Water is easy to get wrong with jumping spiders. They need access to moisture, but not a wet enclosure. The distinction matters more than most beginners realise.
💧 What They Actually Need
Jumping spiders don’t drink from open water dishes in the wild — they lap droplets off surfaces. In captivity, the mechanism is the same: provide moisture as droplets on enclosure walls, not in a dish. A small, shallow water dish is occasionally used as a supplemental option by some keepers, but it introduces drowning risk and isn’t necessary.
🌧️ How to Mist Correctly
Mist one interior wall lightly, leaving the opposite wall and substrate dry. This creates a humidity gradient: your spider can position itself in a wetter or drier zone depending on its needs. Misting the entire enclosure creates uniform high humidity that can lead to respiratory issues and mould.
Over time, tap water leaves white mineral deposits on enclosure walls. This is cosmetically unappealing but more importantly, the minerals can affect your spider. Always use distilled or RO-filtered water.
🔍 Signs of Dehydration
A dehydrated spider will have a shrunken, wrinkled abdomen that looks deflated rather than round and full. Other signs include lethargy outside of pre-molt and dulled colouration. Address dehydration immediately by misting and checking your humidity levels.
Get into the habit of glancing at your spider’s abdomen at every feeding. A healthy abdomen is round, taut, and full-looking. Any visible shrivelling or asymmetry is worth investigating immediately.