Chilean rose tarantula

The classic first tarantula, and still the one to beat. This spider from the desert scrub of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia is famously calm, needs only a dry tank with a water dish and a few insects a week, and asks very little of its keeper. A female can live up to 20 years in captivity, so this is a long-term roommate; males live far shorter lives. It is not a cuddly toy. When annoyed it flicks irritating hairs off its abdomen, which itch on skin and are worse in eyes, so treat handling as rare and optional and let the spider be the show.