The Amazing World of the Jumping Spider
by Desmond, age 10
If you are looking for a small pet that doesn't take much space and is easy to take care of then I have the perfect pet for you the jumping spider. Unlike its bigger friend, the tarantula, or its uncle the bird eater, or its cousin the deadly Brazilian wandering spider the jumping spider small is and cute.
I will tell you what you need to know about the jumping spider and my experience as a 10-year-old with a jumping spider. So the first thing you need to know it’s not a handling pet.
The cage needs to have more height than length and needs soil at the bottom and also something to climb on that can be a stick; I like to use driftwood.
Now to its diet. The jumping spider eats a lot of things but I like to feed it small mealworms. When they are very small, feed them wingless fruit flies and give them an opportunity to eat 2 to 3 times a week. It's very important to spray their cage with water daily to keep the humidity up.
Their lifespan is 6 months to 2 years.
Now to my experience with jumping spiders, I like to make sure their cage is secure because my first jumping escaped and I found him in the bathroom. I find my jumping spiders outside. Now I have not been bitten by a jumping spider, but if you do get bitten it is kind of like a mosquito bite, but it hurts. Fun fact jumping spiders are super smart with their 8 eyes, they do math to jump long distances.
Jumping spiders get their name because of their family the salticidae the name comes from the Latin word saltus, which means jump. Pretty cool, right? Most jumping spiders you will find will be bold jumpers, and you will find bold jumpers are bold (haha, see what I did there?).
Jumping spiders and cats are kind of alike because they both can swim but hate water, but cats eat jumping spiders, so do not make them friends. Fun fact: Jumping spiders will wave to attract a mate or to signal others to help hunt bigger prey.
If you find a jumping spider in your house, it is fine. They are just watching you sleep. Just kidding! They are just looking for food. The most common way jumping spiders die is heatstroke.
Jumping spiders' favorite colors are orange and red. A sad fact about jumping spiders is they can't feel emotions. Jumping spiders can see colors we can't, and that's cool.
Thank you for reading about jumping spiders.