Pet mutations in Grow a Garden change a pet's passive strength, XP gain, size or ability, and each one carries a multiplier. They are separate from crop mutations such as Wet or Frozen, which affect fruit value. This guide lists the 22 pet mutations that have a recorded multiplier, where each one comes from and which are marked as not currently obtainable. The data comes from the Grow a Garden Wiki entries stored in the site database.
Pet mutations that the database lists without a multiplier or description (for example Shiny, Golden and Mega) are left out, because there is nothing verified to say about them. The full set of entries is on the pet mutations page.
Every pet mutation with a multiplier
| Mutation | Multiplier | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transcendent | x200 | Big passive boost (35%); every 20:00 to 10:00 minutes ages a random pet by 1 | Level 500 mutation machine, 2.5% |
| Gigantic | x150 | Huge size boost (300%); grants Small, Medium and Large passive boosts to 3 random pets | Level 500 mutation machine, 12.5% |
| Iridescent | x125 | Size boost (150%); turns a random fruit rainbow every 25:15 to 13:00 minutes | Level 500 mutation machine, 35% |
| Exalted | x100 | Passive boost (25%); every pet gains 20 to 30 extra XP per second | Level 500 mutation machine, 50% |
| HyperHunger | x100 | Passive boost (30%), but hunger drains very fast and the boost turns off below 25% hunger | Santa's Stash; not currently obtainable |
| Ember | x88 | Passive (32%), XP (32%) and size (200%) boosts | Fire Wisp |
| Starry | x80 | Passive (25%) and XP (25%) boosts; advances another pet's ability cooldown by 20 to 40 seconds | Moon Mutator, 2.5%; not currently obtainable |
| Lunarbound | x50 | XP (20%) and size (130%) boosts; collected fruit may gain Moonbound | Moon Mutator, 15%; not currently obtainable |
| Blossoming | x50 | Passive boost (23%) and 7 to 25 extra XP per second | Elder Candy Blossom, when hatching within its radius |
| Inferno | x50 | Passive (25%) and size (175%) boosts; ages random pets by 2 | Campfire Rune Event; not currently obtainable |
| Threshing | x30 | Passive boost (15%); 6 to 12% chance not to use up a Reclaimer or Harvest Tool | Moon Mutator, 35%; not currently obtainable |
| Peppermint | x25 | Sacrifices 12 random Christmas fruits to trigger the pet's ability | Peppermint Vine, 10%; not currently obtainable |
| Everchanted | x25 | Passive boost (30%); eats a fruit with 7+ mutations for a Medium Passive Boost | Rare chance from the Peryton |
| Everfallen | x25 | Passive boost (30%); eats a fruit with 7+ mutations for a Medium XP Boost | Enfield, 4% |
| RoyalJelly | x25 | Passive boost (25%); extra XP per Royal Jelly plant, up to 50 | Royal Jelly Shop |
| Bountiful | x20 | XP boost (15%); 5 to 10% chance Night fruit duplicates | Moon Mutator, 47.5%; not currently obtainable |
| Silver | x10 | Small passive boost, with a x10 pet sell multiplier | Achievements |
| Tethered | x1 | Wanders constantly around the player | Toffee Tether; not currently obtainable |
| Alienated | x1 | Small passive boost (30%) but drains 7% XP per second | Alien Chaos weather; not currently obtainable |
| Luminous | x1 | Imbues a nearby fruit with fairy power every 33:20 to 16:40 minutes | Fairy Event achievements; not currently obtainable |
| Nutty | x1 | 20 to 40% chance the next ability activates twice, otherwise the pet loses a level | Chubby Chipmunk acorns, 0.24%; not currently obtainable |
| Dreadbound | x1 | Gains 6.5 to 30 extra XP per second | Applied by the Headless Horseman |
The two machines that matter most
Two sources list a full set of odds, and in both cases the chances add up to exactly 100%.
