Was I chosen? And is his new home ok?

[Hiiiiemma]

Hi! On Easter Sunday I found this little guy crawling across my ceiling. Normally I have an intense fear of spiders but after scrolling through jumping spider pages for months I wasn’t even a little scared when I found this guy! I was actually over the moon to have found him and have named him obsidian aka obi.

Anyway, what type of jumper is he? We are located in Indiana. Is this enclosure ok? I have more things coming to put in the enclosure itself. Also what is a good substrate to use? I got zoo med creature soil from Amazon but I’m not sure if it’s good cause I see most enclosures with like mossy substrate? Anyway enjoy pics of my little dude or dudette.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Phidippus audax, nice find! The enclosure will work and so will the substrate. You could always add a bit of frog moss on top of the substrate to add some green to the enclosure.

Post some pics when it's all set up!

 

[Mike41793]

They don't really hangout on the substrate I don't think, more arboreal perches, bark sticks and leaves would mean more to them to climb on and hide amongst.

The spider didn't pick you, it doesn't know what you are or that you exist. But it theoretically should live a better life if you're giving it a nice home with everything it needs vs having to survive in the wild of your house or outside so there's that at least

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Congrats! One note, if you collect sticks, etc outdoors, ensure they aren’t from an area where pesticides may have been used. Deep in the forest is best.

 

[regalpaws]

Hi! On Easter Sunday I found this little guy crawling across my ceiling. Normally I have an intense fear of spiders but after scrolling through jumping spider pages for months I wasn’t even a little scared when I found this guy! I was actually over the moon to have found him and have named him obsidian aka obi.

Anyway, what type of jumper is he? We are located in Indiana. Is this enclosure ok? I have more things coming to put in the enclosure itself. Also what is a good substrate to use? I got zoo med creature soil from Amazon but I’m not sure if it’s good cause I see most enclosures with like mossy substrate? Anyway enjoy pics of my little dude or dudette.

Nice find!

I've kept over 15 jumpers, these guys are amazing.
Jumping spiders are arboreal, meaning they love to climb and need a vertical enclosure like the one you have pictured. As mentioned, lots of sticks and plants, whether real or fake, is essential to keeping this guy happy. You can also buy cute little hides online.

As far as substrate, that is great. Water the sub about once a week, but don't keep it too dry or too sopping wet. A happy medium provides enough humidity to keep this guy happy.

I did see in the first pic, he seems really dehydrated. But his abdomen seemed to have fattened up in the other pictures. You can lightly mist a *side* of the enclosure for him to drink off the walls, like once a week or every few days. They'll get most of their water thru food.

 

[Hiiiiemma]

They don't really hangout on the substrate I don't think, more arboreal perches, bark sticks and leaves would mean more to them to climb on and hide amongst.

The spider didn't pick you, it doesn't know what you are or that you exist. But it theoretically should live a better life if you're giving it a nice home with everything it needs vs having to survive in the wild of your house or outside so there's that at least

Oh I know he didn’t actually pick me lol I was just making a joke like the cat distribution system but for spoods

 

[Hiiiiemma]

Congrats! One note, if you collect sticks, etc outdoors, ensure they aren’t from an area where pesticides may have been used. Deep in the forest is best.

we have 24 acres we've lived on for almost 3 years, we've never used any pesticides. would it be safe to grab him some sticks and bark from out there?