Conan Exiles Pets Guide 2026: Animal Pen, Food and Greater Pets
- โ๏ธ Building the Animal Pen: three tiers, three knowledges
- ๐ Where Conan Exiles pets come from
- ๐งช Food in the pen: what it really decides
- ๐ The one exception: Pebblenose and Rocknose
- โจ Greater pets and shadespiced food
- ๐ฉธ Which Conan Exiles pets are worth taking into a fight
- ๐ฆ What a pet really costs
- โ ๏ธ Common mistakes
- ๐ก FAQ about Conan Exiles pets
Conan Exiles pets don't grow up in combat. You raise them in the Animal Pen: pick up a baby animal, put the right food next to it and wait 30 minutes. For almost every species, the food only decides whether raising starts at all, not which animal comes out at the end.
This guide to Conan Exiles pets covers where the young animals spawn, what the three pen tiers cost, which diet group fits which animal, and the one species where food really does decide the adult form. The data was checked for Conan Exiles Enhanced (UE5) after patch 2.1.0 from August 18, 2026.
As of October 2026, the latest patch is 3.0.0 from October 6, 2026 (Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part Two) with hotfix 3.0.1. We haven't checked line by line whether those patches changed raising. New in 3.0.0 according to the patch notes: Mi-Go, which you can get through the Rifts as thralls or pets for your settlement.
โ๏ธ Building the Animal Pen: three tiers, three knowledges
It all starts with the Apprentice Tamer knowledge. The Enhanced database conanexiles.gaming.tools lists it at 3 knowledge points from level 13, with Thrall Taker as the prerequisite. It unlocks 35 recipes, among them the Animal Pen and every shadespiced feed.
The taming knowledge bringing the shadespiced feeds along is no accident. Those exact feeds matter later when you go for a Greater pet.
| Pen | Knowledge | Level and points | Building cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Pen | Apprentice Tamer | Level 13, 3 points | 300 Stone, 400 Wood, 20 Twine |
| Reinforced Animal Pen | second taming tier | Level 27, 6 points | 50 Brick, 60 Shaped Wood, 50 Iron Reinforcement |
| Armored Animal Pen | third taming tier | Level 42, 9 points | 100 Hardened Brick, 30 Insulated Wood, 50 Steel Reinforcement |
The higher tiers are tougher. Whether they also raise faster isn't officially confirmed. The Enhanced database lists the same 1,800 seconds (30 minutes) for every raising recipe in every pen. Community guides put the time savings at 50 percent for the Reinforced and 88 percent for the Armored Animal Pen. Funcom hasn't confirmed those numbers anywhere.
An Animal Pen is a big, heavy building piece. Stick it to an outer wall and you waste stability, so plan its spot before you place it.
๐ Where Conan Exiles pets come from
Baby animals roam freely in the world, usually within sight of the adults of their species. You don't knock them out like a thrall. You walk up and press the interact key. The in-game taming journey points out that some wild animals travel or rest with their young.
The Enhanced database counts the spawns per species from the game files. For wolf pups it lists twelve spawn points in the Exiled Lands and two on the Isle of Siptah. For the Sabretooth Cub it separates three sources: a wilderness version, a dungeon version and one in the Aesir territory in the north.
Picking them up costs nothing but the walk. If you're hunting followers anyway, grab the babies on the same trip. Our Conan Exiles thralls guide covers the capture side in detail.
