Worried about jumping spider

[killzabit]

Hello, couple of questions here. Just trying to make sure everything is going ok as its my first time with a jumping spider.
I have a female tan jumping spider, Platycryptus undatus and I want to make sure she is healthy.
I caught her about 1-2 weeks ago and so far she has been scared or uninterested in all food I have tried to give her(going to try fruit flies next)
When I first saw her she was eating a spider and if that's all she's going to eat then i will let her go so she can enjoy that.
I have tried small crickets(live and injured), medium cricket(killed), green bottle fly(killed) isopods in the bottom(clean up crew, local "roly-poly"),
green lacewing(killed and alive), mealworms(killed and alive).
I have not seen her drink any water but i have the humidity going good and temperature going good, I am unsure if humidity is enough.
I mist the sides twice a day but mostly the bottom for the cleaners. I can't verify if humidity is enough or not via sites around the web, some say they drink directly and some only mention misting.
She is active multiple times a day with good lighting during the day.
I have seen her (poop?) little white ball that she pops out the back.
I think perhaps she snacks on something be it dead bug or living cleanup, during the night. Her abdomen has not really changed size, not smaller or larger since I caught her.
I have tried tweezer feeding as well as laying the bug down on a 'bridge' that i have made of sticks that closer to the top(where she likes to roam) I have even setup a plastic tub close to the top with a mealworm in it wiggling, she didnt bite.
Everything seems fine except, today for the first time I have noticed what I believe (i could be wrong) to be her having a little trouble on the smooth surfaces climbing.
Again I could be wrong about that. She has been doing fine on them most of the time today and always before.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Dusk2Dawn]

First, if I remember correctly her enclosure was too big to find food. So I would recommend downsizing that. Platycryptus are small and they don't thrive in large enclosures.
Flies are their preferred prey, feed her live only. Put it in the fridge to cool it so it slows down, then dump it in the enclosure. Eventually she'll grab it. Make sure it's about her size though- if it's too big she may not eat it.
For water, do not give her a dish. Spray one corner of the enclosure twice so she has plenty of water droplets to drink from. Do not spray her directly.

 

[killzabit]

Well I dont have another enclosure for her but I am getting some thing from home depot to improve it for her, I'll have a better feeding area than I do now. And I see these acrylic tubes or maybe plastic that people put on the side of their enclosures, I think that would be nice for her. I dont drop her food on the floor else, she may not see it if I did.. thanks for the reply again, I dont use a dish like I said I spray the container but she never ever goes to the water.

 

[Penn]

Well I dont have another enclosure for her but I am getting some thing from home depot to improve it for her, I'll have a better feeding area than I do now. And I see these acrylic tubes or maybe plastic that people put on the side of their enclosures, I think that would be nice for her. I dont drop her food on the floor else, she may not see it if I did.. thanks for the reply again, I dont use a dish like I said I spray the container but she never ever goes to the wa

Hello, couple of questions here. Just trying to make sure everything is going ok as its my first time with a jumping spider.
I have a female tan jumping spider, Platycryptus undatus and I want to make sure she is healthy.
I caught her about 1-2 weeks ago and so far she has been scared or uninterested in all food I have tried to give her(going to try fruit flies next)
When I first saw her she was eating a spider and if that's all she's going to eat then i will let her go so she can enjoy that.
I have tried small crickets(live and injured), medium cricket(killed), green bottle fly(killed) isopods in the bottom(clean up crew, local "roly-poly"),
green lacewing(killed and alive), mealworms(killed and alive).
I have not seen her drink any water but i have the humidity going good and temperature going good, I am unsure if humidity is enough.
I mist the sides twice a day but mostly the bottom for the cleaners. I can't verify if humidity is enough or not via sites around the web, some say they drink directly and some only mention misting.
She is active multiple times a day with good lighting during the day.
I have seen her (poop?) little white ball that she pops out the back.
I think perhaps she snacks on something be it dead bug or living cleanup, during the night. Her abdomen has not really changed size, not smaller or larger since I caught her.
I have tried tweezer feeding as well as laying the bug down on a 'bridge' that i have made of sticks that closer to the top(where she likes to roam) I have even setup a plastic tub close to the top with a mealworm in it wiggling, she didnt bite.
Everything seems fine except, today for the first time I have noticed what I believe (i could be wrong) to be her having a little trouble on the smooth surfaces climbing.
Again I could be wrong about that. She has been doing fine on them most of the time today and always before.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

In my limited experience, platycryptus only really care for live prey. She needs to be in a smallish enclosure in order to thrive in captivity. Do you have pics of her setup? I have fed them live flies and they take them immediately. Does she look at the prey at all? Jumpers are attracted to movement.

Here is a girl I found dehydrated and sluggish. She drank from water droplets on the side of the container I had her in and immediately took two flies that same day.

 

[killzabit]

I have an exo terra nano and am currently making it better for her, she didnt like tong feeding so i have setup an area near the top which is where she stays, for me to place the food. it's wood atm but i am going to make it happen with acrylic i think. This will most likely turn into a two stage vivarium now just i can make sure she is ok since i like the idea of her being in it. Actually it existed before her and the goal is to integrate her into it. so my isopods below can eat her left overs. I will post a pic later of the work in progress. Today she walked up to the water drops then just kept going. but she did look at them. it is very humid in her cage so i do wonder if she can get hydration through humidity? i put paper towel or cotton in there just to safe. I will take a picture in a bit. She i believe has seen the live flies i have put in there today. but has not made a pounce. honestly she seems a bit uncomfortable going to the table. I think because i set it up that way yesterday? I am going to try and handle her tonight and maybe put her on it.
Pics in a few hours

 

[killzabit]

I would like to emphasize that i do not drop her food on the floor of the cage, I understand she likes the top.

 

[killzabit]

Currently that wood is a feeding shelf. I wanted a natural look but I think I'm going to put in acrylic or plexiglas there.
I bought the small PVC pipe for her though I think its ugly.
I spray corners right in her eyesight and she does not care. I think maybe once I put in the new shelf and lay a towel or cotton down for her to drink from she might but I'm unsure.

 

[killzabit]

I'm about to go get my plexiglass I think. I really wanted a natural look but I'll put what's needed. She doesnt interact with the bottom as far as I know this I put no resources for her down there. I think by the end of this she will be having a micro habitat at the top there

 

[killzabit]

I chilled a fruit fly and put it near her current bed (she has made a few) after it un chilled it walked around near her and she did look at it, no wiggling of the pedipalps (i saw somewhere that may indicate interest in prey/food but i have no proof) however I guess its nap time for her and she stayed in bed.
That's why i think she may be snacking on something while i am sleeping be it cleanup crew or bug that i have killed.
I have a fruit fly colony now and will try everyday.
I will also place a damp paper towel or better option just in case.
There are some p.audax around. I will try one of those next if i remain worried for this one.

 

[killzabit]

Alright she has eaten, one or two flies. 1 in her cage i think because i saw her go up to it and then i could no longer see it, but i put her in a smaller container and fed her a fly there for sure. However she still did not care for any water. I think everything will be fine now.