Partner Your Pet Perfectly: An A-Z Guide

     If your pet is lucky enough to have a petpet, they will almost certainly have made a great friend for life. Petpets come in all shapes and sizes, each with their own quirks and personalities. Here I will run through a small selection of petpets your pet might meet, and hopefully they will find the perfect sidekick!

     These Altadorian petpets are famous throughout Neopia as the stars of Altador’s regular Chariot Chase events, where the biggest and strongest alabriss compete in dramatic and tension-filled races. Most alabriss do not undergo the intense training required for this, and so most grow to much smaller sizes, perfect to live comfortably in your neohome and to be cared for by your pet.

     Ah, babaas. These petpets can be seen in many different situations and I would be surprised if your pet hasn’t encountered them yet. They are often seen in Meridell, where shepherds hover nearby to protect them as they play in the fields, and they are also kept as housepets, where dedicated petpetsitters must keep a watchful eye out, to be sure they will not destroy every breakable object they can get close to! If your pet has ever had an important test to study for, they may have even seen babaas in their dreams, plaguing them with questions that must be answered before your pet can have a peaceful night’s sleep. If your pet chooses a babaa as a pet, they are in for a lot of work caring for them, but rest assured that it is worth it.

     With pastel candy-cane stripes and delicate, glittering wings, these little petpets stand out against the snowy backdrop of their home on Terror Mountain. They are also the star of the prestigious Snowy Valley Stamp Collector avatar – if you are fortunate enough to have earned this, you can display your love for this petpet to everyone you talk to on the Neoboards!

     These loving petpets received a lot of public attention last summer during the Discovery of Meridell Day celebrations, after Nanci hosted her first Dragoyle Hunting contest. Many neopets formed strong friendships with the dragoyles they were searching for, and many were adopted after the festival was over. Be sure to visit Nanci at Ye Olde Petpets in Meridell to meet your own dragoyle!

     Erisim are cunning snake petpets that live in packs together, deep in The Lost Desert. Their strong teamwork and deep knowledge of their surroundings inspired the name of the Order of the Red Erisim, a group of magical neopets who use their skills to attempt to control the power of the obelisk near Tyrannia. Erisim saliva can also be used to create a powerful healing ointment – if your pet fights in the battledome, befriending an erisim may be an advantage!

     These little petpets can often be seen flitting around Faerieland, carrying bunches of blooming wildflowers to decorate the streets with. Their big ears and skittish nature allow them to hear danger coming from long distances away and react quickly, making them popular playmates for baby neopets.

     Although these spooky petpets are technically ghosts, your neopet is unlikely to be scared by these cute little creatures who only want to make friends - your neopet will enjoy having a companion to haunt their pocket as they go about their day!

     You are probably familiar with hasee celebrities Woogy and Jimmi and their acrobatic skills of Hasee Bounce as they jump to and from great heights in search of their favourite food, but did you know that hasees also make excellent petpets? Hasees do not usually go to such high-energy levels for their snacks, and are content to sit with your pet and relax – just make sure they always know where the kitchen is…

     Despite being a Moltaran petpet, this fiery creature is not usually found deep underground in the twisting caverns that form the land, but is instead (somewhat oddly) found in the grass growing at the base of the volcano, or even swimming in shallow pools of water. They are gentle, caring creatures and you can be sure that even though their bodies may burn, no harm will come to your neopet while they are nearby.

     When your body is almost pure sugar, you tend to have a lot of energy, and these little guys are no exception – they can run, and run           

     If you’re looking for an easy, low maintenance petpet that will introduce your neopet to caring for their own pet, kelpflakes are the perfect first step. They are very small and only require a small basic tank to live in, so they are a good choice if you don’t have much space in your neohome. Your pet can raise their kelpflake from a tiny egg and watch as they grow to their full size over a week!

     These intricately folded cardboard petpets are lovingly crafted by volunteers at the Soup Kitchen and are gifted to newcomers to Neopia in Newbie Packs as a welcome gift. As they are made from cardboard, they don’t require much specialist care, just be careful not to get them wet!

     These cute, cheerful little petpets were seen during the events of the Curse of Maraqua plot and were the most valuable prize that supporters of Maraqua could purchase after Captain Scarblade’s retreat. Potentially the disturbance of their natural habitat scared them away, as they haven’t been seen around Maraqua since, and today they are very rare.

