How Often Should You Feed a Jumping Spider? Why the Answer Isn’t a Fixed Schedule

One of the most common questions from new jumping spider keepers is:

How often should I feed my spider?

The best answer is not a rigid calendar.

Jumping spiders vary by age, size, sex, recent meal size, activity level, reproductive state, temperature, and molt stage. A schedule can be useful as a reminder to check the spider, but it should not override what the spider’s body condition and behavior are telling you.

A better rule is:

Check the spider, not just the calendar.

 

Use Abdomen Condition as Your Main Guide

One of the most practical husbandry tools is the appearance of the abdomen.

A jumping spider’s abdomen changes noticeably depending on feeding and hydration.

A simple way to think about it is:

Needs Food — Very Shrunken

The abdomen looks narrow, thin, or wrinkled.

This is a good time to offer food, but also check hydration and overall condition.

If the spider continues refusing prey while looking increasingly thin, look more closely at husbandry, molt status, age, and general health.

Ready to Feed — Slightly Slim

The abdomen is smaller than its well-fed size but still has a healthy shape.

This is often a good time to offer an appropriately sized feeder.

For growing slings and juveniles, this stage may come around relatively quickly.

Well Fed — Plump and Rounded

The abdomen looks comfortably rounded and full.

There is usually no reason to feed again immediately just because a certain number of days has passed.

Continue normal care and observation.

Very Full — Wait

The abdomen looks unusually large, tight, or stretched.

Do not continue feeding simply because the spider will still attack prey.

Wait for the abdomen to come down before offering another meal.

A very full spider may also be more vulnerable to injury from falls, so minimizing unnecessary disturbance is sensible.

The Chart Is a Guide, Not a Diagnosis

The abdomen-condition chart is useful, but it should not be treated as an exact scientific measurement.

There is no validated universal rule saying an abdomen must be a specific percentage of the carapace before feeding.

Other factors can change how a spider looks.

For example:

• A dehydrated spider may appear thinner
• A gravid female may have a very large abdomen
• A spider approaching molt can change shape and behavior
• Mature males often remain slimmer than adult females
• Different species naturally have different proportions

Use abdomen size together with behavior, life stage, molt status, and recent feeding history.

Practical Feeding Starting Points

There is no perfect number of days that applies to every jumping spider, but these ranges can be useful starting points.

These are starting points, not strict rules.

If the spider is already well fed, wait.

If the abdomen is getting slim sooner, offer food sooner.

Why Slings Usually Eat More Frequently

Young spiders are actively growing and molting.

They also eat much smaller prey.

A tiny sling eating one small fruit fly is not consuming the same amount of food as an adult taking a house fly or Blue Bottle Fly.

That means slings often need feeding opportunities more frequently.

Common sling feeders include:

• Drosophila melanogaster
• Small Drosophila hydei
• Other appropriately tiny prey

As the spider grows, meal size increases and feeding frequency usually becomes less frequent.

Juveniles

Juveniles are still growing rapidly, but they can handle larger meals.

Depending on size, suitable prey may include:

• D. hydei
• House flies
• Small mealworms
• Other appropriately sized feeders

A juvenile that consumes a substantial feeder may not need another meal as quickly as one that ate a few tiny fruit flies.

Subadults

Subadults often begin transitioning toward a more adult feeding pattern.

At this stage, pay particular attention to premolt behavior.

A spider that was eating reliably may suddenly refuse prey as it prepares for a molt.

Do not try to “make up” missed meals during premolt.

Remove uneaten live prey and allow the spider to molt undisturbed.

Adult Females

Adult females often take larger meals and therefore may not need to eat as frequently as growing juveniles.

Their feeding needs can also change with reproductive state.

A gravid or egg-guarding female may behave differently from a non-gravid female.

Use body condition rather than forcing a fixed adult schedule.

Mature Males

Mature males can be especially unpredictable.

After maturity, males may devote much more time to:

• Roaming
• Mate searching
• Courtship behavior

Some mature males eat less regularly than they did as juveniles.

That does not mean food should stop being offered entirely.

Continue monitoring abdominal condition and offer appropriately sized prey when needed.

Meal Size Matters

Feeding frequency cannot be separated from feeder size.

One Blue Bottle Fly is not equivalent to one fruit fly.

Likewise, one large mealworm may provide far more food than several small flies.

After a substantial meal, the spider may remain well fed for considerably longer.

That is another reason a calendar alone is misleading.

Feeder Type Matters Too

Jumping spiders are highly visual predators.

Some individuals strongly prefer certain prey types.

A spider might ignore:

• A mealworm

and immediately pursue:

• A fruit fly
• House fly
• Blue Bottle Fly

If the abdomen indicates that the spider is ready to eat but it refuses one prey type, try a different appropriately sized feeder rather than immediately assuming something is wrong.

Hunger Usually Increases Hunting Motivation

Research on jumping spiders shows that nutritional state affects foraging behavior.

Hungry spiders generally become more motivated to search for and pursue prey.

This means prolonged refusal of multiple suitable prey types combined with declining body condition deserves more attention than a single refused meal.

A well-fed spider refusing prey is very different from a progressively thinning spider that continues refusing everything offered.

Molting Overrides the Feeding Schedule

Do not feed according to a calendar when the spider appears to be preparing to molt.

Possible premolt signs include:

• Spending more time in the hammock
• Thickening or sealing the retreat
• Reduced activity
• Refusing previously accepted prey

Remove potentially troublesome live feeders during this period.

A molting spider and a freshly molted spider are vulnerable.

Do Not Overfeed Just Because the Spider Will Hunt

Some jumping spiders will continue attacking prey even when their abdomen is already very full.

That does not mean another meal is necessary.

Predatory behavior and nutritional need are not always the same thing.

If the abdomen is already large and tight, wait.

Hydration Matters

A thin-looking spider may not always simply be hungry.

Dehydration can affect appearance and behavior.

Make sure the spider has access to appropriate water droplets according to its husbandry needs.

If a spider looks unusually shrunken, evaluate both food and hydration.

Watch the Whole Spider

Abdomen size is useful because it gives you a quick visual reference.

But always combine it with:

• Behavior
• Activity
• Recent meals
• Molt stage
• Age
• Sex
• Environmental conditions
• Hydration
• Overall physical condition

No single visual cue tells the entire story.

A Simple Feeding Decision Guide

Abdomen is very thin

Offer an appropriately sized feeder.

Check hydration as well.

Abdomen is slightly slim

This is usually a reasonable time to feed.

Abdomen is comfortably rounded

Wait and continue observing.

Abdomen is very large or tight

Do not feed yet.

Spider refuses food but is in a thick hammock

Possible premolt. Remove uneaten prey and leave the spider undisturbed.

Spider is slim but ignores one feeder type

Try a different appropriately sized prey item.

Spider keeps losing condition and refuses multiple feeders

Review husbandry and investigate further rather than continuing to offer larger quantities of food.

The Bottom Line

There is no universal jumping spider feeding calendar.

A better approach is:

Use feeding intervals as reminders to check the spider, and use abdomen condition to decide whether it actually needs food.

For most keepers, the practical pattern is:

Thin → offer food

Slightly slim → good time to feed

Rounded → wait

Very full → definitely wait

Then adjust for age, prey size, molt stage, sex, and behavior.

The goal is not to make your jumping spider eat on schedule.

The goal is to keep it in healthy condition without routinely underfeeding or overfeeding.