The Neopians Guide to the Pteri

by good_witch

I traveled to the Tyrannian Plateau where the Pteris seems to be in the highest concentration and I spent some time with these little birds to find out how they live in the wild and how I could use that knowledge to help the new Pteri owners out there. New NeoPet species can sometimes be a handful especially when there is little literature on how to take care of them, and it can be a little frightening. But I have done a great deal of research in a short time span and I've learnt a lot from both the domestic and the wild Pteris.

~General behaviour~
Pteris are a fun loving, joke playing type of NeoPet and you should be fully aware of this already if you own one. Probably by the time you got the little guy home, you will have noticed that they are very hyper as well. That's largely due to their instincts. In the wild, they have to watch out for Tyrannian Grarrls and all sorts of beasts. So they like to confuse their enemy by being very busy and fluttery.

They are very social and like to hang out in flocks of 30 or more Pteris. Often flocks claim one large tree and will stay together until mating season drives them to find their own nests to raise their young.

Pteris can get on other NeoPets' nerves and you should seriously consider your existing NeoPets personalities before adding this energetic bird to your family. Techos, Chias, Quiggles, and Meercas get along very well with the Pteri as they have happy-go-lucky personalities and are very adaptable NeoPets Unis, Skeiths, Moehogs and Buzzes tend to clash more with the Pteris personality and you should make sure that if you have these types of pets, to seriously consider whether or not your NeoPets will get along. Grarrls and Pteris are very very hard to make get along since in the wild, the Grarrl would be hunting the Pteri so unless you have a particularly gentle Grarrl, don't consider bringing in a Pteri into your home, it would be way to stressful for the poor little bird.

~Food~
Pteris love Tyrannia, there is a very large percentage of wild Pteris living in the Tyrannian Plateau and jungle and that directly affects their diets. Tyrannian food is a welcome treat, although they don't like eating things when they are still alive. Some of the Pteris favourites include Sack Plants, Cactus Leaves, Bronto Bites, and Spine Cones. One cheap Tyrannian food that you have constant access to is the giant omelette, and it's free. The giant omelette is perfect for the owner who has a tight budget but still wants to treat their pets. The Pteri isn't picky with the food they eat, whatever you can afford them they will be happy with. Apples, pears, ribs, whatever you want to feed them.

~Toys and games~
You don't need many games to keep them occupied, they are practical joke lovers and can amuse themselves with pulling pranks on your and your other NeoPets If you want to buy them toys, stick to toys that they can use to help with their joke playing like a deck of cards, a boom box, or the yo-yo. They are big fans of Kacheek Seek so bring them there and play a few rounds......Hey, maybe with the money you make playing that you can buy them more toys? Haha.

~Illness~
Pteris won't get sick often if you take care of them well. Low stress levels and a happy home with a good diet will insure that your little bird gets sick as little as possible. As with any pet though, they are bound to come down with the Neopox or the NeoFlu so just take care of them like you would any other NeoPet and they will be fine.

~Colours and Paintbrushes~
Pteris come in the normal colours, red, blue, yellow, and green, but did you know that depending on what colour of Pteri you choose, you might get a different personality? It's true, I've seen it many times so before you choose your Pteri, take a minute to think about what colour personality would go best in your home. Although I've seen the colour=personality trend often, it's not a sure thing so don't rely on this method to determine your Pteris personality too much.

Blue: Blue Pteris tend to be a little more vain then average since the blue coloured feathers are a bit more difficult to care for . Blue is also a rare colour in nature and the blue Pteris are fully aware that they are special. Blues are a bit more serious then the others, they might not joke around as much, and in extreme cases, can get along with the Unis serious, vain personality much better then other Pteris!

Red: Reds are extreme jokesters. They tend to be more over-the-top in their jokes and can sometimes get to be a bit much at times. I sometimes find that they tend to be a bit more sloppy with their eating habits but I can't be sure if this is true or not.

Green: Green Pteris are a bit more shy and introverted. They tend to be a bit more gentle and loving then the other colour types. Their jokes are more about entertaining others rather then pulling practical jokes and this can come in handy if you have vain or quiet type NeoPet in your house.

Yellow: The yellow Pteris are a bit more plain since the colour variation in their plumage is much less, but this doesn't mean that they are ordinary and boring. In fact it's quite the opposite!!! The yellows want to prove that looks don't mean a thing and they are very much off the wall like the reds. The difference from the two colour types being that although they are very extroverted, they don't take the jokes too far like the reds tend to.

If you have a painted Pteri , the original colour that they were before you painted them will be how they will tend to act. If you are thinking about painting your Pteri, make sure you ask them first. They sometimes don't want to be painted different from the colour that they are already so make sure THEY want to be painted just as much as you do. Painting isn't everything with the Pteri, and sometimes the painted Pteris can feel more isolated from others of their species because of their artificial colour, but not in all cases.

Writing and researching this article has been a great experience for me, and if I didn't already have four NeoPets, you could bet that I would get a Pteri faster then you could say "giant omelette." However nice the Pteri may seem, if you already have 4 NeoPets, then make sure you don't give up one of your NeoPets to get one. Every time a new NeoPet comes out, it seems like there is a flood of old NeoPets coming into the adoption center because their new owners wanted the new pet--Don't be one of those owners. If you do have room in your Neo-family, then by all means....adopt a Pteri, they are wonderful pets. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.