Spiders A new family member, Lucas The Jumping Spider.

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

I wanted to do this for a while now and on Sunday I went to the Southwestern Invertebrate Show in Taunton and came home with my neelw baby jumping spider (and a panic attack from being to crowded and a cold that kept me at home my first week of my holiday).

So here is Lucas The Spider (named him after the YouTube animated video with the same title):

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He is a male Caribbean Jumping Spiders. He is black and white with a bit of orange segments on his legs and green fangs.

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He is very small, about the size of a pencil's rubber end.

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Took him about 4 days to get comfortable and start exploring his new home. It's a medium size tall enclosure with the opening at the front.

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It wasn't until Friday that he was brave enough to catch his first meal, a small size cricket, I was getting a bit worried that he was ignoring it for about 3 days.

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I walked around with it for about half an hour before he finally decided to take it to a safe and comfy spot to eat ...

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He climbed on top of the decoration and got into one of the little holes.

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At this point I let him do his thing in peace, still have a lot of work to do to built a trust with him.

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At the moment is is very curious and exploring his little home. It was a bit of an effort to get it set up for him because my living room is usually way to cold for jumping spiders as they prefer 28 C. I had to drill a hole in the back of the enclosure (easy, acrilic material) to fit the sensor for the thermostat for the heat lamp which sits above his enclosure. He is a lot happier and moving about now that it's warm.

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This is Lucas, he is NOT a snack, please don't eat Lucas
It's going to take quite a lot of effort to convince Little Legs not to eat her tiny little new brother.

I will edit in the post the pictures of his enclosure tonight when I get back home. I forgot to make the pictures after I changed the furniture around a bit for him.

 

[scottR]

Great images Ovi..Sorry i cant share your enthusiasm for your new buddy!
My biggest fear/aversion is Spiders! They move too Goddamm fast for my likey!!

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

Great images Ovi..Sorry i cant share your enthusiasm for your new buddy!
My biggest fear/aversion is Spiders! They move too Goddamm fast for my likey!!

Thank you, and it's okay. You are not the only one, I have yet to share this with anyone who has the same level of enthusiasm as I do. So I've been mostly keeping to myself for the last 7 days.
I don't like all spiders but I do love this adorable little buggers. The only spider that will ever give you a High Five:

 

[Panolyman]

Thank you, and it's okay. You are not the only one, I have yet to share this with anyone who has the same level of enthusiasm as I do. So I've been mostly keeping to myself for the last 7 days.
I don't like all spiders but I do love this adorable little buggers. The only spider that will ever give you a High Five:

He looks a real cutie and we've had a couple of tiny jumping spiders in the bathroom that both me and my wife have taken too.
However, like Scott, I really have an aversion to spiders and I've just come in from our log store where I've had to battle with some real monsters.
One was a whopper, with an awful black shiny body.
I'm afraid to say he lost the battle against my broomstick.

 

[Charzes44]

He looks a real cutie and we've had a couple of tiny jumping spiders in the bathroom that both me and my wife have taken too.
However, like Scott, I really have an aversion to spiders and I've just come in from our log store where I've had to battle with some real monsters.
One was a whopper, with an awful black shiny body.
I'm afraid to say he lost the battle against my broomstick.

Shiny body? Be careful, false widows have a shiny body, and they bite.

 

[Panolyman]

Shiny body? Be careful, false widows have a shiny body, and they bite.

I once got bitten by a spider, which could well have been one of those.
I was working in a BT manhole which usually had a few residents.
I felt something crawling up inside my trouser leg and then the blighter bit me.
Nasty devils aren't they.

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

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The little setup for the little buddy, on top of the radiator I clamped the heating lamp and on th left side an ordinary desk lamp.

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I made th floor out of local grown (roof) moss, I got a plant that is happy with moss and used a 3D printed suport with a magnet hold the plant in the top corner and used blue tac to fix in position a (can't remember what it's called) decoration with holes in it. On right side you can see the hole and the thermostat sensor.

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Lucas made himself a hammock bed between the decoration, the support and the plant, that's one hell of a way of using all 3 items the wrong way at th same time? 😛

 

[Panolyman]

View attachment 452798
The little setup for the little buddy, on top of the radiator I clamped the heating lamp and on th left side an ordinary desk lamp.

View attachment 452801
I made th floor out of local grown (roof) moss, I got a plant that is happy with moss and used a 3D printed suport with a magnet hold the plant in the top corner and used blue tac to fix in position a (can't remember what it's called) decoration with holes in it. On right side you can see the hole and the thermostat sensor.

View attachment 452813
Lucas made himself a hammock bed between the decoration, the support and the plant, that's one hell of a way of using all 3 items the wrong way at th same time? 😛

Will he be getting a partner?

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

Will he be getting a partner?

