Habitat Setup Guide

A good habitat is the foundation of spood care. Get the enclosure right once, and feeding, misting, and molting all become easier — because everything else happens inside it.

Choosing the enclosure

The best spood enclosures balance two opposite needs: room to explore and prey can't hide forever.

• Slings: small acrylic or plastic enclosures (4–8 oz cups with ventilation, or small terrariums). Tiny spoods in big spaces lose their prey.
• Juveniles to adults: a horizontal or vertical terrarium around 4×4×6 inches or larger works well. Taller enclosures give climbing room; wider ones make prey easier to catch.
• Ventilation: cross-ventilation (side holes plus top) beats top-only, which can trap humidity. Ventilation should be small enough to keep flies in — many keepers add fine mesh over holes.

Safety first

• Escape-proof lids: jumpers are escape artists and surprisingly strong for their size.
• No drowning hazards: no deep water dishes; no wide gaps where a spood can wedge and get stuck.
• Distance from falls: a spood that climbs can fall — keep heavy decor low and provide soft landing spots (plants, substrate).
• Location: a room with stable temperature, out of direct sunlight (enclosures can heat fast), away from drafts, heaters, and chemical sprays. If you use bug sprays or foggers elsewhere in the house, enclose or relocate your spood first.

Substrate

A 1–2 inch layer of moisture-friendly bedding holds droplets and gives hammock anchors:

• Good choices: coco fiber, peat moss, sphagnum moss blends, or a mix with a bit of topsoil (fertilizer-free).
• Avoid: anything with fertilizers or pesticides; sand alone (dries too fast); anything dusty.

Furniture and enrichment

Jumping spiders are sight hunters that love perches and anchors:

• Plants (live or artificial): cover and climbing; live pothos or air plants do well.
• Silk anchors: bits of cork bark, bamboo, or twigs placed near a corner — hammocks get built where the anchor and the wall meet.
• A favorite corner: most spoods pick a top-corner spot for their main hammock; put the best anchor where you'd like the hammock to be.
• Decor for hunting: varied surfaces at varied heights let your spood stalk naturally.

Keep it simple: you can always add more later, and your spood's behavior will tell you what they like.

Light and temperature

Room temperature is fine for common species (roughly 68–80°F / 20–27°C). No special heating is needed — and heat lamps dry enclosures dangerously fast. Natural room light sets their day/night rhythm; never place the enclosure in direct sun.

The first week

After your spood moves in, give them space: mist, offer food on schedule, and let them settle before any handling. Many spoods spend the first days building a hammock and learning their territory — that's normal and a good sign.

Logging the habitat

In Polly's Web, note the enclosure details on each spood's profile, and log cleanings so the habitat's rhythm stays visible. A well-set-up enclosure needs surprisingly little fussing — that's how you know you did it right.