So you’ve had your little one for a while now and they are growing like a weed, but when is it time to try a bigger food? What about moving them up to a bigger enclosure? Let’s look at some of the things you need to consider to help you decide if it’s time to upgrade your jumping spiders food and enclosure.
Food:
This should be the first thing to upgrade as when to move them to a new enclosure all depends on how they are at hunting a larger prey.
A rule of thumb is that the prey should be equal to or smaller than the spider. In an ideal world, and if you can, we would suggest that the prey be the same size or smaller than the spiders abdomen, but there are times when a jumping spider will start refusing smaller prey, choosing to ignore it altogether meaning prey larger than themselves is necessary. In the wild, regal jumping spiders have been photographed taking down and consuming lizards and frogs over 5x their size. They are mighty hunters, but larger prey means a larger behind making it harder to move about which could lead to falls and serious or fatal injuries. So where possible we should aim to keep the prey small unless your little champion hunter is telling you it wants to move up.
If they are refusing their fruit flies you can pop in a larger fly such as a curly wing or green bottle and if they seem interested then you can say they are looking to upgrade to a bigger prey. If they still avoid the larger prey then they are probably in the early stages of pre-moult and not looking to upgrade just yet. Once they are hunting their new flies without too much hassle (they may naturally miss a few times no matter how skilled they are) then you can look at upgrading their home.
Enclosure: What size to upgrade to depends on the size of your spider, and the size they may grow to. The main thing that may keep you from upgrading is the size of the vents, or gaps in the enclosure. If the spider looks like they could fit their carapace (head) through the gap then you are better of waiting otherwise you may need to use our blog entry on how to find a missing spood. Some keepers opt for a medium sized enclosure, about 10x10x15cm, with the idea that they will upgrade the spider again later on in their life. However it is fine to go straight up to a larger size such as those around 20x20x25cm. Please remember your spider needs stimulation and lots of high roaming space to be happy, keeping them in small enclosures may be cheaper but it is not what is right for your spider. To help keep costs down how about making your own or buying second hand? It is simple to move them across; decorate the new enclosure and if your spider is out wandering around their old home and you are sure, without a doubt, that they aren’t in pre-moult, you can use a paintbrush to gently coax the from their old home and into the new. You can also use a catching up to transport them to their new home. Have everything ready on a clear table to minimise great escapes.
Here are some quick tips to remember:
-When trying locusts, aim for the hatchling locusts. They grow fast, so being smaller than you wanted is better than being too big for the spider before you have chance to feed more than two. Have a read of the Feeding blog to see what to feed and how to feed. - Ignoring food can be early pre-moult and not necessarily time to try a new food. Head to my Moulting blog to find out more. - Spiders of the same moult stage can be different sizes so there is no hard-set time or stage to upgrade. - Look for escape routes in their new enclosure such as vents, joins, and wire entries before moving your spider over. - Move them across if they have eaten in the last 24hrs, especially if they have just come from moulting, this will ensure they have energy to have a look about. - Aim to have the move done in the late morning early afternoon to give them chance to explore and make a new web hammock.
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