Looking out for a jumping spider going into moult can become something of an obsession for a first-time owner. Are they sleeping in? Is something wrong? Shall I offer food? I’m sorry to say it doesn’t get any easier for veteran keepers either. Even I constantly wonder if they are okay in there and when they will emerge. So, let's take a look and get to know moulting.
What is moulting? I will keep this as simple as possible, spiders shed their exoskeleton in order to grow larger. Different jumping spiders have different amounts of moults. Most commonly its around 9 for a regal jumping spiders, before they mature, but males may have less and females may have more. These moults are marked by instars. After they hatch, the spiders are in their 1st instar. When they moult for the first time they move into their 2nd instar, and so on.
Regal jumping spiders will naturally moult every 3 to 4 weeks, but after 7th instar there may be longer gaps between moults. Travel, such as being posted can sometimes bring on a moult, as well as overfeeding.
There are three stages of a moult: Pre-moult, Moulting, and Post-moult.
Pre-Moult: You may notice your spider ignoring or retreating from their dinner. Perhaps they are acting a little more skittish around you. The biggest clue is when the spider decides not to get out of bed for two days in a row. You won't need to offer food, and definitely remove any crickets or mealworms as they think a soft freshly moulted spider is a great snack, but flies can be left in the enclosure. Mature spiders will both hide away in their webs for long periods, but they won’t moult. Males will lay sperm onto the hammock lining to fill their pedipalps and females will be getting ready to lay eggs, these will be unfertilised unless she has been paired. Back to a jumping spider in pre-moult - They will move a little in their web; they may peek out at you a lot, and even come out for a drink, so remember to mist every day. This stage can last 3 days to over 3 weeks.
WARNING: If at any time you suspect your spider is in moult do not disturb them in their hammock. If they have seemed to emerge without moulting, please wait 24 hours before handling or moving.
Physical Moult: At some point, your spider will move into the physical moult stage. This is a quicker step than pre and post and often takes less than an hour, but this comes down to the individual spider. You may notice they contract into what is commonly known as a death curl, don’t be alarmed as this contraction is entirely normal at this stage and eventually, after a few hours they will uncurl.
Post-Moult: After moulting, there will be a period of time, from a few days to over a week, where your jumping spider will need to harden up. They cannot eat during this time as their mouthparts are still soft and can be damaged by trying, so please refrain from disturbing them, mist regularly still, but hold off on offering food. Once your little spider feels safe and hardened fully, they will stroll out to show off their new look, and you can offer them something to eat.
Regal jumping spiders can completely change their colours during a moult. Dark spiders can gain light cream fluff, and grey spiders can go raven black. Some change a little at a time; and some don’t seem to change at all; this is mostly the males, but I have a beautiful blue-shine female who has hardly changed. This surprise makes the worry of a moult worth it.
