Jumping spiders make great pets. The ones I've kept build silk tubes in the upper corners of their terrariums to hide and sleep in, meaning I could see them most of the time. They actively hunt, which is fun to watch. And even the common phidippus audax has bright coloring. They only live a year or two, but it's cool to watch them grow.
Beyond the facts in this article, jumping spiders have also shown spatial reasoning. When they see prey on another leaf behind their jumping range, they'll climb down and find a path to the prey's leaf, even if the prey isn't visible during this detour. They remember it's relative location and seemingly "choose" the best route to get there.
Edit: You can also "hand feed" your jumping spider with a cotton swab dipped in sugar water. They drink flower nectar in the wild, so my wife and I tried this and it worked!
> Edit: You can also "hand feed" your jumping spider with a cotton swab dipped in sugar water. They drink flower nectar in the wild, so my wife and I tried this and it worked!
But don't they need live protein, like flightless fruit flies? I feel like the need to raise prey is the biggest downside to having a jumping spider pet.
They do need protein. Nectar is an extra and easy source of energy. And my wife is the kind of person who wants to play with her pets, no matter the species. The Q-tip was the only thing I agreed to, because I didn't want to terrify the spider by picking it up. For sustenance, we gave them meal worms, crickets (their size or smaller), and sliced fruit. Not sure if they drank much fruit juice, but it kept the crickets happy.
Beyond the facts in this article, jumping spiders have also shown spatial reasoning. When they see prey on another leaf behind their jumping range, they'll climb down and find a path to the prey's leaf, even if the prey isn't visible during this detour. They remember it's relative location and seemingly "choose" the best route to get there.
Edit: You can also "hand feed" your jumping spider with a cotton swab dipped in sugar water. They drink flower nectar in the wild, so my wife and I tried this and it worked!