Jumping spiders are some of the most popular pet spiders, right behind tarantulas. These spiders are adorable, easy to care for, and very cheap to acquire — the perfect combination.
Because of the fact that jumping spiders are very small and exotic, you may not be sure about what they eat or how you would go about feeding them.
Luckily for you, feeding a jumping spider is very easy. Anybody can do it — especially after reading this guide.
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What Do Jumping Spiders Eat In The Wild?
In the wild, jumping spiders eat a variety of different of different bugs and insects. This prey will typically be smaller than the jumping spider itself, though they have been observed taking on prey bigger than themselves.
Essentially, a jumping spider’s diet comes down to their natural habitat. If a particular food source is prominent in one area, then the jumping spiders there will adapt to eat it.
Additionally, while jumping spiders are primarily carnivorous, some species include nectar and pollen in their diet. This is, as you can imagine, an uncommon trait among spiders.
What Do Pet Jumping Spiders Eat?
Jumping spiders in captivity should eat insects that are commonly found in their natural environments. This includes crickets, flies, roaches, and various worms.
All of these jumping spider feeder insects can be purchased online or in pet stores for very cheap.
Now, all the insects listed below are not equal. Some are simply better for jumping spiders than others, and some need to be fed at certain stages of a jumping spider’s life.
Crickets
Crickets are the most popular spider food by far, no matter whether you’re talking about giant tarantulas or tiny jumping spiders. These creatures are extremely common, cheap, nutritious, and survive for a long time.
Benefits – As stated, crickets are an all-around great food for jumping spiders. That is, if you buy crickets that are small enough. They’re very easy to find and purchase, and they live for a long time so that you can buy in bulk.
Drawbacks – Some crickets are simply too big for jumping spiders. The rule of thumb is that you should keep a jumping spider’s food as large as or smaller than themselves. Larger crickets can fatally injure a jumping spider, especially if it’s young, old, or molting.
How to feed – Several crickets per week can be released into your jumping spider’s enclosure for them to hunt down. If your jumping spider is old or has just finished a molt, pre-killing the cricket before putting it in the enclosure is optimal.
Cost – 1/2″ crickets are optimal for jumping spiders, and you can purchase 1000 of them for $30, or $.03 per cricket. This is a lot of crickets, though, so it may be best to breed your own crickets in smaller number.
Flies
Jumping spiders are no strangers to flies. In the wild, they would use their incredible jumping ability to jump up and grab low-flying flies. Specifically, we’re referencing green and bluebottle flies — two very common types of flies.
Benefits – Flies are incredibly cheap to purchase in bulk and last a very long time when refrigerated. Additionally, they’re very nutritious, easy to feed, and are favored by some species of jumping spider (Phidippus otiosus).
Drawbacks – There’s really no drawback to feeding flies to your jumping spider.
How to feed – Simply place a few flies into your jumping spider’s enclosure and let them hunt them down. If you’re feeding flies that still have the ability to fly, make sure that your jumping spider’s enclosure allows the spider to climb high enough to grab the flies.
Cost – You can purchase flies for extremely cheap — around $10 for 1000 flies. Once again, this is a lot of flies, so spending a bit more money up front to purchase a culture growing kit may be optimal.
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are essentially the same as the flies listed above, just smaller. This is perfect for spiderlings or weaker jumping spiders that you don’t want to take any risks with.
Benefits – Very small, nutritious, and easy to keep alive. They’re also incredibly simple to raise yourself if you want to save money.
Drawbacks – Simply not enough food for most adult jumping spiders. In fact, many adults will outright refuse to eat fruit flies once they mature.
How to feed – Place several fruit flies into the enclosure at once and allow your jumping spider to hunt them down.
Cost – Fruit flies sell for around the same price as other flies, with $10 buying around 1000 flies. Again, it’s very easy to raise these flies on your own for cheaper, though.
Roaches
Roaches are an excellent way to diversify a jumping spider’s diet, but it must be done carefully. There are many different types of roaches out there, and some are much better for jumping spiders than others.
Benefits – Not only are roaches extremely easy to keep alive and breed for a never-ending food supply, but they’re also incredibly nutritious and pose almost no threat to jumping spiders.
Drawbacks – Some roaches are very large and can easily overpower jumping spiders. This danger is easy to avoid, though, by simply not purchasing large roaches.
How to feed – As these are bigger creatures, they need to be fed with less volume. Put one roach in the enclosure at a time and let your jumping spider completely eat it before placing another in. When feeding a new type of roach, be observant with how your jumping spider interacts with it.
Cost – Roaches are more expensive, with 100 dubia roaches costing about $30. However, they get much cheaper in bulk, and they’re incredibly easy to breed yourself.
Mealworms
Mealworms are a great supplemental food for jumping spiders that work to round out their diets. There are some caveats when it comes to mealworms that all owners should be aware of, though.
Benefits – Like the other feeder insects, mealworms are very cheap, easy to keep alive/breed, and pose almost no threat to jumping spiders. They can’t climb smooth surfaces, so they’re essentially sitting ducks for jumping spiders.