Level 500 mutation machine
| Result | Chance | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Exalted | 50% | x100 |
| Iridescent | 35% | x125 |
| Gigantic | 12.5% | x150 |
| Transcendent | 2.5% | x200 |
Weighting each result by its chance gives an average multiplier of about 117.5 per roll. Half of the results are Exalted, so most rolls land on the lowest of the four. A Transcendent is a one-in-forty roll.
Moon Mutator
| Result | Chance | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Bountiful | 47.5% | x20 |
| Threshing | 35% | x30 |
| Lunarbound | 15% | x50 |
| Starry | 2.5% | x80 |
The same weighting gives an average of about 29.5. All four Moon Mutator results are marked as not currently obtainable, so the machine's table only matters if it returns.
What the odds mean in practice
The machine's chances are per roll and independent, so the arithmetic is simple:
- A 2.5% result takes 40 rolls on average (1 divided by 0.025). Ten rolls give about a 22% chance of at least one Transcendent, and forty rolls about 64%.
- Gigantic and Transcendent together make up 15% of results, so a roll lands on one of those two about once every 6 to 7 attempts.
- Half the rolls return Exalted, which is still a x100 mutation and a 25% passive boost, so a bad roll is not a wasted one.
These are probabilities from the listed chances, not a promise about any single session.
How to read the "what it does" column
The mutations fall into four rough groups:
- Pet growth: Exalted, Ember, Lunarbound, Blossoming and Dreadbound add XP per second or an XP percentage. They help a pet level, which is the quick route to a higher passive.
- Passive strength: Transcendent, Everchanted, Everfallen, RoyalJelly and HyperHunger raise the passive boost by 25% to 35%.
- Size: Gigantic, Iridescent, Ember and Inferno raise the pet's size by 150% to 300%.
- Side effects on the garden: Iridescent turns fruit rainbow, Peppermint sacrifices Christmas fruit, Threshing saves tools and Bountiful duplicates Night fruit. These matter if your garden is built around that effect.
Which pet to apply them to is a separate decision. The pet tier list and the best pet tier list guide rank the pets themselves, and the egg hatch rates guide shows how to get them.
Where each mutation comes from
- 1Machines: the Level 500 mutation machine and the Moon Mutator.
- 2Special pets and plants: Fire Wisp (Ember), Peryton (Everchanted), Enfield (Everfallen), Elder Candy Blossom (Blossoming), Peppermint Vine (Peppermint), Headless Horseman (Dreadbound).
- 3Shops and achievements: Royal Jelly Shop (RoyalJelly), Achievements (Silver).
- 4Events and weather: Campfire Rune Event (Inferno), Fairy Event achievements (Luminous), Alien Chaos weather (Alienated), Chubby Chipmunk acorns (Nutty), Santa's Stash (HyperHunger), Toffee Tether (Tethered).
The Pet Mutation Shard is a gear that mutates a pet instantly when you click the pet, without using the mutation machine. The entries do not list what it can produce, so check the gear tier list or the in-game description before spending on one.
Common mistakes
- Chasing a mutation that is marked as not currently obtainable. Eleven of the 22 are.
- Reading the multiplier as the whole benefit. The effect text often matters more than the number, for example HyperHunger's hunger drain.
- Confusing pet mutations with crop mutations. They have separate lists and separate effects.
- Expecting the machine to be generous. The Level 500 machine returns the weakest result half the time.
- Applying a size mutation to a pet whose value comes from its ability.
FAQ
What are the best pet mutations in Grow a Garden?
By listed multiplier, Transcendent (x200), Gigantic (x150) and Iridescent (x125) come first. Transcendent is a 2.5% result from the Level 500 mutation machine.
How do I get Transcendent?
It has a 2.5% chance from the Level 500 mutation machine.
Which pet mutations can no longer be obtained?
The wiki marks Tethered, Alienated, Luminous, Nutty, HyperHunger, Peppermint, Inferno, Starry, Lunarbound, Bountiful and Threshing as not currently obtainable.
What does Exalted do?
It gives a 25% passive boost and all pets gain 20 to 30 extra XP per second. It is a 50% result from the Level 500 machine.
Do pet mutations affect crop value?
No. Crop mutations are a separate list that changes fruit value.