     These little bots can be seen all around the Virtupets Space Station – what information they are retrieving and who they are loyally returning to is worryingly unclear. If you purchase a brand-new N-4 from the Robo-Petpet Shop on the Space Station, it will be ready to be programmed to retrieve whatever information you need, be it for security, checking your baby pet is sleeping safely, or anything else. If you are of a more suspicious nature, this might not be the pet for your family: the rumour was never disproved that N-4 Info Retrieval Bots have a hidden ability to relay the information they have been sent to collect over long distances wirelessly to their original creators…

     These nocturnal petpets love to live outside in your neogarden where they can dig and burrow for fresh grass and roots – make sure your fences are dug deep into the ground, as they are very good at burrowing under and escaping! They are independent creatures but are still affectionate and love to be bundled up in warm blankets and cuddled.

     Oh no, this petpet has had an unfortunate encounter with the lab ray! They will still have the same personality that they did before they were zapped, but your pet will have to be more careful with them now, and will need to accommodate their petpet’s reduced mobility.

     These colourful serpents are highly intelligent and are prone to wandering off while following the things that interest them. Their bright stripes and eye-catching feathers help to deter predators and keep them safe when they are not paying enough attention to their surroundings. If you regularly explore the ruins of Geraptiku, there is a good chance you will catch the attention of an inquisitive quetzal that will be thrilled to join you on your adventures!

     If Tyrannia has an abundance of one thing, it’s rocks. If you visit you can buy your very own perfect pet, one that will never need any maintenance, food, or be taken for those annoying walks late at night when you just want to go to bed. They are available in a wide range of colours, from the codestone-shaped island rock (perfect for the training school junkie), to the glittering disco ball disco rock (perfect for the party animal) – you are sure to find the perfect rock to match your pet!

     Scamanders are skittish creatures that live in The Lost Desert, where they mostly hide from the heat of the sun in deep burrows. Once a year, the mysterious “scamander-in-chief” will release dozens of scamanders to The Money Tree – if you have lightning fast reflexes, you may be quick enough to catch one for your pet before they scurry away to a hiding spot!

     In the days when petpetpets (or P3s) could be watched as they worked in Habitariums, users could give their P3s a mini (but huge for the P3s!) sprinkler - shaped like a giant squid to help keep them cool. After Professor Milton Clodbottle had collected all the data he could, the Habitarium experiment ended, but users who had participated received as a gift a real, live tiny giant squid to keep as a petpet! These tiny squids love to play in the water and will take great pleasure in splashing your pet when they get close.

     If you enter the Maraquan Petpets shop, you are likely to see this little guy alone, away from all the other petpets, smiling up at you hopefully. Sadly, as much as urgonis try to make friends, their sharp spikes end up scaring away most petpets and neopets, and they find it very difficult to get close to others. However, if you give them a chance, your pet will find hey have made a friend for life, and although their urgoni will never be able to cuddle with them, they will show their affection in a variety of other ways instead!

     Vacanas are natural herd petpets and are used to living in large groups. Their thick fur grows very quickly and often covers their eyes, obscuring their already somewhat poor vision. When in groups in the wild this isn’t a problem, as vacanas will just follow others in their herd, but if being kept as a petpet on their own, your pet must keep a careful eye on them to be sure they don’t run into the nearest wall when they get excited.

     As you are reading The Neopian Times at this very moment, you have certainly encountered a weewoo before, as one will have delivered this issue to your doorstep! Originally from Krawk Island, Weewoos can now be found all over Neopia, delivering post to every major city. They are always focused workers and like to be clean and presentable – be ready to make many trips to the Petpet Supplies shop if you are caring for a weewoo!

     These mischievous, high-energy creatures live high on Terror Mountain and like to cause trouble for the residents of Happy Valley below by rolling down the mountain to cause snowball avalanches. If after a visit to Terror Mountain, one decides to follow you or your pet home, be ready to take it out for regular, long exercise, otherwise you may find that it has chewed up everything in your neohome out of frustration.

     These wise, long-lived birds live deep within the forests to the north of Mystery Island. Their leaf-like plumage allows them almost perfect camouflage amongst the trees and they will only allow themselves to be seen if they wish to be seen. If a yackito chooses to travel with your pet, they will have an incredibly smart ally, although your pet must be prepared for ruthless judgement if they can’t always follow their new friend’s train of thought.

     Zumagorn are impish faerie petpets that don’t fit into the classic view of how a faerie petpet should behave. Instead of being sweet and gentle, these petpets enjoy causing havoc with their endless pranks. If you pet is looking for a partner in crime, visit Faerieland Petpets today – the shopkeeper will be only too happy for you to take one out of her hands!