How to Keep Spiders as Pets
Spiders can make fascinating pets. Here are a few steps to get you started keeping spiders.
Step 1: Catch a spider
Spiders are all around us, indoors and out, so they’re not hard to find. Some species can bite and a few are venomous. Learn about dangerous spiders in your area before heading out. It’s easy to safely catch a spider by using a small jar. Gently coax it into the jar using the lid. Spiders will eat each other, so keep only one per jar.
Step 2: Prepare a cage
Large spiders do well in the inexpensive plastic terrariums available from pet stores. Smaller ones can be kept in jars or plastic containers if air holes are drilled into the lid or sides. Be sure the holes are small enough to prevent escape.
Potting soil makes good cover for the cage bottom. Sticks, dead leaves or artificial plants provide structure for hiding, climbing and webbing.
Step 3: Water
Depending on the size of the spider, anything from a plastic bottle cap to a small bowl can serve as a water dish. Spiders also drink water sprayed on webbing, but you should never allow the cage to become damp.
Step 4: Feeding
Offer insect prey once or twice a week. Crickets are available from pet shops, or you can collect insects outdoors if no insecticides have been sprayed in the area.
Step 5: Observing
Watch your spider and take notes on its behavior. You won’t believe what happens in the spider’s web until you’ve visited it yourself!
PREFERRED PETS
Not all spiders do well in captivity. Active hunters are usually easier to keep than web builders. Here are a few that make good pets.
Tarantulas: Some species exceed 10 inches in legspan. They’re by far the most popular pet spiders and can be bought in pet stores.
Wolf Spiders: Some can be more than three inches in legspan. Large specimens do best in terrariums with lots of floor space.
Jumping Spiders: Although small and rarely exceeding half an inch, their jumping ability is amazing. Many species are brightly colored and can easily be kept in jars.
Fishing Spiders: In captivity, these large spiders appreciate vertically arranged pieces of bark for climbing. They’re very fast, so use caution when capturing them.
Grass Spiders: These spiders build funnel-shaped webs in grass, bushes and on buildings. In captivity, they will build extensive webs inside their cage.
LEARN MORE: Click here to see photos of a spider expert’s seven favorite spiders
My jumping spider eggs jus hatched wat will they eat
My jumping spider eggs jus hatched wat will they eat
My little sis found a male black widow and we can’t feed it. We have tried: crickets, beetles, and flys (basically the smallest bugs we can find) Do you know what we can feed it?
My little sis found a male black widow and we can’t feed it. We have tried: crickets, beetles, and flys (basically the smallest bugs we can find) Do you know what we can feed it?
Tree spiders (spiders that climb) can live in a tall jar with sticks. Ground spiders can live in a critter keeper with dirt. They would both like mealworms. For water a bottle cap will do. You can add bark, twigs,or any other places to hide or decorations
I have a spider that looks like a jumping spider but it doesn’t jump. Even if it’s not a jumping spider, I still don’t know what to feed it. It’s in the middle of winter and I don’t know where to find small bug. And ants are too big, so I’m worried the ant will eat it! 😓 What do I do? Is there some kind of spider food at a store?
Same i dont know what to do!! I have a hatchweaver and its really small.. i found some dead bugs but i dont know if itll eat dead insects..
If you don’t know what to feed your spiders go to the pet store and bring it and ask hope this helps🐜😁😶
You can order fruit flies on amazon!
Spiders are gross scary,well turantchullas and black widows and cave dwelling spiders.
my jumping spider lives in a fishbowl nd just moulted.. he/she eats daily.. its pedipalps are not swollen so I think its a female
spiders are good but s
Jumping spiders probably shouldn’t be kept in jars- unless you’re going to be taking them out and playing with them every day. If you prefer to keep your jumper as a display spider I recommend getting a larger plastic cage for it to run around in. If jumping spiders don’t get enough exercise, they can die!
I’ve kept spiders… But praying mantises are more fun!
that might be the best ideas tried but my camel spiders name is killer Bryan David, he bite me and he was really fast. 🙂
All i can say is yuck. My skin crawled just from reading it. I just hoped that if i learned more about them maybe they wouldn’t creep me out as much. Nope still horrified and just have to put up with being mortified by my hebejeebees.
So I have a wolf spider in a jar it’s not a huge jar but it’s a good size jar do I need bigger
Yes
Pet stores have crickets of all sizes. The spider should eat prey no larger than 3/4 the size of its abdomen. If it’s a very small spider, you can try pinhead crickets or small crickets.
if you don’t know what to feed small spiders try mealworms they are cheap at pet stores just keep them in the fridge so they don’t become beetles!!!😲
my spider is a good pet cause every week i give him or her five or six flies and its easy to get a fly or flies it can even make weds and its living a good live i can wait for it to grow
I found abandoned baby jumping spiders and I kept it in a container . Its a new hatched baby spider , should I feed it or something.
yes.
spiders are funny and thrilling l almost lost mine when our aunty just threw my container in the bin awwwwww anwae got it before it had been collected
Im getting over my fear of spiders and im thinking of getting one. Probably just a daddy long legs from my work what do I feed it ?
1. Daddy long legs are NOT spiders!
2.they can eat decomposing bugs and flys ect.
3. Don’t feed it anything that bites such as ants, bees,and wasps. Also nothing that has a shell.
Ive been watching these daddy long legs in my bathroom for a month now they stay out of the way and have taken care of our ant problem
I am doing a great job with catching spiders but my dog wants to eat it aww
Thanks for the tips i think my spider is ace
One question…do you guys ever consider the fact that you could be accidentally be bitten. I’m fascinated by them but the fact that it bites is my set back…how in the world do you get over that.
i guess the same goes for people who own cats and dogs, they bite too, but if you arent bothering them, then they are calm and relaxed 🙂
Spiders are like dogs. You only get bit if you hurt them or agitate the spider😄
Just caught a wolf spider and i have it living in a plastic container it has being acting strange waiting and when i open the lib goes crazy and when i try to add tgings to its plastic cage it stays away from what ever i put in the cage what should i do
ok so my dog attacked a little house spider it lost 1 leg fell in water went into what i can only call a coma woke up made it a nest put it in very lively then suddly just went into a ball its legs are still moving. what should i do i consider letting it go but it wont come out the nest i dont want to pick it up as it may get more fragile
That’s too bad…don’t release him/her they are dying. The best you can do is just keep them in a small cage, don’t feed them. If they live for more than a day or two feed them fruit flys. Good luck 🙁
Did you know spiders eat any insex insep for Other daddy long legs
seen a 4-inch wolf spider and a 2-inch black widdow, i ain’t keeping any spiders.
If you hate spiders that’s your loss😮
I’ve got red back spider with her 3 eggs balls and one of them hatch how can I feed the babies?
dude when it comes to baby spiders you just got to let them go.
Yeah usually they eat their mothers hahaha nature works this way baby. But sometimes they just go adventure for themselves anyway…
any spider likes to eat insects like little flies they like dark places and to be left alone most of the time if you are keeping your spider inside you should make the home look like outside to make it feel safe. they drink water or blood from other insects. if you keep your spider in a tin or pastic box make sure there are holes but not to big because they might escape !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DUD THAT IS AN HOURGLASS SPIDER THE ARE VENOMES NO JOKE JUST LET IT GO
I wouldn’t mind keeping a spider if I haven’t already seen a 4-inch wolf spider.
Why would you want to catch a spider? These spiders come from the wild. How would you like it if someone removed you from your home and trapped you in a jar? If you want a spider that badly, buy one. That way, you know you won’t be causing the spider any stress.