Question About Phidippus Substrate

WalkerNom

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 2, 2014
Messages
2
I want to get into keeping jumpers, probably phidippus regius. But I had a question about what to put in the bottom, so it looks nicer and is safe for the spider. I will sometimes feed mealworms so a substrate that they couldn't burrow in would be great.

I've got two ideas and I was wondering if either would work
  1. Silicone some smooth gravel to the bottom.
  2. Use a little bit of grout at the bottom.
I'd really love to hear your thoughts on the grout since I'm leaning more towards that option. I got the idea from an ant keeping forum and I thought, "well, if it's safe for ants, it's gotta be safe for spiders, right?"

Also, any ideas you might have are appreciated! Thanks!
 

Ratmosphere

Arachnoking
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Aug 23, 2015
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2,294
No offense but I think you're overthinking it. I use Amac boxes with small holes drilled into it. You don't want to go too big with the enclosure size. I never used substrate in the container, ever. The guy from www.phids.net told me it wasn't necessary so I always went that route. You can add a small fake plant in there but other than that I never overcrowded the enclosure. I never left a water dish inside, I always misted the enclosure. Jumpers spend most of the time in their web unless their out hunting. Make sure that the lid is set so you wont break the webbing every time you open the enclosure. Hope this helps!
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
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297
To add to Ratmosphere's comment, they tend to web higher up. So get an enclosure with the lid at the bottom so you don't disturb them when you open it. You can use a flipped-over Amac box or order a juvenile aroborial tarantula enclosure from Jamiestarantulas.com
https://jamiestarantulas.com/arboreal-juvenile-enclosure-kit/
You won't need the water dish and it comes with good substrate I'd you feel like using it. Just mist once a week and a few more times if the spider is molting. Oh and for future reference if you want to get more spiders, you can use cocofiber and peat moss. I bought a 20 lb bag at home depot for $2.
 

WalkerNom

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 2, 2014
Messages
2
@Ratmosphere - Thanks for the info. I'm not a complete noob, I've owned a tarantula. The grout bottom would mostly be for me tbh, I want something that looks nice and is also functional. I like the amac boxes, would the juvenile arboreal kit work?

Another thing is I wanted to be sure he/she had enough room to jump and whatnot.

@basin79 - Your enclosure was actually one of my inspirations. It's really nice. I've heard people have trouble with mold when using eco earth, do you find that to be a problem?

@Socfroggy - Thanks, I was thinking about buying that kit. I've actually ordered from Jamie's tarantulas before and I like their enclosures.

As for crushing the mealworms heads, I was worried they wouldn't wriggle enough for the spider.
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
297
They still wiggle around for a while. If they stop moving just give them a prod and see if they start moving again.
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
Active Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
5,893
@Ratmosphere - Thanks for the info. I'm not a complete noob, I've owned a tarantula. The grout bottom would mostly be for me tbh, I want something that looks nice and is also functional. I like the amac boxes, would the juvenile arboreal kit work?

Another thing is I wanted to be sure he/she had enough room to jump and whatnot.

@basin79 - Your enclosure was actually one of my inspirations. It's really nice. I've heard people have trouble with mold when using eco earth, do you find that to be a problem?

@Socfroggy - Thanks, I was thinking about buying that kit. I've actually ordered from Jamie's tarantulas before and I like their enclosures.

As for crushing the mealworms heads, I was worried they wouldn't wriggle enough for the spider.
No had a problem with it no although for the new enclosure I've gone with peat moss.
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
4,226
If you go the eco earth/cocofiber route (I never did with my jumpers, but that was just personal preference), you shouldn't have any issues with mold because jumpers prefer it dry. Too much humidity will kill them (slings prefer a little more humidity or at least a hide where a suitable microclimate is maintained). Fortunately they're a pretty hardy lot, so if you have too high of humidity for a couple days that shouldn't harm the spider.
 
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