Regal Jumping Spider not active and not making a nest

[lovecptjack]

Hello, all! I am hoping someone can address two concerns about my little spood, Capt. Jack.
Capt. Jack made an appearance on my car about 5 days ago. He is in a zilla enclosure. I think I may have pushed him too far socially, so I left him alone for a day and he seems more comfortable. Last night was the first time he made his little nest in a pipe cleaner flower that I made him (see below), but it wasn’t very dense at all.
He does not seem very active, though. For the past few hours, he’s just been sitting on the floor of his enclosure. I think he has been eating. Two days ago, he caught a fruit fly, and I believe he has eaten more given the dead ones on the floor of his container. Should so be worried?
thanks in advance

 

[spigy]

Hard to tell what's going on in that photo in terms of what the jumper actually looks like. All the behavior you listed sounds fairly normal. My jumpers seem to feel pretty comfortable on the ground of the enclosure if there's some clutter or hiding spots there. As for low activity, that's pretty hard to judge without really knowing more. Adult/older jumpers tend to explore less and will just kinda hang out.

One more thought, in my experience fruit flies will die in my enclosures within about a day or so, they might not be a good indicator of how much your jumper is eating. It did look pretty plump in the photos but it's really hard to tell without a better photo from you.

 

[lovecptjack]

Thank you so much for your help. This morning, he is in the same spot that he was last night when I wrote my post. Could he be molting on the ground?Here is a better picture from the evening before yesterday, but not a very good one (my photography skills need improvement).

 

[spigy]

Thank you so much for your help. This morning, he is in the same spot that he was last night when I wrote my post. Could he be molting on the ground?Here is a better picture from the evening before yesterday, but not a very good one (my photography skills need improvement). View attachment 426570

It's also normal for jumpers to be less active in cooler temperatures, like in a dark corner of a 70°f house. If it's in a cool spot now you can try moving it somewhere a bit warmer, though I wouldn't keep it in direct sunlight. Also, this might be off topic but how big is the enclosure? And about how small is the jumper?

 

[lovecptjack]

The enclosure is about 10 inches tall and the base is about 4 inches square. He’s about half the size of my fingernail! Here’s a closeup, head-on. He’s looking a little mangled. He stayed on my hand for a bit, and put his face on a damp q-tip I gave him.

 

[spigy]

The enclosure is about 10 inches tall and the base is about 4 inches square. He’s about half the size of my fingernail! Here’s a closeup, head-on. He’s looking a little mangled. He stayed on my hand for a bit, and put his face on a damp q-tip I gave him.

I keep my regal jumper slings in a small 2 oz deli cup until they're a bit bigger, I would keep yours in something no bigger than about 2"×2"×4". It makes it easier for them to find food and water, and they feel a bit more secure being so tiny. The slings I have that are about that size I feed 3-4 fruit flies or a really teeny mealworm twice a week and also spritz water twice a week (just a few small drops for them to drink). It's okay to handle them if they're willing and curious but you really don't want to 'force' an unwilling spider out of their enclosure unless necessary, you may be stressing them out.

 

[lovecptjack]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[lovecptjack]

I am happy to report that Capt. Jack is still with us. He is moving around a little better (from 3% to about 7%), although his abdomen may be a little small (it is hard to tell), he’s not climbing, and he is not making his little nest. Certainly, though, if he were dehydrated or starving, he would not be still alive, though, right? Am I being too optimistic?

 

[spigy]

I am happy to report that Capt. Jack is still with us. He is moving around a little better (from 3% to about 7%), although his abdomen may be a little small (it is hard to tell), he’s not climbing, and he is not making his little nest. Certainly, though, if he were dehydrated or starving, he would not be still alive, though, right? Am I being too optimistic?

Did you make the changes I suggested? Glad he's still alive! I would say you only need to worry if the abdomen is very noticably smaller than the head.

 

[lovecptjack]

Oh, I made those changes immediately! His abdomen is looking smaller, but he doesn’t want to take water on the auto even with a little honey, as I read somewhere. I’m just making sure that I must his environment regularly and have a few fruit flies in his abode each day, and then I just leave him alone to see if it is a stress issue. It looks like he’s still hanging out on the bottom of his enclosure, but at least he is hiding now, which I think a healthy spider would do!

 

[lovecptjack]

Qtip, not auto. Autocorrect.

 

[spigy]

Oh, I made those changes immediately! His abdomen is looking smaller, but he doesn’t want to take water on the auto even with a little honey, as I read somewhere. I’m just making sure that I must his environment regularly and have a few fruit flies in his abode each day, and then I just leave him alone to see if it is a stress issue. It looks like he’s still hanging out on the bottom of his enclosure, but at least he is hiding now, which I think a healthy spider would do!

Okay great!! As long as you're not misting too much, you don't want to make the enclosure humid. You just want a few drops on the wall 2-3 times a week. And I know he's not as plump as you'd like him to be but it might make him more comfortable if you only offer a couple flies no more often than every other day, just so he has a break without flies bothering him all the time lol. It's good you're trying to give him the best care Don't beat yourself up, regal slings often have a poor survival rate.

 

[lovecptjack]

Thanks again for your help. I will say that Cpt. Jack is doing so much better since his most recent molt a few days ago. He is walking better, doesn’t look like his back is wonky, and is eating just fine (although he still doesn’t want to kill his own prey). I appreciate all of the kind words of wisdom, just when I needed them most!

 

[regalpaws]

Captn Jack is adorable! I do think that fruit flies are a bit small for him and feeding something like house flies would be a good size for him.

If you would like, I recently wrote up my own jumper care guide if you would like to take a look.

Care Sheet for Phidippus regius (Regal jumping spider)

Since I'm bored lol, thought I'd make a care sheet for P. regius. I've kept them for awhile now and raised several of my own fully into adulthood. I see a lot of newcomers and wanted to share what I have learned and what has worked for me. This isn't a strict step by step follow through list...

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