How to Breed & Raise Jumping Spiders

How To Breed & Raise Jumping Spiders
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Preparation & Pairing

When preparing to breed jumping spider there are a few things to you want to do first and have on hand.

Ensure you have:

• A mature pair
• Time & commitment
• Feeders (fruit flies) & deli cups ready for the babies

To prepare your male and female to breed you want to first make sure they are sexually mature, females will have an epigyne & males will have bulbous pedipalps. For the best chance of a successful pairing place the pair's enclosures next to one another and observer their behave, if they both seem receptive them you can begin to prepare them to breed. If they do not seem interested, they may not be sexually mature or some more time to evaluate each other.

When preparing your pair to breed you should feed them well leading up to the planned pairing date, while sexually cannibalism is rare it can happen if they are not properly fed or are not interested in breeding. To be safe you can give the female a large feeder to keep her distracted while pairing.

When it is time to breed your pair offer them one last meal and prep your breeding zone. I recommended using a 12x12 mesh cube to ensure they have proper room to move around and escape each other. Some people will pair their jumping spiders in the open like on a desk or outside of a mesh cube but be wary as pairing can last hours and it very meticulous to watch them.

Place your male and female unto your breeding zone a few inches apart facing each other, have a catch cup ready in case one tries to run. While jumping spider courtships range from each species most males will do a "dance" for the females, this normally means waving the arms in the air and swaying back and forth.

Regal male courting female:


Keep in mind that it may take a few attempts before your pair successfully breeds, this is completely normal. When introducing a pair be sure to watch their behaviors closely, if the female is receptive, she will let the male climb onto her, he will then find her epigyne and proceed to transfer his reproductive material. Some males may try to web the female in place. Jumping spiders will pair multiple times in one session, only separate your pair once they have each moved away from each other and are no longer showing interest.

Male regal successfully breeding with female:


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Eggs & Slings

A female jumping spider will lay an egg sack in a few days to a few weeks after mating, though it may take longer. When a female is preparing to lay eggs she will begin to make a thick webbed nest, once it is complete she will lay her eggs and not leave until her slings emerge from the nest. Once the eggs have been laid they will take 2-4 weeks to hatch depending on environmental conditions. Fertile eggs range from a whitish to a yellowish color and should be nice and symmetrical in shape.

Some females may end up dying from starvation or thirst if not pulled off their sack. If you notice your female starting to look frail take the end of a paint brush and gently push her out of the nest into a small holding contain. It is best to offer her food and water right away. Gently pull the nest off the surface it is attached to and place it in your hatching cup (32oz deli cup with excelsior). If the nest is attached to something removeable from the enclosure such is a piece of cork or hide simple place that item into your hatching cup.

Female tyrell's tufted jumping spider on eggs:


The first noticeable stage of growth is called "eggs with legs", they have are relatively round in shape and have begun to develop slight features, like body segments and legs. Once they molt they will turn fully black this stage is called i1 (instar 1), they will have a slightly more defined body shape and will continue to stay the nest. Once the slings molt again in the nest, they are now i2 which is when they start to leave the nest, at this instar they will have large heads with no body markings.

Important Note: Jumping spider slings are very small, you may need to place the female's enclosure in a mesh cube to prevent the slings from escaping through the ventilation holes of the female's enclosure if you chose not to pull the nest.

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Caring for slings

You will need:

• 32oz Deli Cup
• 5.5oz Deli Cups
  
• Excelsior
  
• Pipe Cleaners (Optional)
  
• Fruit Fly Cultures (D. Hydei & D. Melanogaster)
  
• Mister

Start out by making 1-2 fruit fly cultures of each type, these will last 2-4 weeks. I always recommend having at least 2 cultures of each type in case one crashes or another issue arises. When sling emerge from the nest (i2) they should be kept communally in a 32oz deli cup with lots of excelsior, be sure it has lots of ventilation. Turn the container upside down so the lid is on the bottom as to not disturb the slings when you open it.

Once it's time to separate out the slings (i4), prepare your 5.5oz deli cups by adding pin hole ventilation. Depending on your climate you may need more or less ventilation, I do 3 verticals rows and 4 horizontals. The slings highly benefit from a small piece of decor such as a piece of a pipe cleaner to climb on and nest around.

As the slings grow they will need to be moved into larger enclosures, here is a quick guide:
i2-i4: 32oz Cohabitated
i4-i6: 5.5oz
i6-i8: 16oz
i8-i11: 32oz

Growth chat reference:

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Feeding

Slings need to be feed and misted every 2-3 days or whenever their abdomens appear thin, if you are housing them together be sure to feed a proper amount or cannibalism may happen.

Once slings are i4-5 they can be moved from fruit flies onto 1/8in crickets, at i7-8 they can only need to eat every 4-5 days and can move onto house flies, and small mealworms. Once they reach i9 and up they can move onto a standard sized prey item offered weekly.