After seeing few videos about keeping jumping spiders (salticidae) I thought this is my kind of pets. They are easy to to care for and have quite a cute little face 😅. But obviously, it's not the kind of pets you could hug unfortunately.
So I started to look around in my backyard and found several species which I've taken photos of and posted on an Australian spider identification group on Facebook to help identify them.
The most common ones are tiny brown spiders that make their nest in between bricks of my house walls. I've also spotted some green ones that like to live among the foliage of plants in the garden. But I was looking for something larger and a bit more hairy and with some more interesting colours or patterns.
I found the one in the photo at the top which is an Opisthoncus species, she's a female that is pretty large. After a day and a few photographs taken, I decided to put her back on the lime tree I found her on. The reason was that she seemed to be less active and was spending her day in the corner of the enclosure, so I thought better let her go back to her natural environment.
I then went around the various plants and found this Sevaea sp.:
Another female, she's a bit smaller than the other one but she's very dynamic and liked to crawl around in her enclosure. So I decided to adopt her. She's also keen to walk on my hand and does not mind staying still for a while for me to take photos of her.
And look at those loving eyes 😍!
I initially set her in a clear plastic food container turned into a jumping spider enclosure but I decided to give her something bigger and taller. So after looking around for something I could reuse as an enclosure, I found some old CD boxes that are collecting dust. I made two layers using two boxes each. Each box would be opened 90 degrees and glued to one another. The bottom layer would have one side not glued so that I could use it as a door. The advantage with the CD boxes is that they already have a hinge system for the door, less work for me.
First, I'd remove the CD, labels and CD holder part (the one with the round stuff that clips onto the centre of the CD). I'd then position two boxes so that the base of one goes into the lid of the other. This way they have some support and flat a bit of flat surface to put some superglue onto.
One other benefit of the CD boxes is that they have a natural gap between the lid and the base, so there is the ventilation! I just need to cover it with some adhesive fly net.
I'd then repeat with a second layer that I would glue on top of the first making sure to leave one side not glued or else I'd seal the door. The ceiling of the enclosure was the base of a fifth CD box, there was a bit of gap at two ends so I filled them with hot glue.
For the base, I used a piece of foam that was protecting one of my guitar effect pedals, I was lucky it was almost the exact needed size and had a little cavity so I could fill it with sand. I'd then use a dry branch found in the backyard and attached to them some fake leaves from the craft shop. The finish mini tree is then glued to a small piece of off-cut wooden board so that it can stand on its own. I then placed that tree inside the enclosure and covered the wooden board with sand to hide it. I added more decorations and stuck a gumnut shell to the ceiling in the hope that the spider will find it and use it as her home.
I glued a couple of sheets of cork one of the sides just because I saw others doing so and I liked the look of it and maybe it will also make a nice background for some photos later on.
Here is the final result:
On the first day, the spider seemed happy inside her new enclosure, she was crawling around and was hunting the vinegar flies I added inside. She has found the gumnut hide but was only crawling on the outside if it. However, on the second day, I found her one morning inside the gumnut and the next morning she sealed it with silk leaving just a small opening.
I'm looking forward to take more photos of her and will try to get a nice footage of her hunting her food.
Jumping spiders are pretty darn cute. I particularly like the ones that hold their front legs up in the air to try and look bigger when you go near them. 😍
How do you manage to capture the vinegar flies for her?
Search Google for Peacock jumping spider.
As for the flies, I have a composting tumbler in the backyard. I don’t add enough dry stuffs so it attracts the vinegar flies. I give few punches on the tumbler and the flies exit it through the vent holes and I catch them in a small plastic container as they exit the hole lol
Actually, here is a cool video
Cute and horrifying!
Wow.. Great shot! You never failed to give us informative article. I remember before on discord with @atongis @spooky and many more doing the karaoke. You've come a long way.. We need a good writer for our project. Is it okay if I invited you to join our discord??
Hah! Discord Karaoke, that was a long time ago hahaha. I’m too busy at the moment with my day jobs and development on Hive. Thanks for thinking of me.
