> 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.
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.