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No federal permit to keep

Regal jumping spider

Phidippus regius

Also known as Regal Jumper

Invertebrates › Spiders (Araneae) › Salticidae (Jumping spiders)

Phidippus regius, commonly known as the regal jumper, is a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) found in parts of the United States and the Caribbean.

Pet trade

Experience: Easy

FamilyJumping spiders

Kept byPet trade

HabitatUsually vegetation and vertical surfaces

Care at a glance

Species-specific values

Values researched for this exact species. Where they differ from the group guide below, follow these. Air, surface and water temperatures are listed separately, and each source is kept as published rather than averaged.

Air temperature	68–76 degF Keeper care recommendation; enclosure air, not basking surface.	377
Relative humidity	65–75 % RH Keeper target; retain ventilation and drinking access.	377
Lifespan	1–3 years Reported captive range, with sex-related variation; not guaranteed.	377

Care guide

Group care guide

Spiders

Applies to most species in this group. Habitat: Varies. Individual species can differ, so compare with the species numbers above and the linked sources.

Housing & setup

Use a secure, ventilated enclosure appropriate to the spider's lifestyle. Tarantula floor-space advice does not describe jumping-spider or orb-web housing; drinking arrangements must also be species-specific.

Sources 57 158 340 338

Diet

Live insects sized to the spider.

Sources 57 158 340 338

Health watch

Falls can rupture a spider's abdomen; keep enclosures short for heavy-bodied species.

Sources 57 158 340 338

Understanding the animal

About this animal

It is the largest species of jumping spider in eastern North America.

Quoted from the Wikipedia article “Phidippus regius” (CC BY-SA 4.0) 174

In the wild

Researched for this exact species, not its family. Good care copies these conditions.¹²

Where it lives	Open fields and woodland in the southeastern United States, Bahamas and Greater Antilles, especially Florida. Juveniles use herbs; adults favor palms, palmettos, shrubs and walls.
Ground it lives on	Usually vegetation and vertical surfaces; adults favor broad flat palm surfaces.
Climate	Includes semiarid palm/palmetto habitat; measured species-specific wild temperature and humidity ranges were not established.
Active	Diurnal; rests in silk nests at night.
Social life	Hunts independently; males sometimes share female retreats before mating. Territoriality was not established.
Wild diet	Small juveniles eat many flies; older spiders take grasshoppers, true bugs, moths, caterpillars and beetles.
Behavior to plan for	Visually stalks and leaps onto prey with a silk safety line. Builds silk retreats for rest, molts and eggs.

What this means for care

Provide broad leaves and elevated surfaces.
Preserve silk retreats, especially during molts.
Use daylight for hunting and prey sizes suited to age.

Native climate (measured)

Warm-season highs	about 91°F (up to 92°F in the hottest sampled areas)
Cool-season lows	about 48°F (down to 40°F in the coldest sampled areas)
Average temperature	67–74°F across sampled records
Relative humidity	72–73% on average (driest month about 68%)
Rainfall	about 1281 mm a year

Measured at 117 wild occurrence records sampled against WorldClim 2.1 climate data (1970–2000 averages). Air conditions in the range are ecological context, not enclosure settings: microhabitats such as burrows, leaf litter or basking rocks can be cooler, warmer or more humid.

Profile

Researched for this exact species. Sources are listed under In the wild above.

Remarkable facts

The regal jumper occurs in parts of the United States and the Caribbean.
It is described as the largest species of jumping spider in eastern North America.
Adult males average about 12 mm long and range from 6 to 18 mm; adult females average about 15 mm and range from 7 to 22 mm.
Large males have disproportionately enlarged first legs with alternating black-and-white fringe.
Male chelicerae are large and iridescent green-blue-violet, while female chelicerae may be iridescent green or red-violet.

From the sources

Quoted from the matching sections of reputable sources for this exact species. Specialist databases are used first; Wikipedia (community-edited, CC BY-SA 4.0) only fills gaps. Other sources are short credited quotes.

Overview	Phidippus regius, commonly known as the regal jumper, is a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) found in parts of the United States and the Caribbean. It is the largest species of jumping spider in eastern North America. — Wikipedia (community-edited)
Where it lives	P. regius is most commonly found in relatively open areas, such as fields and light woodland, with adults often hunting on trees or building walls. They build silken nests at night in which to sleep, often inside palm fronds or similar shelters. Females lay their eggs under tree bark or within wooden structures such as barns. — Wikipedia (community-edited)
Appearance and size	Adult male P. regius measure 12 mm long on average, but can range between 6 and 18 mm long. The first pair of legs, which are disproportionately larger in large males, have an alternating black and white fringe. The opisthosoma is black with several white markings on the dorsum: a basal band, a central triangular spot, and two posterior oval spots. — Wikipedia (community-edited)
History and naming	Although exotic pet owners have kept P. regius since the 1970s, it wasn't until the 2017 and into the 2020s that they began being kept by the general public. — Wikipedia (community-edited)

Federal legal snapshot

No federal permit to keep

No federal law singles out this species for private keepers. State and local rules still apply.

State law decides most of it. Each state sets its own permits and bans for exotic, native, venomous and dangerous animals, and cities and counties can be stricter. Find your state agency →

Not covered by the Animal Welfare Act

The Act only covers warm-blooded animals. Reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates have no federal care standards, even at licensed facilities; state and local rules may still apply.

Kept in captivity?

Every species on this site needs evidence that people actually keep it. For this one:

Included in our hand-checked list of animals kept as pets, livestock or in zoos
Reviewed by Clint's Reptiles
246 iNaturalist observations of captive animals

Clint's Reptiles review

Clint Laidlaw reviews this animal in his "The Best Pet?" series: Lucas The Spider - Jumping Spider, The Best Pet Arachnid?. He scores handleability, care, hardiness, availability and upfront cost, and explains the reasons behind each score.

Watch Clint's review →

Sources for this sheet

Royal Veterinary College Exotics Service: Tarantula care Zoo, university or veterinaryVet-school exotics hospital factsheet, reviewed 2021–2024.
Amateur Entomologists' Society: Tarantula care sheet Experienced keeper or breederAmateur Entomologists' Society (UK charity, since 1935): practical invertebrate care sheets written by experienced keepers.
Tom Moran: Humidity, Temperature, and Tarantulas Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
AES: Invertebrate care sheets Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
Clint's Reptiles (YouTube): Lucas The Spider - Jumping Spider, The Best Pet Arachnid? Expert educator & keeperClint Laidlaw, PhD in Biology Education and MS in Evolutionary Ecology; owner of Clint's Reptile Room and a longtime keeper. His "Best Pet?" series reviews each species' care in depth.
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) Peer-reviewed researchInternational scientific taxonomy used here for classification.
Wikipedia (species article) Community referenceFree encyclopedia; useful overviews with their own citations. Intro text is quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0.
iNaturalist (captive observations) Community referenceCommunity observation platform run by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic; observations marked captive show animals living in homes, zoos and aquariums.