how often to feed jumping spider

Adult jumping spiders generally do well being fed every 2–3 days, while fast-growing juveniles usually eat once a day or at least every other day.

Quick Scoop: Feeding Schedule

• Juveniles (slings/younger instars): offer small prey (e.g., fruit flies) once a day or every day.

• Subadults: every 2–3 days with slightly larger prey like houseflies or small crickets.

• Adults: offer food every 2–3 days; many keepers also do roughly twice a week.

• Older adults or gravid females: may refuse food for a week or more and still be fine, so focus on offering regularly rather than forcing them to eat.

A simple rule of thumb: offer food about every 2–3 days, and let your spider’s behavior (hunting enthusiasm, body condition) tell you if that’s too much or too little.

Mini-checklist

• Abdomen plump but not about to burst = good. Bloated and very round = cut back feeding a bit.

• Refusing food repeatedly while looking skinny or lethargic = time to reassess temps, humidity, and prey size/type.
• Always remove uneaten live prey after a day so it doesn’t harass your spider, especially around molting.

Tiny story for context

Think of a young jumper like a teenager with an endless appetite—they zip around the enclosure and will happily snatch fruit flies almost daily as they grow. An adult is more like a chill roommate who enjoys a big meal a couple of times a week and then lounges in its web hammock, ignoring extra snacks until it’s truly hungry again.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.