 Getting a New Pet: Are You Really Ready?
by dark_goddess_rising
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A few days ago, I was slaving away at my job in a dark room of the National Neopian
that no one knows about (the Skeith doesn’t pay so well…) when a thought struck
me. Not hard enough to merit a visit to the hospital, but hard enough to make
me start doing some serious thinking. If you ask spiteful_muse, that means it
struck me pretty hard. By the time I got home to my little place in the Spooky
Woods, my violent thought had become fully formed: How do you know when you’re
ready to get a new neopet? That create a pet button is awfully tempting, and without
neopets there would be no Neopia, but how do you know when it’s time? Wondering
the answer myself, I put together a little checklist of all the things you should
have done before you get another pet.
#1-Number. Take a good look at the pets you already have. Head on over to Quick
Ref by clicking on your pet’s name at the top of the screen. Count up the number
of pets you have. Each picture in a circle counts as one. If you already have
four, well, I hear there are some good comics out this week. If there are less
than four pets sharing your NeoHome, you can consider adding another one to
the family.
So, you have less than four pets. Great. But, don’t go hitting that create
a pet button just yet. Are you still looking at your existing pets? Excellent.
Find a chair and make yourself comfortable. I recommend a nice, warm cup of
borovan, and you’ll want to grab a Yellow Lined Notebook to jot down some notes
in. Pen or pencil?-it’s your choice. Write the name of each of your pets at
the top of a page in your notebook. Make sure they each have their own page.
#2-Color. We’ll start off with something easy. Take a long look at your neopets’
pictures. Note its color and write that down at the right under its name. If
you’re considering getting a new pet, the species of your current ones isn’t
so important. Now, if you have a Lab Rat, don’t concern yourself with its color,
as it should be constantly changing. Just write down Lab Rat for that pet.
If your pet is red, yellow, green, or blue and there’s another color you want
to paint it, push your chair back under the table and stow your Yellow Lined
Notebook in a safe place, and go save up for that paintbrush. If you’re happy
with the colors of all your pets, it’s time to move on.
#3-Petpets. Your pets are looking beautiful. Wonderful. The next thing to make
sure of is that they have a constant companion. After all, you can’t be home
all the time and you don’t want them getting bored. The only option you have
in the “constant companion” category is a petpet. If you pet has one, write
down its name under your pet’s color. If not, you need to go buy it one. By
one, I mean something more expensive than an Abominable Snowball-unless of course
your pet loves Abominable Snowballs. If your pets don’t have petpets and you
can’t afford them, it’s time to close up your notebook and head on out to the
Games Room. If you need help picking out a petpet, visit the Petpet Puddle just
to the left of the Rainbow Pool. It’s rather small, so be careful not to step
in it. Remember-your pet just needs to be happy with its petpet. The petpet
doesn’t have to be painted or overly expensive, but don’t go so cheap that your
pet is unhappy.
#4-Stats. Is your pet a Battledomer? If not, skip on down to number 5-this
section won’t be important. If your pet is a Battledome fanatic, it’s time for
you to take a walk to the National Neopian. Don’t worry about running into me,
I’m always locked away in one of the back rooms. The important thing here is
not that your pet has astronomically high stats, but that you can afford to
keep training it, even with a new pet. On the way to the bank, you can pick
up a refill on that borovan and jot down the number of points you have in your
account. You’ll need it later.
#5-Personality. Yay! You get to take yet another trip. You can put your chair
up now because you won’t need it anymore, assuming that you weren’t using your
lap as a desk. Your next destination is your pet’s lookup. It doesn’t have to
be amazing with all that fancy HTML, but your pet needs a personality to share
with all of Neopia. Yes, that’s it, a description. It doesn’t need to be long
and elaborate, just explain what your pet spends its time doing, what it likes
collecting, and any other little details you can come up with. If you can manage
some of that spiffy HTML stuff, edit your pet’s page. You have much more room
there to describe your pet, tell stories about it, and explain its latest mischief.
Got all that done? Write a little note to yourself in your notebook on the page
for each pet that has a personality. Writing the word “personality” is fine,
or you could jot down a trait of your pet.
#6-Happiness and Hunger. Are your pets usually full and delighted? That’s key
to determining whether you’re ready for a new pet or not. If they’re usually
hungry and grumpy, you need to spend a little more time playing with them and
feeding them. Neopets, after all, make Neopia go round. If you can manage to
take good care of all your pets now, you could be ready to add another one to
your home. Make a note in your Yellow Lined Notebook that your pets are happy
and healthy, and review your notes.
If all your pets are looking their best, have a constant friend, and are always
content, you’re probably ready to adopt a new pet. Don’t create a pet just for
an avatar unless you’re going to take care of it. Try the Lab Ray for a species
change if that’s the only thing you’re after. Fyora knows there are enough abandoned
pets in Neopia already. There’s just one more thing to check for before creating
that new pet. Can you afford it? If your budget is stretched thin taking care
of the pets you have now, consider waiting a while before creating a new one.
You might even want to save up a few thousand NP toward a paintbrush or petpet
before you click create. Sometimes waiting can be in the best interest of the
new pet.
So, you’ve made the decision to get a new pet. Congratulations! Have fun choosing
a species and picking out a name. And you thought the hard part was over. :)
Well, I can hear my Skeith boss telling me to get back to work. Not only does
he not pay well, he’s demanding, too. Anyway, I hope my little checklist has
helped you make your decision, and I wish you the best of luck in your Neopian
endeavors.
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