Jumping Spider Newbie, Won't Eat

[The Spider Prince]

It's been about a month since I got her, and I'm pretty sure she is a P. undatus (tan jumper). I believe she might have eaten 1 or 2 pillbugs, which I had dropped into her enclosure the day I got her, but I'm not sure, and since then I know she hasn't eaten a thing. I've offered her crickets, flies, and more pillbugs, but they all just seem to bother her.

She may be about to molt (or... has been trying but as a new owner perhaps I've been too "attentive") but the problem is that she's been pretty active. She has made about 5 different cradles at this point, in varying places. She's been drinking fine, and she seems to have gotten used to my presence pretty quickly. I noticed that sometimes when I check on her she is very still and won't react to my movements, but after a while (like a few minutes or so) she'll "snap out of it" and starts to move around like normal. I assume this is her instinct to avoid attracting attention from predators?

Edit: I think maybe she is trying to molt but I've been bothering her too often. It would explain why she has made and abandoned multiple cradles, as well as why her abdomen hasn't changed in size since her metabolism would be slowed in preparation. I'm just going to leave her be for a while, of course still providing water in the meantime.

She is my first jumper, but not my first spider. My other spider is an S. triangulosa who I've had for about a year now.

 

[egyptiancrow]

Okay, in the future, consider asking questions about a person's husbandry in order to learn and understand what all they know about the situation so that you can actually contribute in a meaningful way.

im sorry OP. lot of people are much kinder and more educated than that.

tan jumpers do well in captivity, but sometimes a spider just doesnt.

however, pillbugs are absolutely terrible food for jumpers, and i really dont recommend you feed anything you want alive for long anything from outside.

You need store-bought food, and it should be roughly the size of the spider you are feeding. tans in particular are a bit on the pickier side, and often prefer flying prey- moths and flies- which are both difficult to acquire and keep long-term.

someone with experience switching a jumper over to other prey will have an easy time switching them to something more sustainable and realistic to get, like mealworms, but you might have a doozy of a time.

still though, i recommend you get the smallest mealworms you can find, and feed them the smallest substantial mealworm you can (a mealworm the side of half her leg is not appealing or helpful, something a LITTLE bigger, you know?)

However in the meantime, pinhead /baby banded crickets, and if you can get them, house or bluebottle flies, are your best bet.

besides that, check to make sure she isnt mature. her pedipalps are fairly fluffy and well formed, shes either a juvenile or an adult.

if she was molting, shed be in her hammock all the time.

i recommend you to read over this general care guide

Spider care 101!

Lots of great firsthand info and accounts here http://kozmicdreams.com/spidercare.htmGreat newbie info herehttps://www.mypetjumpingspider.com/getting-started/ Here's the rundown that I give to people, which has a lot of the same info but my own additions! - Rue Morgue Enclosure- Any clear co...

docs.google.com

 

[The Spider Prince]

im sorry OP. lot of people are much kinder and more educated than that.

It's alright. If there's one thing I know about keeping spiders it's that jumpers are very good pets, even when wild-caught! That's one of the reasons I decided to take her on.

I will check and see if she is fully matured. Do you happen to have any images of the "belly button" I should be looking for on her? I do believe she is mature, so it'd be great if she isn't going to be molting while in my care since humidity is a bit of a difficulty for me. Of course, if she is going to molt, I'll do my best to fix it.
Also, I will try to get some small mealworms, or baby banded crickets, etc. I know our local petsmart/petco sells plenty of different feeders for different animals, crickets I know for sure, so hopefully they'll have some of what I need. I only gave her pillbugs on a whim, since my S. triangulosa loves them. (Though I know that her species is a bit of an outlier when it comes to typical spider diets!)

I know that our yard isn't treated with pesticides, and the grass only sometimes gets chemicals put on it (which I know seep into the ground and stay for a long time, but it's better than some of our neighbors yards that for sure lol). In the summer it's pretty common for us to find fully grown jumpers on our patio and such, so I at least know that they tend to do well enough here without human help. There was one time we found one in our garage that was alive but clearly starving - it had been trapped inside a container somehow - and its abdomen was terribly small and wrinkled and it absolutely broke my heart, so I know what a starving jumper looks like and thankfully her weight hasn't gone down at all.

tan jumpers do well in captivity, but sometimes a spider just doesnt.

