When Your Pet Is Sick: A Guide For Owners

First, diagnose their disease.

This task may sound easy at first, but the average Neopian is sometimes under-educated about possible diseases their pet may contract. Is your pet sneezing? Sounds like Sneezles, right? Or is it D'achoo? It can sometimes be hard to tell, but with a quick at-home check up, you should be able to diagnose their illness. Here are some points to remember when checking over your pet:

• Are there any red spots on your Neopet? Ask your pet if they're itchy or not, as red spots are a symptom of both Neezles and NeoPox. If they're itchy, it's more than likely NeoPox.
• If your pet's come down with a nasty allergic reaction, check out the weather. If the seasons are changing, it's more than likely Pollenitus. However, make sure to update their allergy list if you think neggs caused the reaction, as Neggitus is something that can recur throughout a Neopet's life if it goes unnoticed.
• Also, if your pet's been bumping into things lately, check to make sure that they're not just dizzy or playing around. Bumping into things is often a telltale sign of blurred vision.

If you just can't figure out what on Neopia your pet has come down with on your own, you'll have to take your pet to the Neopian Hospital to find a cure for your poor pet's disease.

If necessary, take your pet to the Neopian Hospital.

If you've already diagnosed your pet's disease at home, great! You can skip this step. But for the rest of us, read on to find out just what to expect on a trip to the Neopian Hospital.

Going to the hospital isn't fun for anyone. Your pet will likely be reluctant to go, and may even throw a tantrum at the prospect. You'll have to convince them that nothing scary will happen there, and you may even have to promise an ice-cream treat afterwards, but sooner or later you should be able to wrestle them over to the Neopian Hospital. Here are some quick tips on what to expect while there:

• The waiting room: while it may seem like a welcome break from a sterile hospital environment for younger Neopets, it's actually full of germs. Who knows; that stuffed red Aisha toy your pet is happily playing with may just have come in contact with Neomonia, a disease that's probably a lot worse than what your pet had to begin with. And remember, folks: the waiting room is where sick Neopets go to play while waiting for their turn at the hospital. It's not exactly the cleanest place there is, to say the least.
• The examination room: after a while, one of the kind nurses that work at the Neopian Hospital will call out your name. You and your sick pet will get up, and be shown to the examination room. It may look scary at first, with all the sharp needles and strange-looking medicines, but reassure your Neopet that anything in there will only help them. Dr. Gelert will then come around and check your Neopet. He may ask questions, so be prepared to answer them. Common questions include your pet's allergies, foods that they recently ate which may have caused a reaction, etc. If you know your Neopet like I know mine, you should be fine to answer any question Dr. Gelert throws at you.
• The verdict: After a few minutes or longer (depending on how fussy your Neopet is and how easy it was for Dr. Gelert to determine your pet's illness), your pet will be diagnosed. Dr. Gelert will likely tell what disease your pet has, and if possible, what it was caused by. This information can be a relief to owners whose pet has been diagnosed with a common disease with an easy cure, but to others, it may be a shock (especially if your Neopet has a disease with an expensive cure). Whatever the outcome, be sure to reassure your pet that everything will be okay and that you'll get them whatever they need to be cured.

Next stop: the pharmacy.

It is important that, whatever disease your pet has, you get it cured. Dr. Gelert will likely give you a prescription for the right type of medicine to heal your pet. You wouldn't want to "cure" an achy head with a magic cookie instead of magic goop, now would you!? Anyways, make sure to take your pet to the pharmacy. The Elephante that works there will be more than happy to help you find what you need to cure your pet, whether it be a pair of Step Out Shoes or some Flat-u-less tablets. However, the pharmacy isn't always fully stocked. This may sound like a pain, but some of the less common cures can only be obtained by buying or trading them from other pet owners. Some cures can even amount to over 100,000 neopoints! If that sounds like it's going to put a strain on your wallet, you may like this next idea better. If you have time for a trip to Faerieland, the water faerie that works at the Healing Springs may be kind enough to heal your pet of whatever disease it has contracted. You can try asking her for your pet's health to be fully restored every half an hour, for free, so this may be the way to go if you're on a tight budget (or saving up for that Lost Desert Paintbrush...)

Cured!

Finally, your pet is healed. Whether you spent some of your earnings on a cure at the pharmacy, or broke the bank at the trading post looking for that elusive (and expensive!) pair of Extra-Thick Goggles your pet needed to cure its blurred vision, or had a stroke of luck at the Healing Springs, your pet is cured. It's practically bouncing off the walls with happiness! After you treat your pet to some ice-cream or their favourite food, here are some things to keep in mind for the newly cured pet:

• No matter how much you or your pet loves gambling, avoid the Wheel of Misfortune and the Wheel of Excitement for now. They could give your pet a random disease, and you're better off staying away from that possibility right after your pet has been cured.
• Avoid allergies! Even if your pet really wants a certain food that they are allergic to, don't give it to them and risk another disease. For younger Neopets, you may want to provide them with a small list of foods not to eat (that they are allergic to), so they don't accidentally forget and eat something that they're not supposed to.
• Say no to strange foods. If it has "Poisonous" in its name, it's best to stay away from it, especially if you got it from Jhudora! It might just make your pet sick... again. And you don't want that happening, now do you? Also make sure to keep any Poisonous Jellies that you get on your daily rounds hidden from view, as their bright colors may tempt a not-so-bright Neopet into eating it as a snack.

I hope you found my article on what to do if your Neopet is sick both informative and helpful. It is crucial that every owner in Neopia knows what to do if their pet is under the weather, because then pets can be treated both quickly and effectively, and owners can spend their neopoints on the proper cure instead of the wrong one. Also, healthy, happy pets look a lot better than sick pets, now don't they? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go hoard some more magic cookies, I have a Wheel of Misfortune to spin. ;)