Phidippus Regius Care


Feeding & Hydration

Instar 5/6 Wil be fed on fruit fies Drosophila Hydei as they grow larger
House fly and greenbottles are your next step. Older jumpers will appreciate the occational waxworm/moth/blue bottle
or even small locust.
I do not advise feeding crickets as they can harbour bad bacteria which isn't good for your spood.
Mealvorme are an option but again there are better alternatives at their ekin (chitin) is harder to digest. Always check the abdomen size before feeding as over feeding can lead to issues, I have a guide which will help you assess if your spider needs food until you are able to visually tell yourself.
When it comes to drinking, jumpers should be lightly misted daily, fine mist to ensure no large droplets which can be deadly to them, their anatomy places their book lungs under their abdomens, so be cautious.
Your spider will drink the fine droplet from either the walls of their enclosure or off of decor.

Set ups

A starter cup with a breathable dome lid is ideal when your spider finally arrives home with you, due to their size it is easier to keep tabs on them and for them to hunt easier, of course if you wish to place them straight into their forever homes just be watchful that they are eating.
Enclosure wise it's better to have a front opening home as they are arboreal and we don't want to disturb their webe for moulting or accidentally squish them!
In regards to the size of enclosure, once they are older I'd say the larger the better 20x20x30 is the standard arboreal acrylic enclosures on the market, or the square terrestrial enclosures (available www.thermantishouse.co.uk). 

Lighting

Bright Led lights are perfect for jumpers, they love it! It helps them hunt, regulate their day and make them much more active  
A typical 12 hour day 12 hour right is best to mimic. A LED lamp or strip lighting is ideal.

Decor

Jumpers love to explore! Hide and nestle. An enriched environment is kay to getting the best out of your new friend You can either go non natural LE fake decor ete or Bioactive which is my personal favourite. I find they thrive in this environment.
For full bioactive setups and natural decor that they can play, hide, explore and nestle with head to www.themantishouse.co.uk

Temperature & Humidity

Temperature range of 26-32c, personally I keep mine at approximately
26c
You will need the correct equipment to provide heat for them
Thie can be a heat mat, heating cables or overhead heat lamps, but
remember to use all of the above with a thermostat otherwise you run the
risk of cooking your new spood and your house.
Most jumper houses don't allow for the thermostat probe to be placed
inside the enclosure, to combat this a digital thermometer can be plated into
the enclosure separately, from that you can gauge whether or not your
thermostat needs to be set higher or lower. It takes a bit of patience and
tweaking to get the correct temperature.
Humidity wise I'd aim for the 50-60% mark, again you can purchase a
digital thermometer which may also have the humidity percentage on it
To increase humidity you can keep part of the substrate damp and use items
such as moss/plants to hep retain humidity If purchasing a bio active decor pack, you'll find hydro balls in the kit, these help water drain, hold and release humidity back into the enclosure.
"Temperature & Humidity is local dependant"

Moulting

Moulting can be a worry for new owners, but as long as you care is on
point you should be fine.
"Remember to keep misting during the moulting period
When your spider goes into pre moult they will create a web thammock)
during this time they will hide inside it and refuse food, this is perfectly
normal behaviour.
Soon your spider will moult by removing their old exoskeleton, their size
will increase as will their appearance colouration, markings.
Most of the time you will see them pushing their old skeleton outside of
their web!
Once they are active again and moving about you can offer them food,
if their exoskeleton has hardened enough they will accept it. The
exoskeleton needs to harden so they can eat as their chelicerae (fangs)
have a lot of work to do

Handling

When it comes to handling your new friend make sure you have a elear
space, it's helpful to place a white sheet down, Some people like to try daily for their spider to come onto their hand,
which sometimes works. I however try an handle them as soon as
possible once they're settled into their new home
A small paintbrush/makeup brush is helpful to nudge them onto your
hand and within 20 seconds of eww human flesh they acclimate quite
well, gently placing your hands for them to jump or walk onto for a
small short play session is extremely beneficial. It shouldn't take many
of these play times for your spider to start happily coming to your hand
when placed in front of it.
Remember they are fast, but they will anchor to you, so if they fall they
will quickly seramble back up to you! If they lose their anchor however
that's where the white sheet comes in handy.
Please remember however that you do not need to handle them, you
can just enjoy them as they are.

www.themantishouse.co.uk