My new jumping spider.

[SpiderMammy]

Took a break from spoodies for a while but got this little princess a few weeks ago and already thinking of getting a few more.

Shes just had her first moult with me (think shes about i7/8 now and shes enjoying a caprisun (greenbottle)

I need a name for her!

Not all of them, its individual. Thats why I feel like they have some personality because each is so different. Some are skittish and do not like being held, some really seem to want human company

Yes! Tarantula paws are ridiculously cute

Can they come when you call them or anything like this?

That is so very sweet!😍

I mean, I would DIE of fright and horror if I had a spider on my lap watching telly, but I can appreciate it from afar.

If you go with Vivienne, please could you go the extra mile and call her Vivienne Westwood?

I’m very ignorant re spiders (am a recovering arachnophobe!)

How big is she? I initially thought tarantula sized. But having seen the pic the PP posted of her jumping spider, maybe she is very tiny?
I do like Vivienne as a name though - I think that really suits her!

@pinkybear she is very small!

She might get about double this size.

Thank you @SpiderMammy
That pic is very helpful - she is very tiny and cute!

I'm absolutely terrified of spiders, stand on a chair and shout for someone to come save me kind of scared of them.

But these little babies are slowly changing my view, there's a lady I follow on TikTok who has a few and they're just precious! I don't think I could confidently hold one but I can look at them without squirming.

:)

I had arachnophobia my whole life. Spent so much time checking my bed and towels for spiders. I was terrified of them and demanded they were killed on sight (feel so guilty about that now!)

Jumping spiders helped cure me.

Just taking some new photos.

She is very shy and wary.

I'm hoping at some point she will venture onto my hand.

Oh look at her little face! I'm a reformed arachnophobe (started naming household visitors when DD was little as didn't want to pass on my fear, then read lots about spiders and have ended up fascinated by them) and especially love jumping spiders, they're just so cute! I like Vivienne or Stella for her, she definitely needs a glamorous name ❤️

I thought, "Oh, a zebra spider with a fruit fly, great microphotography!" Even though I'm wrong, how about Zenobia?

Well thats inspired her name.

I wanted a Studio Ghibli name and she is now Zeniba.

I'm going to get an orange jumper called Ponyo and a male named Souske

This is my little beauty.

I think your new addition should be named Harriet

ETS the image is "under review", but should appear soon.

I don't know what Studio Ghibli is. I'll Google it...

Are they the spiders that wave their arms in the air like they just don't care?

I'm pretty arachnophobic but those are cute.

And I'd like to see a video of them doing the arm waving thing to "Word Up" by Cameo.

I held her :)

She was a little skittish but much less than I imagined.

Are you fearful that she might jump away and get lost in the living room? Or does that just not happen?

(I ask as someone who has wasted hours of my life trying to locate my wayward little finches after they have had a fly around the living room during the cage cleaning process. They blend so perfectly into my household furnishings.)

I sit in the middle of my bed (kingsize so lots of room)
I remove the bedding so its just a plain area around us then i have a large, clear tub to 'trap' her if she bolts.

They do have an impressive jump and can be speedy but they tend to want to hide rather than run out into open space so she is more like to run under me than away.

I handled my juvenile tarantulas a few times and was a lot more concerned about losing those 🤣

This was Mavis.

Hidden as she is a tarantula and i know some people who are OK with Jumpers aren't OK with these x

Hi OP, she’s really cute.

I am a bad bad arachnophobic but have been looking at pictures of these jumping spiders to try and overcome some of my fear.

At my worst about 3 years ago, I was given sleeping tablets by the doctor as I had a big house spider run up my chest onto my neck whilst putting clean washing away and I literally couldn’t touch laundry for weeks, I could t sleep as I kept feeling it again, I wouldn’t even get a towel out of the airing cupboard for a shower or bath, I’d wait until my DH was home to get it for me and shake it thoroughly. We did see lots in that house though, one night we had around 5 run across the living room and over us on the sofa that were huge.

I’ve been scared for as long as I can remember and I’m trying so hard not to pass the fear to my DD who is 2.

I’d really like to get a jumping spider but wouldn’t know where to start/where to buy one/what kind of size tank they would have etc.

I still can’t look at photos of tarantulas, the one above made me nearly drop my phone 🤦🏻‍♀️ and I’ve gone all sweaty but I’d really like to educate myself on the jumping spiders and potentially get one.

Could you give me any advice? Thank you ☺️

😍I love tarantulas but they are so delicate and I'm so clumsy that i'd be terrified of hurting them.

Of course!

So in summer in the UK you probably wouldn't need a heat source for your spider, its warm enough but in winter I would suggest a small heat mat, always BEHIND, not under your spider. Just because heat rises and they tend to live at the top of their encloseres, so they cannot escape the heat if it gets too warm.
They would benefit from a light, just a little LED one above their home. 12 hours on/12 off. I just have a little clip on one from amazon.

Enclosures, for a new spider (they usually come at about i6 or i7 (i will explain that later) and they just need a small enclosure. I use smoothie cups with a homemade 3d printed grate on top for ventillation and a few 3d printed magnetic hides.

I like the put some spider subtrate/soil in the bottom. This helps to keep in some moisture and humidity.

If you like I could send you a cup woth all this in ready to go :) Am always happy to help new spidey owners overcoming their fears!

They eat flies. Tiny babies (spiderlings or slings) eat fruit flies and adults move onto greenbottles, some people move onto bluebottles but i think theyre big and aggressive!

You just need a small spray bottle and mist the enclosure once a day as a water source. No need for a bowl of anything

And keep your flies well hydrated and fed (with jelly pots from a petshop) so they get the best nurishment from them.

When they move up into a bigger enclosure there are lots available, theyre usually about 10 x 10x 20cm

The i numbers i said earlier are a way some breeders track the growth of a spider. It stands for instar. And each time a spider moults its exoskeleton it goes up one instar.

My spider was i6 and just moulted with me so now she is i7.

Its not exact but its a round about age estimation.

I don't breed spiders but I can recommend a few websites of reputable sellers if needed. The spiders come in the post!

It might be a bit nerve wracking getting them out of the postage pot into their home if you've never handled spiders before (you don't have to touch but it can still be scary) so you could also see if there are any local breeders that you could pick up directly and they might transfer for you.
I know that first spider i ever got I was terrified to unwrap the toilet roll they were wrapped in!

If theres anything else you might like to know please ask!

That was the only time I ever handled her when I was transferring her into a new enclosure. She was very chill and i was sat on the bed so she wouldnt have fallen far but you are right, they can die very easily from a fall!

I had one called Artemis. I bought him when he was very young so I didn’t know it’s sex. Was hoping for a girl. Ended up with a boy nicknamed Artie