How to Avoid Being Eaten

Before we get started, let me point out that there are a few methods that work for any kind of "edible" pet. First, make sure he or she always carries extra food; that way, if they start being followed around by hungry Neopets, they will have something else to give them. Second, train them to defend themselves against an attack. "Always be sure you have the higher Agility/Movement," stararan suggests, "so that you can outrun other pets." If you can't afford to train your Food pet, it's a good idea to give them weapons that do the same thing, like a Green Invisihat or Transporter Helmet (or you can always carry a flame thrower, as advised by the_evil_flipper). Finally, if all else fails, scream for help. "My Tomato threatens to scream if somebody so much as looks at her in the wrong way," squirt5dad told me. I know it may sound like a cowardly thing to do, but if you were a huge marshmallow surrounded by hungry Grarrls, what else would you do?

But now, let's get down to the specifics.

Biscuit Pets

A pet painted Biscuit will have tan-colored fur or skin, dotted with small chocolate chips. And, while they are no more "edible" than a normal pet, Biscuit pets do give off the aroma of freshly baked Chocolate Chip cookies. They do not actually taste like cookies (as most pets learn eventually), but the scent can still be enticing to some. There are, however, ways to disguise it.

Perfume or cologne is the most obvious and easiest method. However, do not use scents such as Chocolate, Illusen Strawberry, Coffee, or any other kind that could make your pet smell more appetizing. To try and cover up the scent, Cucumber Melon and Lavender work well, but they do not get rid of it. I would suggest Cooler than You Perfume or Fiery Cologne to eliminate the smell. Or, if your pet wants to try something even more powerful, use Eau de Skunk or Skunk Perfume. I can guarantee that no one will want to eat your pet anymore after smelling that.

So now your precious Biscuit has gotten rid of their scent, but they still look like a giant walking cookie. How do you fix that? One method is to dye the fur around the chocolate chips to make your pet look Spotted instead, or you could simply put clothes on some of the more heavily-chipped areas. The best idea I've received, however, comes from zooziezoo, who says her Kacheek doesn't need to disguise herself at all! She simply tells everyone that her chocolate chips are actually raisins, and no one dares to try and eat her. (Except, maybe, the occasional health freak who actually likes Raisin Bran.)

Strawberry Pets

Strawberry pets have red skin or fur with tiny seeds, and green leafy stems, usually around their ears or head. Like Biscuit, they give off the scent of ripe strawberries, but do not normally taste like them, so you can use the same perfumes as listed above on them. On the other hand, I learned the hard way with my Strawberry Usul that when they sweat, they become soaked in strawberry sauce, which both smells and tastes like strawberries. To prevent this, I suggest finding a good deodorant or antiperspirant.

These pets are also quite unique in appearance and are not easy to disguise. My Usul, in fact does not even try to; instead, she made the colors work with her outfit so that it looks more natural.

Chocolate Pets

This color, only available from the Lab Ray, turns pets into solid chocolate. Many Chocolate pets are even decorated with other delicious treats, such as candy corn or licorice (although the latter is not particularly to my taste). Fortunately, the smell of Chocolate pets is not as strong as Biscuit, but they have the disadvantage of actually being "edible", not to mention vulnerable to melting in hot sunlight. Sunscreen is a good fix to both problems, as sunscreen, despite smelling nice, does not typically taste good (don't ask how I know).

Some of the less decorative Chocolate colors can get away with posing as Brown pets, but most will need protection. Be sure to cover, using either clothing or armor, icing and candy. The best method of disguise was sent in by bellalizzy, whose Chocolate Lutari wears a skin-tight brown suit which tastes extremely bad. If your pet is too "fashionable" to wear such a thing, you can always give them certain sauce, like Chilli Chia Hot Sauce or Squid Sauce, to wear like lotion. (Actually, the Sauce Method works on most food pets.) After everyone finds out how bad your pet tastes, you can bet he/she will be safe.

Custard Pets

Custard may not be available for many species', but the color is unique enough to deserve its own category. Their skin is constantly coated in thick, blond-colored custard, which is not attached to their skin, so it doesn't hurt them to have it eaten. It does, however, take a lot of energy to replenish if it is eaten, preventing them from doing much else until it returns... plus, what pet would like to be constantly licked by random passerby?

To camouflage a custard pet, try smoothing out their custard with fine-bristled brush, to make it look more like fur. It is also easy to mix substances in with the custard, and this doesn't affect the pet at all. Try using Scamander Syrup; it is relatively cheap and tastes awful, and as a bonus, any pet who still tries to eat them will thank you for curing their hiccups.

