Pros

The most popular pet spiders are tarantulas, which are roughly 10x the size of most jumping spiders. But while jumping spiders are small, they are far more intelligent:

Weasels may be cunning, we might admire the intelligence of dogs and cats, but we can be forgiven for expecting the jumping spider, a diminutive predator with a brain not much bigger than a poppy seed, to be one of Descartes' automatons. Yet, jumping spiders, also known as salticids, alternate between entertaining and alarming us by planning prey-capture tactics ahead of time, adjusting their hunting behaviour in accordance with how the prey responds and giving us other examples of un-spider-like acumen

They are able to quickly form and reverse associations, navigate in virtual reality, learn by trial and error and learn from observing conspecifics. This means they are an intelligent and interactive pet that some people even claim to be able to train.

Even if you can't train them, they are fun to watch and photograph. Each has a unique personality and habits. I've loved sharing my life with these adorable and quirky creatures.

Care is fairly easy, they only need to be fed and watered every few days.

Cons

If you're looking for a cuddly pet, look elsewhere. While they are non-aggressive and bites are rare, they are not easy to handle. They are likely to be lost or harmed if handled.

They also require live prey as food: roaches, crickets, mealworms, or flies. You'll also need to raise and care for these in order to keep a pet jumping spider.

Sadly they also don't live very long, with the oldest recorded pet jumping spider living to about 3 years and most living to a year at most.

Spider Facts

Spider anatomy terms

You know about legs and eyes, but what about the other parts?

This is a male Phidippus texanus

Other common terms:

• Phid: a jumping spider from the Phidippus family, they are the most common species kept as pets
• Sac: a jumping spider nest, they do not build webs but use the silk to build tiny sacs for sleeping and resting
• Sling/spiderling: a "baby" jumping spider
• Gravid: a jumping spider ready to lay fertile eggs

Ok I still want one!

Awesome! I hope this site provides a valuable resource. I also encourage you to join our Facebook group, which gives you access to our active community of knowledgable spider keepers

Essential Spider Info

• Jumping spiders hatch from eggs and stay in their nesting sac with their siblings and mother for the first 1-2 weeks of their lives
• After that they disperse, meaning live the sac to start life on their own
• Spiders grow by molting, which means shedding their exoskeleton to grow a new one. A molting spider builds a sac and may stay in it for 1-4 weeks. Never disturb or try to feed a molting spider.
• Jumping spiders live 6 months to 3 years. Older spiders may have trouble feeding and climbing.

Enclosure/Spider Habitat

• You can use any container as long as it has holes for ventilation
• Do not place spider enclosures in direct sunlight

Food & Water

• Offer your pet spider food (live prey) every 3-6 days
• Remove prey that's uneaten at the end of the day
• Remove prey that's uneaten at the end of the day

Where to get a spider

• Wild jumping spiders are easy to catch across the United States
• There are also breeders that offer captive bred/raised spiders for purchase.

Join our community

• Connect with jumping spider keepers and experts around the globe
• Many jumping spider breeders post spiderlings for sale on the group
• Get help and advice from experienced keepers
• Resources for jumping spider keeping in other countries (we have many UK members)