Also, out of curiosity, if my spider has gotten used to being around me and seems to be well-adapted to her enclosure, why would she still be having trouble eating in captivity? Does she not recognize that the food is still food, or is the food too different from what was available in the wild? I found her outside of a school, sort of near a trashcan and roaming where there were tons of spider webs. I assumed that flies would be a safe bet based on that but I've offered her two now and she refused both. . . . you don't think she's used to a more cannibalistic diet, do you? i sure hope not

 

[egyptiancrow]

Also, out of curiosity, if my spider has gotten used to being around me and seems to be well-adapted to her enclosure, why would she still be having trouble eating in captivity? Does she not recognize that the food is still food, or is the food too different from what was available in the wild? I found her outside of a school, sort of near a trashcan and roaming where there were tons of spider webs. I assumed that flies would be a safe bet based on that but I've offered her two now and she refused both. . . . you don't think she's used to a more cannibalistic diet, do you? i sure hope not

they seem to just have bouts of wanting a new variety of food, its a little odd. most sp will take any food you give them, but tans historically have always been a little picky. but once i got mine on mealworms, they always would eat them.

they are very smart. they always recognize food... it seems like they know what they are doing (generally) they wont starve themselves to death. And yeah, they can be cannibalistic, but to be honest, they have always been pretty tolerant during mating attempts and just general interacting (in the wild when i see tans in the same place, they avoid each other).

generally, epigynums look the same, they tend to be black and shiny, like a belly button shape which reflects the light. i do have a tan i could photograph for you. in the meantime, here is a photo of a phidippus audax so you still have a general idea: between her yellow booklungs you can see it.

 

[The Spider Prince]

Heres the best photo I could get of her underside! I think I can see the little notch but I'm not sure.

 

[regalpaws]

Heres the best photo I could get of her underside! I think I can see the little notch but I'm not sure.

You can also tell if it is a male if they have a red band below their eyes. Females dont have this.
I have a tan jumper female and she is a very sporadic eater, often going months without eating. Your girl's belly looks full so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just keep offering food and definitely mist to give water.
As far as the rude comments, just ignore them. They just love starting drama and picking fights in their basements lol.

 

[egyptiancrow]

Heres the best photo I could get of her underside! I think I can see the little notch but I'm not sure.

it looks like its not a "finished" epigynum, so she may indeed be going into her final molt or so! if she doesnt eat, as long as shes not skinny, it should be alright. you may want to get some fruit flies or something at least and pop some in so she can snack while in the molting process- its a little more manageable, esp leaving them in overnight. ff wont bother her to the point she cant molt, its safe.

 

[LadyShia77]

If it helps any food-wise, I have a female tan jumper who is a finnicky eater. So far, I have only been able to get her to eat golden hydei fruit flies and very small hormworms. Hornworms can be tricky, though, as they grow quickly and my girl would only take the really small ones. Hope that helps and good luck with your jumper.

 

[The Spider Prince]

it looks like its not a "finished" epigynum, so she may indeed be going into her final molt or so! if she doesnt eat, as long as shes not skinny, it should be alright. you may want to get some fruit flies or something at least and pop some in so she can snack while in the molting process- its a little more manageable, esp leaving them in overnight. ff wont bother her to the point she cant molt, its safe.

Ah okay. I don't actually think she's planning on molting at the moment as she's been very active. Yesterday when I checked on her she came out of her cradle to see me! I won't lie, I'm a little sad to hear that she may have a molt with me. I've never actually dealt with a spider molting before, or at least not knowingly... it's possibly my S. triangulosa has molted without me even noticing. lol

If it helps any food-wise, I have a female tan jumper who is a finnicky eater. So far, I have only been able to get her to eat golden hydei fruit flies and very small hormworms. Hornworms can be tricky, though, as they grow quickly and my girl would only take the really small ones. Hope that helps and good luck with your jumper.

