Phidippus regius/audax

Congrats! You are on your way to the wonderful world of spider ownership! If you are new or just refreshing your memory I hope that you love your little friend(s)!

Starting with jumping spider care, specifically P. regius and P. audax, its luckily fairly similar and simple. They are very intelligent and will come to recognize you as safe as they grow. But be gentle and forgiving with them as slings as the world is so much bigger than they are so everything is fairly scary!

Some tips for newbies:
– Every animal is an individual!!! So adjust as you learn their specific preferences!
– Do not take my short guide as gospel. Do as much research as you can handle. Some people may have better knowledge than I do. I love youtube vids for information as I’m more of a visual learner myself.
– Put only one spider per enclosure! Once they are no longer slings they will cannibalize
– Put them in an enclosure upside down so that you are opening the bottom. They like to make their webs up high so they will likely make their web hammock at the top of the enclosure. If you are startling them every time you interact with them it could make the trust process take longer
– Put them in a bright location, but NOT in the sun or near hot lamps as the heat gradient in most small enclosures for slings is non existent and you could accidentally cook your sling(spiderling)! A no heat LED light is great and cheap. Plus is makes it easier for you to see your baby as well.
– Phidippus audax do well at most room temps as they are found all over the USA. Phidippus regius do well at most but better at warmer temps being a Florida and some surrounding states spider.
– Do not keep them bone dry as they need humidity for successful molts. Mist every day on one side of the enclosure so long as it dries up every day.
– As slings they will happily eat flightless fruit flies or mealworm guts if you are short on flies. But the guts will rot fast so be sure to clean it out after a few hours so you don’t grow mold.

– Adults will eat a variety of things:
– Blue bottle flies are a favorite(you can buy a batch of spikes and leave them in the fridge until you are ready to let them pupate and turn into flies, the process takes a few days to a week so be sure to have other options while waiting)
– Crickets, but be sure to see your spider eat them! Crickets can fight back if they are the wrong size and you will want to be able to intervene if your spider looks uninterested or distressed
– Mealworms/Superworms depending on the size of your spider
– Small Roaches
– I’ve fed my spiders smaller hornworms or silkworms sometimes, but they usually don’t prefer them
– To water, use a small spray bottle for a fine mist on the walls of the enclosure or their enclosure. With slings specifically it is very important not to overwater as they can get trapped in water droplets and drown.
– Adult sizes vary! P. regius can be anywhere from 6-25 mm. P. audax can be from 6-19 mm. But I’ve had some exceed these sizes in my clutches!

I may have missed some important things so please look around for more information and have fun!

Hogna Sp.

These are wolf spiders! Super fascinating creatures that are great hunters and grow to a fairly large size for a true spider.

These spiders hunt over long distances so a decent amount of floorspace is good for them. A substrate that they can manipulate and create sturdy burrows in is a good idea as they will tunnel underground to feel safer.

Try to keep one side of the enclosure moist while the other can be a little more arid, but again it’s good to have humidity for a safe molt. But having the choice to go to one or the other is good as the spider will decide if it needs one or the other more. Try to avoid digging up a spider unless you absolutely think it’s necessary. You might end up digging up a molting spider, which is very likely to kill it.

Slings will happily scavenge pre-killed insects in their enclosure. Adults will hunt anything about their body size when hungry. But do not leave uneaten prey to free roam! If the spider is molting and the prey find them, the spider could end up being the one eaten.

They are nocturnal so expect more activity at night.

Again please do more digging! These are fascinating creatures and I promise you will love learning about them!