Drawbacks – These need to be fed in moderation, though, as they’re high in fat and don’t have enough nutritional value to be fed alone. Also, if they’re kept for too long, they will mature into beetles — something that should never go near your jumping spider.
How to feed – Place a few mealworms into the enclosure every week and let your jumping spider eat. As stated, you should feed these in moderation and only have them make up about 20% of the diet.
Cost – Extremely cheap, 1000 mealworms can be purchased for $17.
Food To NEVER Feed Jumping Spiders
While jumping spiders in the wild definitely aren’t picky and will attempt to eat a wide variety of animals, there are some that you should never give them the chance to take on.
The insects/bugs below are very dangerous to jumping spiders and will likely cause serious damage/death.
Ants
While they seem extremely small and harmless, ants pose a huge threat to jumping spiders. Even if you’re buying ants that aren’t typically perceived as harmful, they’re still dangerous to these small spiders.
Ant bites are known to possess formic acid — a toxic acid for spiders. Many types of black ants, such as the black carpenter ant, carry formic acid.
Other ants, such as fire ants, actually possess venom that’s even more dangerous.
For the minimal nutritional value that these ants have, they’re definitely not worth the risk.
Beetles
Many beetles have hard shells that are impenetrable by jumping spiders can cause a lot of harm. In fact, the only beetle that’s known to be eaten by jumping spiders is the cucumber beetle.
Some types of beetles have pincers that can seriously injure or easily kill a jumping spider.
Larger crickets
While smaller cricket are a great food source, larger crickets are more trouble than they’re worth.
A large cricket (1″+) actually possesses the ability to bite, and this bite can cause a lot of damage to a jumping spider.
While it may be entertaining to watch a jumping spider take down a large cricket, crickets 1/4″ to 3/4″ are optimal.
What Do Jumping Spider Spiderlings Eat?
Jumping spider spiderlings are extremely tiny, so this means that they need special consideration when it comes to feeding them.
Spiderlings have about the same nutritional requirements as mature jumping spiders, but they need food that’s a lot smaller. These fragile spiders can easily be overpowered by a larger cricket or dubia roach.
Therefore, it’s recommended that jumping spider spiderlings are given either flightless fruit flies and/or pinhead crickets — food that’s smaller than them and poses no threat.
Spiderlings should be fed as frequently as they’re willing to eat, so make note of how much food your individual spiderling requires. Expect to feed them at least 1-3 times per week.
Eventually, as the jumping spider grows, it will stop seeing these small insects as food and simply refuse to eat them altogether (to the point of starvation!). So, before they reach this point, you’ll want to transition them to larger food.
How To Feed Jumping Spiders
Throughout most of a jumping spider’s life it’s very easy to feed them. All that you have to do is drop live food into their enclosure and let the spider hunt for itself. While small, jumping spiders are incredible hunters due to their agility.
There are two instances where letting prey roam free may not be a good idea, though:
- The spider just molted – For a week or two after molting, spiders are extremely vulnerable and fragile. Therefore, you may want to pre-kill prey before placing it in the enclosure. An alternative to this is using tweezers to hold the prey in place so that the spider can grab it.
- The spider is older – Older jumping spiders are more fragile and less agile, so loose prey may be dangerous. In this case, pre-killed or immobilized prey is also optimal.
A Note On Feeding Frequency
In terms of feeding frequency, it ultimately depends on your individual spider. Some will eat every single day, while others may take frequent, week-long breaks from eating.
The average jumping spider eats every 2 to 3 days, while spiderlings eat more frequently at once every day or every other day.
Generally, juveniles eat more than adults, females eat more than males, and older/molting/laying spiders may go long periods of time without eating at all.
The best piece of advice is to pay attention to your particular spider. Take note of what they eat, what they don’t, and how frequently they eat. Over time, you’ll find the perfect feeding schedule for your jumping spider.
Do Jumping Spiders Need Water?
Like all living creatures, jumping spiders need water in order to live. It’s not commonly observed, but yes, spiders do drink water.
Aside from drinking, jumping spiders also get their water from the food that they eat and through the humidity of their enclosure. A combination of all 3 of these things is required to keep your jumping spider hydrated.
Since just a few days without water can be fatal for jumping spiders, it’s important that you do these 3 things:
- Supply your jumping spider with a water bowl – Place a small dish of water in your jumping spider’s enclosure. Small bottle caps are the most common bowl, but you can get creative here. This bowl offers a direct water source for drinking, in addition to contributing towards the humidity of the enclosure. Despite the myths, jumping spiders won’t drown in this bowl, as they possess the ability to both float and swim!
- Clean/refill the water bowl regularly – Spiders are dirty, and their water dishes will become disgusting within a day. So, you will have the daily routine of cleaning the water dish and refilling it with fresh water.
- Mist the enclosure regularly – Enclosures that are too dry will quickly kill a jumping spider. To keep an enclosure humid, simply mist one wall of the enclosure about 2 to 3 times per week. This will soak into the substrate and keep the enclosure humid without being damp. Use a hygrometer to keep an eye on humidity levels and spray the enclosure as needed!