Editing Diets

Every tameable [[Creatures|creature]] has a '''diet''' — the category of food it eats. Diet matters in two places: an assigned '''companion''' eats food as upkeep while it works, and a Nursery hatchling eats diet food during [[Imprinting]] care prompts. There are three diet categories: '''Herbivore''', '''Carnivore''', and '''Omnivore'''.

== How feeding works ==

* '''Companion upkeep.''' While a creature is assigned as an active companion for its [[Skills|skill]], it eats '''one food item per upkeep interval'''. It always eats the '''cheapest matching food available in your bank''', working down its diet list. If nothing edible is in the bank, the companion '''goes hungry''' and its buff switches off until you restock — no progress or creature is lost, it simply resumes when food returns. Stronger companion buffs (20% or more) eat roughly twice as often as weaker ones.
* '''Hatchling care.''' During [[Imprinting]], each care prompt costs '''3 diet foods''', drawn from the same lists below.

Diet foods are raw gathered and farmed ingredients — you do not need to cook them for upkeep. (Cooked dishes are used for [[Taming]] attempts, which is a separate cost.)

== Herbivore ==

Herbivores eat fruits, roots, grains, and vegetables. When hungry, a herbivore eats the '''cheapest''' of these it can find, in roughly this order:

* Gourd
* Crimson Berry
* Azure Berry
* Earthroot
* Sunfruit
* Wild Onion
* Marsh Bean
* Cave Tuber
* Ember Pepper
* Frost Cabbage
* Sky Grain
* Dew Melon
* Sunroot
* Marshmelon
* Flamegrain
* Cloudbean
* Frostgourd
* Skyfruit
* Primal Squash

'''Herbivore species''': [[Glyptodon]], [[Parasaurolophus]], [[Iguanodon]], [[Gastornis]], [[Diplodocus]], [[Triceratops]], [[Stegosaurus]], [[Megaloceros]], [[Castoroides]], [[Doedicurus]], [[Ankylosaurus]], [[Archelon]], [[Woolly Rhino]], [[Megatherium]], [[Elasmotherium]], [[Woolly Mammoth]], [[Therizinosaurus]], [[Pachycephalosaurus]].

== Carnivore ==

Carnivores eat meat and fish, cheapest first:

* Raw Meat
* Minnow
* Mudskipper
* Bichir
* Gar
* Lungfish
* Icefish
* Coelacanth
* Sturgeon

'''Carnivore species''': [[Terror Bird]], [[Fisher Bird]], [[Raptor]], [[Compsognathus]], [[Deinonychus]], [[Dilophosaurus]], [[Beelzebufo]], [[Allosaurus]], [[Dire Wolf]], [[Dimetrodon]], [[Baryonyx]], [[Kaprosuchus]], [[Sarcosuchus]], [[Cave Bear]], [[Utahraptor]], [[Giant Bat]], [[Forge Salamander]], [[Moros]], [[Carnotaurus]], [[Plesiosaurus]], [[Dunkleosteus]], [[Hesperornis]], [[Smilodon]], [[Ceratosaurus]], [[Spinosaurus]], [[Tyrannosaurus]], [[Titanoboa]], [[Pteranodon]], [[Argentavis]], [[Hatzegopteryx]], [[Microraptor]], [[Quetzalcoatlus]], [[Giganotosaurus]].

== Omnivore ==

Omnivores eat both plant and animal food, taking whatever is '''cheapest across both pantries''':

* Gourd
* Crimson Berry
* Raw Meat
* Azure Berry
* Minnow
* Earthroot
* Mudskipper
* Sunfruit
* Wild Onion
* Bichir
* Gar

'''Omnivore species''': [[Yi]], [[Oviraptor]], [[Troodon]]. Because omnivores draw from both food lists, they are the most flexible to keep fed.

== Feeding tips ==

* Keep a buffer of the '''cheapest''' foods in each category stocked — companions always reach for those first, so cheap staples like Gourd, Crimson Berry, and Raw Meat/Minnow do most of the feeding.
* A stronger companion buff means a hungrier companion; budget more food for your best workers.
* [[Omnivore]] companions are the easiest to sustain since any plant or fish will do.

== See also ==

* [[Creatures]] — per-species diet in the full roster
* [[Companions]] — the companion buff and upkeep system
* [[Imprinting]] — hatchling care feeding
* [[Taming]] — the separate cooked-food cost of taming

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