No, I don't want to start a nursery... I can barely handle one fluffy barking baby. Can't imagine hundreds of them 😛
And spiders are not the most social creatures, it's going to be just Lucas, jumping spiders live around a year so every year it's going to be enumeration, Lucas the 2nd, the 3dd, etc 😛

I plan, at some point in th future, to build a large-ish sealed terrarium with moss landscape and a miniature decorations, possibly miniature bonsai trees, for Lucas to explore and be my macro portrait studio.

 

[Dinah]

Thank you, and it's okay. You are not the only one, I have yet to share this with anyone who has the same level of enthusiasm as I do. So I've been mostly keeping to myself for the last 7 days.
I don't like all spiders but I do love this adorable little buggers. The only spider that will ever give you a High Five:

Oh my, he is adorable! I would have to have a magnifying glass to see the little bugger (eyesight at 76).

 

[Charzes44]

What does he find to eat in there Ovi?

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

Sorry I haven't updated this thread, I lost Lucas because I didn't close the entrance properly and he got out through a slit. I have not seen him since but I doubt he survived because it was too cold for him.

What does he find to eat in there Ovi?

I would put in his cage a small size cricket and he would hunt it and catch it in less than half an hour, he was quite efficient at it. (He could also eat mealworms and fruit flies)

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

I have good news. A few minutes ago I found Lucas running around on the window next to my desk and I put him back in his cage. I am so happy his back, safe and alive. He grew quite a bit but he looks hungry, I need to get him some food.
I feel so relieved and excited now.

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

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His first catch since coming back, a medium size cricket. Took him more then 12 hours to be comfortable enough to go for it.

 

[Harley1905]

I wanted to do this for a while now and on Sunday I went to the Southwestern Invertebrate Show in Taunton and came home with my neelw baby jumping spider (and a panic attack from being to crowded and a cold that kept me at home my first week of my holiday).

So here is Lucas The Spider (named him after the YouTube animated video with the same title):
View attachment 452454
He is a male Caribbean Jumping Spiders. He is black and white with a bit of orange segments on his legs and green fangs.

View attachment 452455
He is very small, about the size of a pencil's rubber end.

View attachment 452456
Took him about 4 days to get comfortable and start exploring his new home. It's a medium size tall enclosure with the opening at the front.

View attachment 452458
It wasn't until Friday that he was brave enough to catch his first meal, a small size cricket, I was getting a bit worried that he was ignoring it for about 3 days.

View attachment 452459
I walked around with it for about half an hour before he finally decided to take it to a safe and comfy spot to eat ...

View attachment 452460
He climbed on top of the decoration and got into one of the little holes.

View attachment 452461
At this point I let him do his thing in peace, still have a lot of work to do to built a trust with him.

View attachment 452463
At the moment is is very curious and exploring his little home. It was a bit of an effort to get it set up for him because my living room is usually way to cold for jumping spiders as they prefer 28 C. I had to drill a hole in the back of the enclosure (easy, acrilic material) to fit the sensor for the thermostat for the heat lamp which sits above his enclosure. He is a lot happier and moving about now that it's warm.

View attachment 452464
This is Lucas, he is NOT a snack, please don't eat Lucas
It's going to take quite a lot of effort to convince Little Legs not to eat her tiny little new brother.

I will edit in the post the pictures of his enclosure tonight when I get back home. I forgot to make the pictures after I changed the furniture around a bit for him.

Never in a million years would of thought you’d get those close ups with anything less than a 105 mc, as someone afraid of spiders (jumpers are the least intimidating) great work

 

[John King]

Never in a million years would of thought you’d get those close ups with anything less than a 105 mc, as someone afraid of spiders (jumpers are the least intimidating) great work

Remember that the f/2.8 60 macro is a true EFL 2:1 macro lens with an EFL of 120mm. It's a true 1:1 macro in micro FTs terms, making it 2:1 in 135 format terms.

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

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Lucas giving a big smile for the camera.

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The medium size noiseless crickets he likes to eat.

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

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Update on Lucas The First, he seems to be happy and content to be back in his little house. He is starting to get quite chubby as he has one cricket every 3-4 days. He likes to make a hammock in the cubby holes of the decoration and sleep at night in them.

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It looks like I have my first spider very similar to myself, he's very introverted invertebrate as he doesn't like to interact and socialise with me as I had hoped (but it's fine, everyone is different). If he's happy with his life I will be happy with and for him. I will have to get a bigger house for him because I think it's getting a bit crowded in there for him.

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

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Little Lucas is no longer little and has grown a bit (but still smaller then most common spiders). He has molted for the 3rd time since I got him and he has been very reclusive for 2 weeks and I was getting worried for him because I wouldn't see him come out at all.
A few days ago he finally came out and caught a cricket he had in his home for over a week.

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Bless his tiny little heart. He tried to drag the cricket all the way up to his little neat but he couldn't get it up there and eventually gave up and eat it down on the ground level. A friend of mine is going to give me a larger container for him next week and I hope more space will give me more exploration opportunities and more space to jump around.