๐งช Food in the pen: what it really decides
This is the biggest mistake in a lot of older guides. First of all, the food only decides if your animal eats it at all. Every species belongs to a diet group, and inside that group all accepted feeds are equal.
| Diet group | Example animals | Accepted food (selection) |
|---|---|---|
| Carnivores | Sabretooth, Mountain Lion, Spotted Hyena, Wolf | Abysmal Flesh, Feral Flesh, Savoury Flesh, Exquisite Meat, Human Flesh, Exotic Flesh, Raw Pork |
| Herbivores | Rhino, deer, Elephant | Plant Fiber, Highland Berries, Desert Berries and other plant feed |
| Stone eaters | Rocknose | Stone, Crystal, Ironstone, Goldstone, Gold Dust, Silverstone, Silver Dust |
We checked three carnivores: the Sabretooth Cub, the Mountain Lion Cub and the Spotted Hyena Whelp each accept fourteen kinds of meat, seven regular and seven shadespiced. Every single one leads to the same result pair in the database, for example "Sabretooth or Greater Sabretooth". The Rhino Calf from the Isle of Siptah works the same way with ten plant feeds.
Put simply: throwing expensive meat into the pen doesn't change which animal comes out. The same trap exists with mounts.
๐ The one exception: Pebblenose and Rocknose
Exactly one animal breaks the rule: the Pebblenose. What you feed it decides which Rocknose it becomes.
| Food | Result |
|---|---|
| Stone, Crystal, Ironstone | Rocknose or Greater Rocknose |
| Goldstone, Gold Dust | Rocknose or Gold-vein Rocknose |
| Silverstone, Silver Dust | Rocknose or Silver-vein Rocknose |
| Shadespiced gold feeds | Rocknose or Gold-vein Rocknose |
| Shadespiced silver feeds | Rocknose or Silver-vein Rocknose |
If you want a Gold-vein Rocknose, you have to feed Goldstone or Gold Dust. Ironstone will never get you one. It's the only confirmed food-to-adult link in the game.
Named pets are a second special case. One special cub only grows up on Exquisite Meat and then becomes a fixed companion such as Apollo. The recipe accepts no other food.
โจ Greater pets and shadespiced food
So what decides whether you get the Greater version? The taming journey answers it: you have to put suitable food in the pen, and certain kinds of food give a higher chance that your animal grows into a stronger companion.
The item text of the shadespiced feeds tells you which ones: the animal that eats them has a greatly increased chance of growing stronger and larger. The ingredient is Shadebloom, a flower tied to Jhebbal Sag. The sources disagree on where to get it: according to the Enhanced database, Aesir NPCs in the north are among the sources (75 percent chance, one or two each). The community wiki on Fandom instead names the bosses in the Midnight Grove, which you harvest with any regular tool, plus a long list of named NPCs.
The database doesn't publish the exact odds. It lists the same two possible results for every feed, without weighting. Community data puts the Greater chance for shadespiced meat on predators at around 30 percent, and at around 26 percent for the Rocknose with shadespiced iron feed. Those numbers aren't officially confirmed, and the sources partly contradict each other.
A third kind of feed stands apart: a cosmetic pet food from the Alchemist's Bench. The Enhanced database lists 1 Gruel, 1 Yellow Lotus Blossom and 2 Aloe Leaves, 10 seconds of crafting time, and it works on more than 50 species. In the pen it needs only 3 seconds instead of 30 minutes. It changes your pet's coloring, though, not its strength.
๐ฉธ Which Conan Exiles pets are worth taking into a fight
Not every animal is a fighter, and that's not just an opinion. In patch 2.1.0 Funcom fixed passive pets showing attack and follow settings that don't apply to them. So the game has its own class of pets without a combat role. Funcom doesn't list which species belong to it. Community tier lists consistently name gazelle, deer and camel as useless in combat, which isn't officially confirmed.
For combat pets, getting the Greater version is what counts most. A Greater Sabretooth is considered stronger than the normal one. The Enhanced database doesn't publish health or damage values for pets, so we won't guess any numbers here.
The mechanic behind it is confirmed: every pet levels up and rolls one perk each at level 10, 15 and 20. For the Rocknose, the database lists a perk with +3 Vitality at level 10 and one with a Grit bonus at level 20.
