Buying a Pet Jumping Spider Online

When you buy a pet jumping spider online from Arachnamoria, you may be wondering what happens next, what to expect when your spider delivery is dispatched, and what to do when it arrives? Let’s take a look behind the scenes here at Arachnamoria HQ

Once your order comes through, your name is written on the little spider pot they live in here, and they get moved to the SOLD section of the spider shelves. They will continue to receive the same love and care I give all the spiders. Unless there is a delay in your shipping you won't hear from me (more on that below) so if you don't get a message, everything is on track for your delivery. The arrival date will be sent to you in an email after you make your purchase, but some times an exact date cannot be given due to weather. Your spider will be posted out the day before the arrival day on the spider page unless the weather is severe such as 30°c or over, below 5°c, or if there have been reports of delays with Royal Mail such as industrial action. Postage may also be postponed if the spider is showing signs of moulting, or has just moulted; travelling in this state can be fatal. I will keep you informed should any of these occur. If you haven't heard from me then everything is good to go as planned; please try not to message to check on the day before arrival unless it is an emergency as I am often swamped packing and I would hate for you to panic when I don't respond in my normal timely manner. Boxes will be prepped and postage can sometimes be brought the day BEFORE posting day, so do not panic if Royal Mail send you tracking information, your spider will not have been posted and will not arrive earlier than stated. This just saves time for me on posting day.

When their posting day comes, they get breakfast of two fruit flies and a few spritz of water. While they are dining, I pack your box with any other bits you have brought, a heat pack if necessary, and spider safe packing. I will always aim to use eco friendly options in my packing. I will then make up a smaller box as added protection; inside this will be a little plastic pot in which your spider will travel. The spider travel pot is smaller than the 4oz pots they live in here, this means there is less of a fall should the parcel get jolted. When this is all prepped, I check back in on your spider. I am looking to see if they have come out of their web for food and drink. If they are still hiding away this may mean they have gone into pre-moult and cannot be posted. I will let you know as soon as this happens and keep you updated throughout their moult, we can arrange a new delivery day once they have come out and eaten a fly. If your spider is out and about then they are good to start their journey.

Once they have eaten I start the spider wrangling. I double check the name, number and box, before coaxing your spider out from their cup and into the sprayed travel pot. I will pop any uneaten flies in with them. If your spider has eaten both I won’t put extra in to prevent over feeding as that can make their abdomen heavy which isn’t ideal when in transit. The chances are they won't eat in the dark of the pot so be prepared for flies when you open it on arrival day.

All of the spiders from Arachnamoria come in printed boxes with big bold letters saying LIVE SPIDER, unless you have requested to have fragile instead, which is handy if you’re a spider addict and trying to sneak a new one in. Please note that parcels marked fragile and not live spider may not be eligible for compensation from Royal Mail if they damage a parcel so bad that it causes harm to the spider. Once everyone is boxed and labelled up, they are packed into a temperature-controlled bag to start the first part of their journey. I take them on the 6 minute walk to the local Post Office, who know me very well. They are an amazing team who take the best care of the spiders while they are there until Royal Mail come to pick them up at aout 4.30 in the evening. I will mark your orders as completed and send you your tracking details, this may be later in the evening of posting day, so do not panic if its 5pm and you've not heard anything, it just means I haven't arrived back home to my laptop yet.

BEFORE POSTING DAY - Your parcel is prepped and packed. Postage is sometimes brought early to save time POSTING DAY - Your spider is fed and misted before being packed up and posted with Royal Mail ARRIVAL DAY - This is the day Royal Mail have been instructed to deliver on before 1pm

Why Royal Mail? There is a simplle reason for this, they are the only company who ship living creatures, and because of this they have a duty of care for that creature. Sneaky posting with another company puts the spiders at risk, such as being left on a cold doorstep, squashed in the back of a van, or being returned to sender should they discover a rule had been broken. What happens if my delivery doesn’t arrive? First of all, take a deep breath. While I take every precaution to avoid foreseen delays, all good breeders pack their spiders with the notion that they might take the long way round to your address. It’s not overly common but it happens, and most late parcels arrive the following day. Royal Mail do all transportations in the evening, so if your tracking hasn’t changed all day, it will likely happen in the evening. So far, the longest delay was 5 days, when a spider went to the Isle of Man instead of Cambridgeshire. The spood arrived, safe and sound, no worse for their little trip. I have heard tales of spiders going missing back when we could post to Europe, and they turned up alive and well over a month later during very low winter temperatures. You can try calling Royal Mail but I have found that once a parcel is delayed in the system there is very little that can be done to speed it up which is why we pack my spiders for unseen delays. If the parcel has arrived at your local delivery office you can normally contact them directly to find out about delays or inform them if you wish to collect the parcel instead. So that’s what happens when you buy a spider from Arachnamoria and as always, if you have any questions now or much later just drop me a message.