If you just brought home your first jumping spider — or you’re thinking about it — feeding is the part that trips most people up. These tiny predators are picky, surprisingly smart, and have very specific dietary needs at every life stage. Get the feeding right and you’ll have a healthy, active spider for 1–3 years. Get it wrong and you’ll lose them in weeks.
This guide covers exactly what jumping spiders eat in captivity, how much, how often, what to avoid, and the small adjustments that make the biggest difference.
What Jumping Spiders Eat in the Wild vs. Captivity
In the wild, jumping spiders are active hunters. They don’t build webs to catch prey — they stalk, pounce, and pin insects with their front legs. Their natural diet includes flies, gnats, small moths, leafhoppers, ants (occasionally), and even other small spiders.
In captivity, you’ll be replicating that diet with feeder insects you can buy or culture at home. The good news: jumping spiders adapt well to a few staple feeders if you offer variety and the right size.
The Best Feeder Insects for Jumping Spiders
Stick to these staples and rotate so your spider gets nutritional variety:
Flightless fruit flies (Drosophila hydei and Drosophila melanogaster)
The gold standard for slings (baby spiders) and small adults. D. melanogaster is smaller and best for slings under 3rd instar. D. hydei is larger and works for older slings and small adults. Cheap, easy to culture, and you can pre-dust with calcium.
Houseflies (blue bottle flies / curly-winged houseflies)
Best feeder for adult jumping spiders. High-protein, the right size for a full-grown regal, and the movement triggers strong feeding response. Buy spikes (maggots) or pupae online and let them hatch.
Mealworms — small ones only
Acceptable as an occasional protein source. Use small mealworms and crush the head before offering. Not a staple.
Phoenix worms / black soldier fly larvae
Calcium-rich and small. Good rotation feeder for sub-adults.
Crickets — only pinheads
Pinhead crickets work for medium-sized spiders, but anything larger can hurt your spider. Crickets are also aggressive — never leave uneaten crickets in the enclosure overnight.
Wax worms
Treat only. High in fat, low in protein. Use sparingly (once a month at most) to fatten up a spider before molting.
What NOT to Feed Your Jumping Spider
Skip these. Some are dangerous, others are just bad for your spider:
- Wild-caught insects — pesticide and parasite risk
- Ants — many species spray formic acid and can injure or kill your spider
- Ladybugs / fireflies / boxelder bugs — toxic
- Large crickets — can bite back
- Hornworms and superworms — too large and too tough
- Spiders from outside — your jumping spider becomes the meal
- Anything bigger than your spider’s body — rule of thumb: prey should be no larger than the spider’s abdomen
How Often to Feed by Life Stage
Feeding frequency depends on age. Overfeeding a jumping spider is just as dangerous as underfeeding — adults can rupture their abdomen if their opisthosoma stretches too far.
Slings (1st – 3rd instar): 1 fruit fly every 2–3 days. They’re growing fast and need frequent small meals.
Juveniles (4th – 6th instar): 2 fruit flies or 1 small housefly every 3–4 days.
Sub-adults: 1 medium feeder (housefly, blue bottle) every 4–5 days.
Adults: 1 housefly or equivalent every 5–7 days. If your adult is plump and round, stretch to every 7–10 days.
Pre-molt: Stop feeding. Your spider will refuse food anyway. This can last 1–3 weeks for adults. Trust the process.
Post-molt: Wait 2–4 days after a molt before offering food. New exoskeleton needs to harden first.
Hydration: The Most Overlooked Part of Feeding
Jumping spiders need water, but they don’t drink from bowls. Mist one side of the enclosure lightly every 2–3 days. Your spider will drink the droplets off the glass or off plants. Don’t soak the substrate — high humidity for extended periods causes mold and respiratory issues. A single fine mist is enough.
Supplementing With Calcium
Calcium is debated in the jumping spider community, but most experienced keepers lightly dust feeders with reptile calcium powder (no D3) once or twice a month. Slings benefit most. To dust: drop a feeder into a small container with a pinch of calcium, gently shake, then offer. A dedicated reptile calcium dish keeps your supplement clean and prevents spillage in the enclosure.
How to Offer Food: Two Methods
Hand-feeding (tweezers): Pick up the feeder with soft tweezers and wave it slowly in front of your spider. Most jumping spiders will lunge and grab. This is the best method because you control timing and can stop after one feeder.
Free-feeding: Drop one feeder into the enclosure and let your spider hunt. Works well for fruit flies. Risks: uneaten feeders die in the enclosure and rot, or live feeders stress your spider by climbing on it. Always remove uneaten feeders within 24 hours.
A small feeding dish or ledge keeps feeders contained, makes cleanup easier, and gives your spider a defined spot to hunt from.
Signs Your Spider Is Eating Well
- Plump, round abdomen (but not so large it’s stretching the exoskeleton tight)
- Active hunting response when you offer food
- Regular molts (every 4–8 weeks for slings, every few months for sub-adults)
- Clear eyes — black and reflective, not cloudy
Signs Something Is Wrong
- Refusing food for more than 2 weeks (and not pre-molt)
- Shriveled or sunken abdomen
- Lethargy or stumbling
- Curled legs (the classic dehydration / starvation posture)
If you see any of these, increase misting frequency, try a fresh feeder type, and check for parasites.
Common Beginner Feeding Mistakes
- Feeding too often. Adults don’t need daily meals. Overfeeding shortens lifespan.
- Prey too large. Stick to the abdomen-size rule. Always.
- Leaving uneaten feeders in the enclosure. Crickets bite. Flies die and attract mites.
- No variety. Fruit flies forever leads to nutritional gaps. Rotate feeders.
- Force-feeding a pre-molt spider. If they refuse, leave them alone.
- Wild-caught feeders. Pesticides on outdoor insects can kill a jumping spider within hours.
Building a Better Feeding Setup
The enclosure setup directly affects how well your spider eats. A few small upgrades make a huge difference:
- A magnetic feeding ledge gives feeders a contained spot and prevents them from burrowing into substrate
- A corner hide or silk cocoon gives your spider a secure place to retreat between hunts — stressed spiders refuse to eat
- A hygrometer mount lets you keep humidity in the 50–70% range without guessing
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FAQ
How long can a jumping spider go without eating?
Healthy adults can go 2–4 weeks without food, especially before a molt. Slings should not go more than a week.
Can I feed my jumping spider dead insects?
Sometimes — wave a freshly killed feeder with tweezers. Some spiders will accept, others won’t. They’re hardwired to respond to movement.
Do jumping spiders eat fruit?
Surprisingly, yes — there’s one species (Bagheera kiplingi) that eats plant matter. Common pet species like Phidippus regius are strict carnivores. Don’t offer fruit.
Why is my jumping spider not eating?
Most common reason: pre-molt. Other reasons: too cold (keep enclosure 70–80°F), stressed from being handled, recently moved enclosures, or prey too large.
Final Word
Feeding a jumping spider correctly takes 5 minutes a week once you have a rhythm. Variety, appropriate size, the right schedule, and clean water — that’s the whole game. With the right setup, your spider will hunt, web up, molt successfully, and live a full 1–3 year lifespan.
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