Fruit & Vegetable Chias

This category features both Fruit and Vegetable Chias. They are unable to wear clothes, except for backgrounds and trinkets. They are made of the "solid" food of whatever color they are (ex, an Asparagus Chia is "made of" Asparagus), and they usually do not smell very strong except Onion Chias. For these reasons, there is virtually no way to mask their color, but there is another technique.

Fruit and Vegetable Chias come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so my advice to your pet is this: use your shape to your advantage! For example, rounded colors, like Plum, Orange, and Tomato, are good at rolling; if they get in trouble, they can out-roll their pursuers faster than they can run! Taller colors, such as Pear or Carrot, are built for climbing, so they can easily climb away from danger. And finally, smaller colors like Grape and Pea can simply run into small areas to escape. If you want a more creative method of keeping your Pea Chia safe, I've always wanted to try giving them a red cape to wear. No one would dare mess with what they thought was a rogue Super Attack Pea!

One final suggestion, from christinehmackay, is that if you just want your Chia to be a Fruit or Vegetable but are not sure which one, try to make them Pepper. After all, very few pets will try to eat them then. A few more colors that are relatively safe include Durian, Thornberry, Onion, Lemon, and Aubergine.

Miscellaneous Colors

A few other kinds of "edible" pets are Coconut JubJubs, Garlic Kikos, and Mallow Grundos. Mallow Grundos are essentially giant marshmallows, with soft skin and no arms or legs. Like Food Chias, they cannot wear most clothes, making disguise difficult. Their only method of transportation is to hop, and so escaping predators is hard for them. A little known fact about Mallow Grundos, though, is that they are exceptionally bouncy. With just a few hops, your sweet little marshmallow can easily bounce out of trouble!

Coconut JubJubs have rock-hard shells to protect their coconut-flavored fur, so they are generally safe from being eaten, but if they cannot defend themselves, some pets try for a long time to break the shell. Since these pets are round, and JubJubs naturally have great rolling abilities, they can escape easily, or, as pointed out by brynchilla, defend themselves. When telling me about her own Coconut JubJub, she said, "Decehla just bowls them all over!"

One more pet that is mostly safe (especially from Halloween Xweetoks) is the Garlic Kiko. Although they are technically edible, these pets taste and smell strongly of garlic, which tends to dissuade even the hungriest Skeith. However, I would advise them to stay out of the kitchen when dinner is being made, just in case the chef runs out of garlic. I'm sure we've all been frustrated enough with cooking to think of this at one point. Am I right? I mean, it can't just be me... right?

Jelly Pets

Finally, if you are one of the lucky users who own a pet of this elusive (and sometimes controversial) color, than this is the section you've been waiting for! Jelly Pets are made completely of gelatin, which comes in many different flavors, depending on the species. Unlike many other food pets, they have no aroma, even from up close. Their skin is partially transparent, and jiggles at the slightest disturbance.

Jelly pets are somewhat hard to protect. First and foremost, you must NEVER try to use hot sauce to disguise their flavor. Why not, you may ask? Well, have you ever been handling peppers and then accidentally touched your face? A jelly pet's skin absorbs almost any liquid, so imagine that burn spread all over your body. Yeah, not fun. Also, I would not advise giving them a suit the same color as their skin; materials will easily stick to Jelly pets.

So how do you protect your Jelly pet? The solution is a method I came up with myself: Glue.

Get any tube of liquid glue (Kadoatie Glue works the best, as it dries clear) and pour the bottle over your pet, being careful not to rub it into their skin. Wait half the time it takes the glue to dry; for Kadoatie glue, that's about five or six minutes. Then take them to the bath tub and pour water on them, which will wash most of the glue off. What will this accomplish? Well, now your jelly pet is coated in clear, half-dried glue. It is still flexible enough to allow your pet to move around freely, and blends seamlessly into a Jelly pet's shiny skin. The taste, however, is so foul that no pet will even try to eat them anymore!

If you don't have the time or neopoints for this method, I got a wonderful tip from fgsfgs1: simply teach your pet to use their slippery, wobbly self to their advantage. After all, most pets get discouraged when their dessert keeps slipping and sliding away from them.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different kinds of food pets, each with their own advantages and drawbacks. And I hope that, with the help of this article, you will be able to keep yours safe. Just remember that this is by no means all the ways you can do so; feel free to come up with your own creative methods. And if you happen to have a Pea Chia, please let me know how the cape method works out. ;)

(I would like to thank everyone who suggested the methods that I used here; you helped me out a lot! I also want to thank TNT for deciding to put this in the Neopian Times, and you, for reading my first ever article.)