I could've read your post except that I ran away screaming when I saw what your new pet is!! Not really. Here on the homestead we have plenty spiders - they don't bother me. Snakes??!!! Now THAT would have me running and screaming. You have a very unique pet @quochuy
Hahahah
I wouldn’t keep snakes, my wife have a phobia of them.
I love it, I hope your pet spider continues to thrive @quochuy. He has lovely loving eyes.
Thank you 😊
I can' believe you let her crawl on your hand!! Can I just add that your enclosure looks like something I would buy at the pet store, excellent stuff man.👌
Thanks bro.
She's very docile and gentle, no biting. She likes to stay there and clean her legs or something that's when I take photos of her. If she is a bit active and crawl around on my hand then I put another hand in front of her and she'd jump on it. After few repetition she'll have enough and stop for a while.
Oh this is beautiful, Does it have everything it needs to live in there? But beeing a male jumping spider is not something preferable. Getten eaten after reproduction... puh.
I know hey! Poor males.
It has all it needs inside, I’m progressively adding more decor inside so it has multiple platforms to jump onto
Anh có thú cưng độc và lạ thật. E chưa bao giờ nuôi nhện, mấy bức chup gần nhìn đẹp quá ạ :)
Đây cũng là lần đầu anh nuôi nhện. Thấy người ta nuôi trên Youtube và họ nói nuôi loại nhện nhảy dễ và nó ko nguy hiểm nên mới thử
Looks like you got yourself a new best friend. Amazing shots and I love the house you built for your new friend. Very cool.
Thanks.
She's disappeared into her little hide for almost 2 days now. Probably ready to lay eggs.
I prefer dogs & cats, they scare me less. 🤣🤣🤣 Very nice your enclosure made of CD boxes. 👍
Hahahah
Jumping Spiders are actually not harmful to human. Some people with arachnophobia got out of it after keeping jumping spiders.
Put CD covers to good use makes for an interesting enclosure. Spider will be interesting to follow around through clear perspex and see what she is busy doing.
@tipu curate
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I like watching her hunting or cleaning herself
Fascinating eyes, we have very active jumping spiders never managed such great photography!
I happened to read about jumping spiders today and according to the online encylopedia, they don't spin webs. It's interesting to spot from your photos that they still produce silk for other purposes. 😄
That’s correct. They produce silk for two reasons I know of:
Many thanks for the helpful information! 😄
Spiders are creatures I avoid due to the way the spin web around, it good to know this species don't but I guess I'll still stick with my dogs and hen.
Hehehe
I will love to have one of this as a pet someday when I have a bigger apartment, so that kids don't go around messing with them. Because they are fragile pets that needs good organization to take care of them. The CD enclosure interesting. Thanks for the exposure.
True. Although it could also be a good opportunity to teach kids how to care and respects other creatures. Depends on the kids I guess
I agree with you, but my kids are hyperactive and the boy is over curious about new things. I saw him smash chockroach with his slippers in the toilet. I don't want to leave such a pet with them for now.
I can understand
Thank you
Cute spider and first time seeing spider as a pet. Photos are really very sharp and beautiful. Loved it!
Thank you
You're welcome sir 💕
I'm scared of spiders haha
I used to be very scared of spiders in my childhood, don't know why but with time or even the fear ended Seeing your post today reminded me of the old days when spiders had to muster courage.
Many people are scared of spiders and for a reason, especially here in Australia where a lot of spiders have strong venom that can kill a human being. But as you learn to understand them you which one are not dangerous. Some people even keep dangerous spiders…
This is really cool...
I guess the reason why the other insect was not active was because there was no food.
Or were you feeding it.
I have phobia for insects generally.
I was feeding the other one but she was still not very active. It could be because she was not used to be in a box or she is pregnant. So I released her just in case, it’s good if she give birth out there so there are more of those beneficial spiders in the garden to hunt other insects.
Hmmm
It's interesting to see how you care for those little creatures. Pets teach us how to truly love without expectations.
