Moving away for college and into a first dorm or apartment represents a huge shift for young adults.
As a result, many young people crave the companionship of an apartment or dorm pet to share their new space with them. Unfortunately, many pets are incompatible with the tight budgets, slim space and busy schedules of college life.
This doesn’t mean you can’t have a pet, though — you just have to choose the right one. Popular dorm pets like betta fish or hamsters, when properly cared for, require more time and money than many students realize.
I believe the best dorm and apartment pet is actually the cheap, tiny, low-maintenance and often overlooked jumping spider.
Money concerns
Money is usually the first thing on a college student’s mind. In that department, jumping spiders are one of the best small pets to keep.
In an interview for A-Z Animals.com, Melissa Mariner, a jumping spider breeder, says, “[Jumping spider] care is extremely easy. They require an enclosure fit for their size (no bigger than a 4x4x8 inch arboreal enclosure for a typical adult), a mist of water per day in their home for drinking/humidity and feeding 2-3 times per week, depending on age.”
Let’s break this down. The enclosure that Melissa mentions costs as little as $14 on Amazon; though, if you choose to purchase a pre-decorated enclosure, it will be a bit pricier.
Jumping spiders can eat a range of prey, including dubia roaches, flightless fruit flies and crickets. Crickets are typically the cheapest of these options, costing between 10 – 20 cents per bug at most major pet stores — so, you can feed your spider for less than a dollar per week!
Jumping spiders themselves range between $20 and $50 depending on their age, sex and color morph. In total, it is possible to purchase a jumping spider and its habitat for under $50.
Benefits of owning a jumping spider
Okay, jumping spiders may be cheap, but why would I want to keep a creepy little bug in my house?
First, jumping spiders are known as the “cute’ spider species. Just take a look at Lucas the Spider, YouTube’s most famous and adorable animated spider.
These little invertebrates are also more intelligent than you may think. In a study by Harvard researchers, jumping spiders showed the ability to “distinguish between animate and inanimate objects — an ability previously detected only in humans and other vertebrates.”
In other words, your spider friend can recognize that you are another living being. I’ve often found my spiders watching me while I’m in my room, providing silent moral support as I study.
Though stories and movies portray spiders as eight-legged villains, they are not out to get you. Jumping spiders are unlikely to bite humans because they don’t recognize us as prey. On the rare occasion that they do bite, it feels like a small ant bite and will heal in a day or two. You can even hold your spider and allow it to explore your hand or sleeve.
Jumping spiders get all the enrichment they need from feeding time, and their enclosures require only a monthly spot cleaning with a Q-tip.
For a busy college student balancing school, work and a social life, a cute little friend that you don’t have to clean up after, walk or play with may be the perfect addition to your family.
Quinn Schafer is a web writer and copy editor. Contact her at [email protected].
