Is my jumping spider ok?

[Tenebris]

Hello guys, I need your help.

I have my very first Phidippus regius female for 5 days now.

She is a juvenile, and as i read juvenile jumping spiders love to eat and wander around.
However my spider is just hiding in her nest all day, she does not even explore her enclosure.
She haven't eaten yet, I've been offering her food every day.

She is not looking for food, when I offered her a mealworm she was not interested at all. I gave her a tiny fly right in front of her nest but she was ignoring it.

Her abdomen is the same size as her "head", so I do not know if she is just not hungry.
I do not know what I'm doing wrong, I do not want her to die.

When I'm watching videos about little spiderslings they are always energetic and they seem to be happy to hunt. But not mine spider. She does not look for food. Just sitting at the same place for days.

The enclosure is 15x15x20 cm.



Can anybody tell what is wrong?

Thank you sm for reply.

 

[NMTs]

Nothing is wrong. You just need to give it space and time. Two things to consider:
1. She's just been introduced to the enclosure and needs time to acclimate. There's no telling how long this might take, but it could be a few days or a few weeks. If you're constantly opening the enclosure to shove food in it's face then it won't be able to settle in and eventually start exploring and hunting.
2. Judging from how plump and shiny the abdomen is, your jumper is probably getting ready to molt. During this time they will seal themselves in the web hide and not come out until they've molted their old exoskeleton and their new one has hardened. This could also take a while usually around week. It is important that you don't disturb it during this process.

Keep offering water by spritzIng the side of the enclosure, but otherwise just leave it be to settle in and molt. It will eventually come out to explore and hunt, but not until it's ready - it's in their nature, so just be patient!

Here's a pic of my little Phidippus audax after it molted last time.

Phidippus audax sling - Orion

• NMTs
• Jul 14, 2022
• 1
• audax jumper jumping spider phidippus phidippus audax

Taking it all in... 4 days post-molt (which would put it about 1/3 of the way to the next molt!).

 

[Tenebris]

Hello NMTs,

thank you so much for your reply.

I will give her some time and let her alone until she molts or decides to explore a little bit on her own.
Does the plump and shiny abdomen tell that she is probably about to moult? I've read like 20 articles about moulting before and never found this kind of information.

Many thanks!

 

[NMTs]

Hello NMTs,

thank you so much for your reply.

I will give her some time and let her alone until she molts or decides to explore a little bit on her own.
Does the plump and shiny abdomen tell that she is probably about to moult? I've read like 20 articles about moulting before and never found this kind of information.

Many thanks!

Sounds good. Yes, the abdomen gets swollen and shiny, and often darkens in color before a molt. This is because the spider will start to build up fluid between the old and new exoskeleton to allow it to slide out of the old one when it's time.

Cute little jumper you've got!

 

[Tenebris]

Sounds good. Yes, the abdomen gets swollen and shiny, and often darkens in color before a molt. This is because the spider will start to build up fluid between the old and new exoskeleton to allow it to slide out of the old one when it's time.

Cute little jumper you've got!

Thank you for your help and advice! I really appreciate it