Insektenliebe-Pet Companions: Keeping Track of Your Pets and Their Care

When was the last time your jumping spider ate? When was its last molt? And where is the certificate of origin, anyway? The Insektenliebe-pet companion app brings all this information together in one place. Our care app helps you keep track of your pets, organize care tasks, and monitor their development—whether you have a single spider or a larger collection.

A profile for every animal

A photo, the species, sex, and age or molting stage: This is how your animal gets its own profile. If you’d like to give it a name, you can do so. If not, the animal can be identified by its species and an ID number. A local form, such as “Bahamas” for Phidippus regius, can also be added.

This guide is designed for jumping spiders and selected tarantula species. If a species is missing from the list, you can add it yourself. This way, the records will remain useful even as your collection grows or new species are added.

Track Feedings and Molts

After a feeding, you can record the entry right next to the animal. You can also document molts and other observations. Over time, this creates a history where you can find past entries without having to search through individual notes, photos, and messages.

This is especially helpful when you have multiple animals: You don’t have to try to remember which spider ate last. Photos and entries track each animal’s development.

The Insektenliebe-Pet Companion reminds you

You can adjust the feeding and spraying intervals to suit your pet. For feedings, you can also choose whether the reminder should appear on the scheduled date or in advance. Push notifications send the reminder to your phone if you’ve enabled them for your device.

A scheduled interval serves as a reminder to check on the animal and its care. It is not an automatic prompt to feed or spray the animal, regardless of its condition. Your own observations determine what care is appropriate at any given time. The app helps with organization; it does not replace species-specific care guidelines.

Even Larger Populations Stay Organized

If you’re raising offspring, you don’t want to see a separate tile for each animal in the overview. That’s why the Insektenliebe-Pet Companion can group animals into herds. A herd of 100 animals appears as a single entry. Within this, individual animals remain accessible via their IDs.

This allows you to keep track of a group as a whole while still assigning molts or feedings to a specific animal. A personal name is not required for this. This makes documentation easier, especially when caring for many animals of the same species and local subspecies.

Documenting Origin and Offspring

Proof of origin can be saved as a separate document for each animal. This keeps them separate from the animal photos and makes them easier to find.

For breeding, you can document matings and cocoons with dates. When offspring are assigned to the corresponding mating, their lineage can be traced in the family tree. This creates a common foundation for information that would otherwise quickly be scattered across various lists.

Here’s how to get started on your phone

The Pet Companion is a web app. You open it by entering its web address and create an account using your email address. Once you’ve confirmed your account, you can add your first pet and set its care schedules. You don’t need to download it from an app store.

On your iPhone, open the page in Safari and select “Add to Home Screen” from the Share menu. Then launch the pet companion app using the new icon. Under “More,” you’ll find the reminders and can enable push notifications for this device. You’ll need to allow the system prompt. This method requires iOS 16.4 or later.

You can also enable push notifications on Android using a supported browser. Depending on the browser, you can also install the web app or add it to your home screen. Notification permissions must be granted separately on each device.

The interface is available in German, English, French, Spanish, and Italian.

A companion for your daily care routine

Whether you’re just starting out with your first jumping spider or already caring for your own offspring: The Insektenliebe-Pet Companion is designed to help you find information and keep a clear record of your care routine. If you notice anything while using the app, you can access the “Report a Problem” feature under “More.”

If you have any further questions, please leave them in the comments below the article.