowers/leaves bleed color when wet, worried if misting the tank would cause it to run and be poisonous to a spider.

 

[Stardust1986]

Thank you, do you have any experience with leaves? I'm curious about using fake leaves in an enclosure vs natural, I wouldn't want the spider to get any parasites/unwanted visitors, or the leaves to get moldy if they were real. I know though that some fake flowers/leaves bleed color when wet, worried if misting the tank would cause it to run and be poisonous to a spider.

I personally dont use live plants, I suspect my Ts dont care either way, they just need a clean environment, all else is for our entertainment.
They dont seem to to care, presumably because their whole life is spent in a burrow. Sphagnum moss is good for humity, light rocks are safest, other than that, I dont think they mi d, so, your own preference

 

[Nicole C G]

so far I found someone on Etsy selling P. Regius but I haven't seen any other sites. Starting to wonder if I should just wild catch one.

It is against Etsy’s seller rules to sell live animals like jumping spiders, so I don’t think it would be wise to buy something from someone selling illegally. Not that it would be your fault though, the seller should (and probably does) know better.

 

[Stardust1986]

It is against Etsy’s seller rules to sell live animals like jumping spiders, so I don’t think it would be wise to buy something from someone selling illegally. Not that it would be your fault though, the seller should (and probably does) know better.

I think most conventional pet spiders have a good breeder who can offer them, I dont know if jumping spiders are on that list

 

[Nicole C G]

I'm all the way in Kansas so that would be quite a ways away, but thank you for the offer! I've been trying to look for places online to purchase some slings or juvies, so far I found someone on Etsy selling P. Regius but I haven't seen any other sites. Starting to wonder if I should just wild catch one.

I have seen many people who sell Phidippus Regius on their own websites. Just search up “Buy Jumping Spider” on google and explore the options. Most popular Jumpers for sale are P. Regius and other Phidippus species. luckily for you! Just make sure you read reviews before buying!