I've never bought hornworms before, all I know is they go after our tomato plants every year around this time and they do indeed start very itty-bitty and quickly become giants! lol

 

[LadyShia77]

Ah okay. I don't actually think she's planning on molting at the moment as she's been very active. Yesterday when I checked on her she came out of her cradle to see me! I won't lie, I'm a little sad to hear that she may have a molt with me. I've never actually dealt with a spider molting before, or at least not knowingly... it's possibly my S. triangulosa has molted without me even noticing. lol


I've never bought hornworms before, all I know is they go after our tomato plants every year around this time and they do indeed start very itty-bitty and quickly become giants! lol

I learned about hornworms after watching Tarantula Kat lol. My oldest male jumper (audax) prefers softer bodied food as opposed to crickets and hornworms can't hurt spoods so I gave them a try. He loves them. I only get them from breeders as wild caught can carry parasites and whatnot. My younger jumpers love them too, but won't touch them if they get too big. Hornworms is the only food other than the golden hydei fruit flies that my tan jumper girl will eat.

 

[The Spider Prince]

I learned about hornworms after watching Tarantula Kat lol. My oldest male jumper (audax) prefers softer bodied food as opposed to crickets and hornworms can't hurt spoods so I gave them a try. He loves them. I only get them from breeders as wild caught can carry parasites and whatnot. My younger jumpers love them too, but won't touch them if they get too big. Hornworms is the only food other than the golden hydei fruit flies that my tan jumper girl will eat.

Is she captive bred? My girl is wild-caught so hopefully she won't be too picky like yours!

So, uh, just kidding, she molted overnight apparently??????????? She's still in her web, seems to be fully out, but oh my god this little woman is going to be the death of me, huh...

 

[LadyShia77]

Is she captive bred? My girl is wild-caught so hopefully she won't be too picky like yours!

No, she's wild caught. Found her on my neighbor's fence a few months ago. She ended up being gravid and laid a few egg sacs. I released most of them and tried to keep a few, but the ones I kept ended up being too delicate and I didn't have any luck with the babies I kept.

 

[The Spider Prince]

I wanted to come back and officially give an update on my jumper.

Seance is doing great! I tried offering her many different insects after she molted and it seems she's just not the bravest jumper and is too scared to go after anything that matches her in size or larger. She is now on a steady diet of fruit flies! Of course I'm still going to try and offer her other things every-so-often to see if she gets braver or wants to branch out.

Despite being a timid eater, she is very independent and explorative! She seems very interested anytime we go to a new area of the house, and she really enjoys climbing all over my hands and arms. She likes to climb to the tallest part of her enclosure to get to me, and she will not accept shortcuts. I don't know if she thinks the hand I offer her is different from the one she likes to climb up to and ride on, OR if she just wants to do it her way!

Anyways, she's doing fantastic. Thank you to those who commented suggestions and advice: You really helped us figure things out. <3

Side Note: I'm sure I'm anthropomorphizing her a little too much, but oh well. lol

 

[egyptiancrow]

I wanted to come back and officially give an update on my jumper.

Seance is doing great! I tried offering her many different insects after she molted and it seems she's just not the bravest jumper and is too scared to go after anything that matches her in size or larger. She is now on a steady diet of fruit flies! Of course I'm still going to try and offer her other things every-so-often to see if she gets braver or wants to branch out.

Despite being a timid eater, she is very independent and explorative! She seems very interested anytime we go to a new area of the house, and she really enjoys climbing all over my hands and arms. She likes to climb to the tallest part of her enclosure to get to me, and she will not accept shortcuts. I don't know if she thinks the hand I offer her is different from the one she likes to climb up to and ride on, OR if she just wants to do it her way!

Anyways, she's doing fantastic. Thank you to those who commented suggestions and advice: You really helped us figure things out. <3

Side Note: I'm sure I'm anthropomorphizing her a little too much, but oh well. lol

im glad to hear that!!




PS, i didnt catch this part of the thread earlier but i want to make it known for future readers:

WILD (green) HORNWORMS ARE POISONOUS. NEVER give them to an animal.
only BLUE hornworms are safe to eat. this is because wild hornworms eat NIGHTSHADES and the poison is part of their defense against predation.

wild feeders in general are very unsafe. cb feeders are the safest option for a long life!