When animals get sick in Planet Zoo 2, there's almost always a reason behind it: dirty water, leftover food, too few keepers or a skipped quarantine. Fix the cause and most diseases go away for good.
Diseases you'll run into
| Disease | How bad | Who gets it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowpox virus | Low | Lots of species | Showed up in a hyena habitat. Worth researching early because so many animals can catch it |
| White spot disease | High | Fish | Move sick fish to quarantine quickly |
| Velvet disease | Serious | Fish | Don't ignore it |
| Canine distemper | Unknown | Several, but not all, dog-family animals and some others | Came in with a rescued African wild dog. Research it after the first case |
| Glanders | Unknown | Hoofed animals | Appeared in a rehabilitation centre |
The disease list also shows how dangerous each disease is, with labels like "considerable" or "very high". Deal with the dangerous ones first.
What causes outbreaks
1. Dirty drinking water
This is the big one. Every pond needs a water pump and every aquarium needs filters. If a pump breaks down, the water quality drops into the red, and within a few in-game days animals start getting ill. In one zoo, a single broken pump caused a whole wave of sick buffalo.
Fix: keep a mechanic in every work zone that has water, and add a second pump to important habitats.
2. Leftover food
Keepers sometimes leave old food behind. In carnivore habitats that can mean a whole carcass lying around. Old food raises the disease risk. Open the cleanliness heat map to spot it.
Fix: request an urgent clean, or refill the feeders. When keepers refill, they usually clear the old food too.
3. Not enough keepers
If you see "habitat disease risk", keepers aren't cleaning it often enough. Hire another keeper for that work zone or move the keeper hut closer.
4. Skipping quarantine
New animals, especially from the market, can bring disease with them. Always send them to quarantine first. It only takes a short while.
5. Weak animals
Animals with low immunity get sick first. Check immunity before you buy.
Treating a sick animal
- Urgently request a vet on the sick animal.
- If treatment seems stuck, send the animal to quarantine by hand.
- Request an urgent clean of the habitat and check the water.
- Have a spare vet research the disease so it shows up less in future.
- If one area is badly hit, move a vet over from another work zone for a while, then move them back.
Quarantine
- Every new animal should go through quarantine before joining its habitat.
- Quarantine buildings have no windows, so they're perfect for facing a hillside or tucking at the back of a staff area.
- There's an aquatic quarantine for fish and other water animals. It's not strictly required, but it's good practice.
- You can watch animals being treated: they lie on a hospital bed while the vet works on them.
Keeping animals healthy long term
- Buy healthy animals. Avoid low immunity.
- Don't overcrowd. Overcrowding leads to stress and fighting, which is when things go wrong.
- Research diseases as they appear. One zoo that researched every disease rarely had outbreaks afterwards.
- Keep water clean and keepers busy.
Ageing and death
Animals get old and eventually die. The game warns you shortly before ("about to die of old age"), and a vet comes to the animal.
Things to know:
- Elderly animals can still breed in some species, so watch for inbreeding with their grown-up offspring.
- Exhibit animals can die quietly. It's easy to miss a dead lizard in a small tank. One zoo discovered its Nile monitor exhibit was empty, with the education boards still pointing at it, so check your exhibits now and then.
- Losing old animals is a good reminder to keep younger replacements coming through your breeding programme.