I love them to, i actually made a video online befriending a jumping spider. It sat on my arm a bit and jumped to my other arm. They sit in our doorbell and hop out at you sometimes.
Yes they like to do that. We find some of them in our kitchen too.
What a good idea the CD box and nice little tree🌴
Thanks hehe
wow, amazing macro images, very detailed images are very clear, I'm curious about the lens you are using, greetings friends, I hope you are always healthy,
Thanks. The lens is an Olliclip Macro lens for iPhone
This is excellent! I'd not thought of using old CD cases, but it's brilliant! Well done, sir. Also, I believe your spood is gravid. You may not see her for a while until her eggs hatch and the slings begin to leave the nest. Jumping spoods are very protective mothers and will forego hunting for until a time she decides it's safe to leave her young ones alone for a bit.
I'd like to invite you to join our Arachnids community and share your arachnid content in cross-posts with us.
Ohhh that’s maybe why she didn’t leave the gumnut hide today. What should I do with the babies?
They'll probably be small enough to fit through the fishnet you have there, in which case they'll scatter and balloon away naturally when it's time for them to. Unless you wish to keep them all? It could be 20-50 babies if a healthy batch, and they're very difficult to feed if you want to separate them into individual containers so that they don't cannibalise their siblings. Slings are difficult, haha.
There's also a chance she's mated enough that she'll keep making egg sacs, so plenty of babies everywhere. I'd say to let them go, just because of the dedication and effort needed for spider husbandry.
But if you're up for the task, you could extract the babies when they first hatch and have had their first molt (1st instar so that they're not just eggs-with-legs). You'll start seeing the babies explore a little when that time comes, which can be a few months from now. There are a lot of resources on jumping spider husbandry available online, people who've got experience in it that I do not, so it would be best to have a read through those, to make an informed decision as well as to prepare for whichever decision you end up making about the babies.
I’ll probably release them for now. Thanks for the detailed comment.
anh nhiều sở thích quá chừng hen.
Uh thay đổi liên miên 😋
So adorkable, and she's gorgeous! And engorged, haha. Some !PIZZA to thank you for sharing how gentle spiders actually are. Also, I think it's pretty bloody cool that you're a blacksmith, too! I did an appyship as one a few years ago and it was the best job I'd ever had (had to quit because I got pregnant). Still love it and have a massive appreciation for blacksmiths.
She’s very gentle indeed.
It’s been a while since I’ve beaten the steel. We had water ingress in our basement so our furniture had to go into the garage so I’ve no more space for the forge. Once everything is fixed I’ll set it up again.
My four year old daughter would absolutely love this. She is my nature girl, just like her dad. She tries to catch all sorts of bugs.
Her favourite pets at the moment are snails, easy for her to catch I guess. She names them, feeds them and they seem to end up all over the house.
Well she could have a little enclosure with a jumping spider in it and then she can catch small bugs to feed the jumper 😻
She does have a rudimentary plastic bug enclosure, but not nearly as fancy as yours. Might need to be a daddy daughter project one day soon. Might have to save the link to you post to refer back to for inspiration down the track.
Spiders have a small shape and are very cute, but I think this animal is an animal that many people fear, including me 😂😂 but you keep it like any other pet, it's amazing in my opinion. 🤗🤗
You’re right, many people are afraid of spiders but not all of them are dangerous
If you already know the type of spider that is not dangerous maybe it is not scary anymore
Laba-laba yang sangat cantik, apakah itu yang di sebut laba-laba yang memiliki delapan mata.
Most spiders have eight eyes. This one is called a jumping spider because it hunts and jump on its prey.
The jumping spiders are really awesome. I also found some jumping spiders that are very macro in nature. Your photography has been so beautiful.
Thanks. Yea they are everywhere. Some are tiny tiny
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a beautiful, fascinating animal
Wow very interesting spider.👌
Spiders are weird animals I love them so much but I really see this breed of spider in my city except if I go to forests
Insects as a pet. Intresesting but also require a lot of knowledge.