After raising, food matters again. If it sits in the pet's inventory, it shifts the attribute odds on level-up. For the Sabretooth, the database lists Abysmal Flesh for Strength, Feral Flesh for Agility and Savoury Flesh for Vitality. For the Rocknose, Stone gives Strength, Crystal gives Grit and Obsidian smaller amounts of both. What the attributes do is explained in our Conan Exiles attributes guide.
๐ฆ What a pet really costs
Conan Exiles pets are cheap in materials. Almost no guide does this math, though, because the most expensive part isn't the animal. It's the Greater feed.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Apprentice Tamer knowledge | 3 knowledge points from level 13 |
| Animal Pen | 300 Stone, 400 Wood, 20 Twine |
| Baby animal | free, just the walk |
| Raising with basic food | 1 Plant Fiber or 1 raw meat |
| 1x Shadespiced Perfect Cut of Meat | 15 Exquisite Meat plus 1 Shadebloom, stove, 10 seconds |
| Cosmetic pet food | 1 Gruel, 1 Yellow Lotus Blossom, 2 Aloe Leaves |
| Time in the pen | 1,800 seconds base value |
Fifteen Exquisite Meat for one portion of Greater feed is the real price. If you only want a pet tagging along, skip all that and drop one Plant Fiber in the pen. If you're breeding for Greater pets on purpose, collect five babies and raise them side by side instead of feeding a single one expensively.
โ ๏ธ Common mistakes
- Wrong diet group. A predator won't eat Plant Fiber. If raising doesn't start, the wrong food is almost always the reason.
- Wasting expensive meat. Exquisite Meat doesn't turn a Mountain Lion Cub into a better Mountain Lion. Save it for shadespiced feed.
- Wrong building. A Foal grows up in the Stables, not in the Animal Pen. They're two separate buildings.
- Lost partial stacks. Before patch 2.1.0, partial stacks could vanish when you quick-moved them out of the pen. On servers running older versions, move them by hand.
๐ก FAQ about Conan Exiles pets
At what level can I raise Conan Exiles pets?
From character level 13 with the Apprentice Tamer knowledge for 3 knowledge points. You need Thrall Taker first.
Does the food decide which animal comes out?
Only for the Pebblenose. Gold and silver feeds give the Gold-vein or Silver-vein Rocknose. For every other species we checked, each accepted food gives the same result pair.
How do I get a Greater pet?
With shadespiced food. The item text explicitly promises a higher chance of a larger, stronger animal. It isn't guaranteed. It stays a dice roll.
How long does raising take?
1,800 seconds, so 30 minutes base time. On servers with a custom animal pen multiplier, the real time is different.
Where do I find Shadebloom?
According to the Enhanced database, Aesir NPCs in the north are among the sources (75 percent chance of one or two). The community wiki names the bosses in the Midnight Grove instead. The sources disagree, so check both if one route comes up empty.
Which animals are useless in combat?
Funcom confirmed in patch 2.1.0 that passive pets exist for which attack and follow settings do nothing, but gives no list. Community tier lists name gazelle, deer and camel as unfit for combat.
Checked against the Enhanced database conanexiles.gaming.tools (Animal Pen, Reinforced and Armored Animal Pen, Apprentice Tamer, Pebblenose, Sabretooth Cub, Mountain Lion Cub, Spotted Hyena Whelp, Rhino Calf, Shadebloom, shadespiced feeds, the taming journey) and Funcom's patch notes for 2.1.0 from August 18, 2026 and 3.0.0. English item names were cross-checked against the player-written Conan Exiles Wiki on Fandom and Gamer Guides; the Shadebloom sources were compared with the wiki in October 2026. Data as of September 15, 2026 (patch 2.1.0), version note and Mi-Go update as of October 2026.
Marked as community data and not officially confirmed: the 50 and 88 percent time savings of the higher pen tiers and the Greater chances of about 30 percent for shadespiced meat and about 26 percent for the Rocknose. The Enhanced database doesn't publish health and damage values for individual pets, so you won't find any here. The database describes itself as a work in progress. More guides on the Conan Exiles overview.
