Just like real pets, Neopets can be sent to the pound and adopted by other users.
After a brief hiatus from 2007 to 2008, the Neopet pound returned, but with new rules. These restrictions are designed to prevent pets going to new accounts that might be quickly abandoned by their owners. Now, high-level, rare or colored pets are bound by restrictions and can be adopted only by accounts that are more than 4 months old. The virtual shelter's official title is the Neopian Pound.
Account Age
The age of your account restricts your adopting abilities. If your account is less than 4 months old, you will be subject to restrictions based on adoptable pets' color, level and rarity. If you try to adopt a pet that is unavailable to you, you will receive the error message: "Your account is not old enough to adopt this pet."
Color
The following colors can be adopted by accounts less than 4 months old: brown, blue, checkered, invisible, green, glowing, pink, purple, orange, red, silver, shadow, speckled, split, skunk, white and yellow. All other colors are restricted to older accounts because they are considered rare or expensive. These colors include those created by the labs and from paintbrushes.
Level
Young accounts can adopt only pets that are Level 1 or 2. This prevents high-level pets with developed stats going to accounts that may not be used for very long. Once you prove that you will be a loyal Neopets user, you can adopt pets that are above Level 2.
Rarity
Rare pet types also are restricted. These limited edition, restricted pets include the draik, cybunny, chomby, hiso, kiko, jetsam, krawk, koi, poogle and tonu. All other pet types can be adopted by young accounts.
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