ARK: Survival Evolved

Here can you find everything about breeding in ARK.

Breeding

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Breeding is a feature of the game that lets players breed creatures using Dinosaur Eggs with Non-Mammals or by Pregnancy with Mammals.

Eggs will not have an owner until hatched, so it’s possible to steal other player’s eggs. Once hatched/born, dinos/mammals can simply be claimed and do not require the traditional violent taming.

Once hatched you must imprint on the dino and or mammal. This basically claims the animal. This must be done promptly, along with feeding it, as babies can die quickly from hunger.

Incubation

The fertilized egg itself only begins Incubation when dropped, not in Inventory. When dropped, a Fertilized Egg won’t spoil, but to incubate it must be kept at a certain temperature range depending on the species (this also factors in insulation). If outside of this temperature range, it won’t make incubation progress, and it will lose “Fertilized Egg Health” over time and be destroyed if zero. This is all indicated on the HUD when looking at a fertilized Egg, and its description also tells you its Parents.

Incubation Tips:

Temperature gradients can be very extreme between regions, easily reaching 20 °C or more. Look if there is some region nearby where temperature drops closer to eggs’ ideal point (usually in the biome that spawned the creature).

Use a heat source to regulate the egg’s temperature. Standing Torch.png Standing Torch, Torch.png Torch or Campfire.png Campfire and industrial cooker works well. However they all have the downside of providing negative Heat Tolerance, making careful management necessary. It’s best however, to use one or more Air Conditioner.png Air Conditioner, Kairuku.png Kairuku or Dimetrodon.png Dimetrodon as they provide the necessary heat while not decreasing (or even increasing) Heat Tolerance. Six Air Conditioner.png Air Conditioner should work for all eggs but eight is ideal for when there is a heat/cold storm. You might need up to 14 Air Conditioners for larger eggs such as the Giganotosaurus.png Giganotosaurus, the Wyvern.png Wyvern in Scorched Earth or Ragnarok, or Rock Drake.png Rock Drake in Aberration (which requires 32 Air Conditioners at least due to very cold incubation requirement).

Fertilized Eggs don’t lose Egg Health while picked up, so you can keep them in your Inventory or in a preserving bin/refrigerator, if you are temporarily unable to achieve the appropriate temperature needed for Incubating. This can be very useful, if you settled in a region with extreme temperatures, it’s especially difficult to cool an egg in a hot biome without an air conditioner, when it gets too hot.

Incubation can be postponed by picking up the egg and placing it into a refrigerator or other container. The egg’s health will not decrease while it is being stored.