One in all Heather Mulligan’s leaping spiders crawls on her hand in Shock, Arizona, on Sept 15, 2025.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
For Emily Hess, it was a Phidippus regius named Gretel. Hayden Shea’s first was caught by her boyfriend’s dad. Sunday Costell ordered her first one off eBay.
These spiders have been the gateway bugs into the booming neighborhood of leaping spider pet homeowners. And due to social media videos of their head-tilting, leg waggling antics, these web-slingers are in excessive demand.
“I went from promoting three to 4 per week to hundreds per week,” stated Costell, proprietor of Sundays Spiders exterior Portland, Ore, who now has tens of hundreds of “internet puppies” in her store.
These could-be pests have made the leap to massively well-liked pets, notably with girls, sellers say, noting some girls get as they attempt to overcome their concern of spiders, whereas others are merely enchanted by their surprising cuteness. In consequence, breeders are being flooded with requests on-line as movies rack up hundreds of thousands of views.
Heather Mulligan’s leaping spiders in Shock, Arizona, on Sept. 15, 2025.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
“There’s loads of demand. I do not even publish mine anymore. I simply wait. I simply go based mostly on the DMs on my Instagram,” stated Shea, a breeder in St. Cloud, Fla.
There are literally thousands of various kinds of leaping spiders on this planet, with 300 within the U.S. alone, according to the Bohart Museum of Entomology. They will soar as much as a top of 40 occasions their physique measurement, which is normally smaller than a penny.
Phidippus regius, generally referred to as the regal leaping spider, is the biggest sort present in North America. They dwell in timber, which implies they normally hang around on the high of their enclosures. And for those who lose one in the home, you must lookup.
The spiders are available in a wide range of colours, peachy oranges, inky blacks and white (which has been in excessive demand currently as a result of they’re rarer). They usually shed their exoskeletons.
“They may change drastically over their molts,” stated breeder Shea. “It is actually attention-grabbing. Like I’ve had some which can be white and so they go fully darkish.”
Heather Mulligan holds one in every of her leaping spiders in Shock, Arizona, on Sept. 15, 2025.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
From concern to favor
Paradoxically, many leaping spider homeowners have been fearful of spiders to start with. That was the case for Hess, who has constructed a following of 1.6 million on TikTok exhibiting off her brood of “spoods” (because the web has affectionately nicknamed the spiders).
“I dwell in Iowa. There’s spiders all over the place. And I used to be afraid of them my complete life,” stated Hess. “And it was making issues actually inconvenient, as a result of I could not go right into a room if I knew there was a spider in there.”
Hess, 40, began spider pics to tame her concern. Then she realized that folks saved them as pets.
“I acquired my first leaping spider and simply fell in love together with her and actually bonded and it simply type of modified how I felt about them generally. And it labored. I am not afraid of spiders anymore,” she stated.
Heather Mulligan holds one in every of her leaping spiders in Shock, Arizona, on Sept. 15, 2025.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
Arizona breeder Heather Mulligan had her first leaping spiders for 2 weeks earlier than she constructed up the braveness to deal with them.
“I advised my husband I used to be going to get a leaping spider. He stated, ‘You are not. You are petrified of spiders!'” stated Mulligan, proprietor of Leaping Jewels AZ in Shock, Ariz. “I used to be like, ‘Yeah, however these ones are so cute.’ So he went out of city for work and I acquired two.”
Now, Mulligan has a thousand of them that she breeds on the market – from pinprick-sized infants to massive mamma spiders spinning egg sacks.
And he or she has rather a lot in frequent together with her clients.
“Like 95% of my clients are feminine and they don’t have the help of their accomplice,” she laughed.
Hess, who posts underneath the deal with @mini_robomuppets, owns a few dozen leaping spiders, and every has a definite persona.
“There are some which can be tremendous outgoing and a few which can be actually excessive vitality, some which can be simply actually relaxed,” she stated.
As soon as folks overcome the concern, “they fall in love with their little personalities,” stated Costell, the Pacific Northwest breeder.
And that change in perspective can result in completely different attitudes towards creepy crawlies, the breeders stated.
“Time and time once more I get feedback on social media from those who have been arachnophobes and that killed each bug that they got here throughout,” stated Andrea Traid, proprietor of Little Spoods. “After studying about leaping spiders (even when not inclined to conserving them), it made them have a unique perspective about spiders and bugs and as an alternative of smooshing them, now they seize a cup and put them exterior.”
One in all Heather Mulligan’s leaping spiders crawls on her hand.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
The superb spider
Leaping spiders are smarter than you assume.
They do not construct seize webs, however pounce on their prey, stated the College of Cincinnati’s Nathan Morehouse, whose lab research leaping spiders. To hunt, they need to work together with their environment.
“These animals are working with a mind in regards to the measurement of a poppy seed. So it is tiny. And the complexity of their conduct is stunning given how small their brains are,” he stated.
They will have stellar eyesight, could make plans and actually have a sense of the distinction between one, two and three issues.
“They actually do act like little cats in a sure method as they stalk issues and play with issues and transfer round,” stated Morehouse.
Heather Mulligan’s leaping spiders in enclosures she embellished in Shock, Arizona, U.S. September 15, 2025.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
However how does it work?
They’re well-liked, however removed from a typical family pet. Listed here are solutions to some questions you might need about proudly owning a leaping spider.
Are they laborious to care for? “They seem to be a step up from a pet rock,” stated Mulligan. They require tiny enclosures – smaller than a shoe field – water and meals (extra on that under).
How a lot do they value? A single spider can vary from $30 as much as round $100. There are lots of breeders on-line who can ship them. And PetSmart lately listed them for sale on its web site, though the corporate didn’t reply to requests for remark.
What do they eat? This might be the dealbreaker for many individuals. Spiders want dwell prey like tiny mealworms, cockroaches and fruit flies. Emphasis on the phrase dwell. Due to the best way they devour the bugs, they can not be dried out. “They make their prey smoothie, mainly, after which drink the within. So you’ll be able to’t feed them something like dried worms,” stated Mulligan.
Will they get misplaced? Breeders say they’re about as prone to get misplaced as a hamster, perhaps even much less so. In the event you’re dealing with them, they lay down anchor webs to your fingers, so even when they leap away, they’re nonetheless tethered.
Do they chew? Sure, however not until provoked. The spiders are likely to chew individuals who stick their fingers inside their enclosure, spooking the “spoods,” in keeping with breeders. “I’ve dealt with lots of and lots of of them at this level. I’ve by no means been bitten as soon as,” stated Traid. And if you’re bitten, it feels about the identical as a bee sting.
How lengthy do they dwell? About one to 2 years, though some breeders say they’ve spiders which have made it to their third birthday.
Can I pet them? In all probability finest to not, you may squish them. However for those who’re fortunate, you can get a boop.
One in all Heather Mulligan’s leaping spiders performs in a mansion enclosure she embellished. Every of the spiders additionally has their very own small enclosure, which they like to remain in to relaxation and eat.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
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Caitlin O’Hara for NPR
