Before You Create A Pet…

So, inspired by the spirit of helpfulness, I thought I'd write this article! I hope it teaches my fellow players the proper way to create pets. I want all of their accounts to be safe and secure from TNT's wrath, as well as immune from other problems!

So here are the top 10 things to check BEFORE you create that coveted pet you've been yearning for! I hope you enjoy reading this list!

1. Check A Search Engine

As I stated in the introduction of this article, it's smart to check your prospective pet's name in a search engine before creating it! You never know, the name might be associated with a bad, real life person, or mean something vile in another language. I've actually seen pets get deleted for these reasons, even though they weren't meant to be provocative on purpose.

2. Pet Name vs. Petpet Species

Already planned your pet and Petpet combo? Congratulations on your new family! I hope they look amazing together! That said, I thought you should know that, before naming your pet, you should make sure that your pet's name doesn't have the same number of characters as the Petpet's species. For reasons unknown, if your pet is named "ASDF5" (5 characters) and your Petpet for that pet is a Slorg (5 characters), they refuse to bond. So before creating that new pet of yours, make sure that your pet's name and your Petpet's species have a different number of characters!

3. Consider Trading

The old days of achieving your dream pet all by yourself is long over! Nowadays, a person can use the Secret Laboratory Ray to zap a pet into an amazing color, and then trade that pet for their actual dream pet. People no longer spend a fortune on painting Desert Kikos or Darigan Kacheeks when they can simply trade their Wraith Korbats to get them. So before you create a pet, consider zapping and trading -- it's loads of fun!

4. Limited Customization

I was once excited about creating a Gelert, since I love dogs in real life and I love the legend of the Gelert of Wales. However, upon researching its species wearables, I was a little disappointed by the limited selection. I love Spotted Gelerts, but I doubt I'll ever own one, because I can't think of a good customization for one. I'd like to warn my fellow players, don't create a pet before checking on its species wearables! Who really wants a pet that can't be customized, anyway?

5. Consider Its Purpose

There are a lot of ways in which a new pet can be immediately useful. You could use its petpage to record things. You could go fishing with it. You could make it your Beauty Contest entry and earn a trophy for your efforts. Just because it's 5 hours old doesn't mean it can't be functional! That said, before you create that new pet of yours, consider its purpose! If its petpage will be crammed with lofty goals, make the pet a Faerie Peophin! If the petpage will be full of dark poetry, consider a Darigan Krawk! Every pet on this site is already gorgeous to behold. Why not make their looks meaningful, and correlate them with their purposes?

6. Aesthetic Capitalization

I was thinking of making a pet recently that would be named "Thisisanawesomename" (which stands for "This is an awesome name"). Then I squinted in horror at my computer screen, appalled by my creation. After ruminating for a few seconds, I realized that the name would be better off as "ThisIsAnAwesomeName," which is much more legible and easy to read. As a heads up, I'd like to warn my fellow players that if your pet's name will contain multiple words, consider capitalizing each word! Your pet's name will look so much cooler that way!

7. Base Colors

Now that customization is the burgeoning activity that it is, more and more people see past the Paint Brush clothes on their pets, and consider customizing them with other wearables. For instance, I've seen more than one Royalboy Draik have his jewelry and clothing removed, only to be replaced with glowing blue wearables from the NC Mall. When you're thinking of creating a new pet, consider its base color, which is the color of its body without its Paint Brush clothes. If its base color is a popular color like pink or green or turquoise, you'll have a lot of fun customizing it with already existing wearables!

8. Consider Its Birthday

Many people create their pets on special days, like the birthdays of their siblings, or the day they finally adopted their puppy. Before you create a pet, consider waiting for a special day to create it on! It will make your new pet so much more significant!

9. Make Sure You'll Cherish It Forever

Here's a fun litmus test. If you think about your prospective new pet, do you see yourself owning it for 5 years? How about 10? I originally owned the maximum of 20 pets at one point, but then realized that I didn't really want to own a Royalgirl Peophin for the rest of my Neopets life. I gave away 6 pets, and I'm happier for it! Now I have room for that future Cherry Chia that I'm hoping will exist someday, as well as the future Polka Dot Cybunny. So, heads up, fellow players! Before you create a pet, make sure it's truly a dream pet, and not just an ephemeral desire!

10. Consider Adoption

There are lots of sad, forlorn pets in the Neopian Pound, eager to be adopted by loving new owners. Before you create a pet, consider adoption first! Sure, they may be badly named, and sure, they might be painted cheap colors like Split and Christmas, but one look at their frowns and your heart will melt!

Conclusion:

So these were the top 10 things to consider before creating a pet! It was fun to compile this list, and I hope it makes people think twice about how they create their own pets. From the dangerous (accidentally using a bad word in the name), to the lofty (creating a pet on a special day), this list is meant to inspire people to create pets properly and conscientiously!

Thanks for reading this article, my fellow players! Stay tuned for future articles from yours truly, and have an amazing week!