How to Tame Pteranodon in ARK
The most common early-game flying mount. Fast but fragile. Essential for scouting and quick transport.
Quick Facts
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Temperament
- Neutral
- Tame Method
- Knockout
- Rideable
- Yes
Pteranodon Taming Details
Pteranodon is a knockout tame. Its most effective taming food is Kibble (preferred) or Raw Mutton.
Alternative foods: Cooked Lamb Chop, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, Raw Meat.
Harvest yield: a tamed or killed Pteranodon drops Raw Meat, Hide.
Taming Steps
1. Prepare your gear
Bring Tranq Arrows or Tranq Darts, a Crossbow or Longneck Rifle, Narcotics or Narcoberries, and bug repellent.
2. Locate the creature
Find a wild Pteranodon on supported maps. Check the spawn map and bring a fast mount or a flyer for transport.
3. Knock it out
Pteranodon is a knockout tame. Use a Crossbow, Longneck Rifle with Tranq Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts. Aim for the head for bonus torpor and keep distance to avoid aggro damage.
4. Feed the right food
Place Kibble (preferred) or Raw Mutton in its inventory (alternatives: Cooked Lamb Chop, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, Raw Meat). Higher-tier food gives faster taming and higher level bonuses.
5. Maintain torpor
Watch the torpor bar. Feed Narcoberries or Narcotics to prevent it from waking up before the tame completes.
6. Claim & saddle
Once tamed, equip a saddle (unlocks via the engram tab) to ride your Pteranodon.
Pteranodon base stats
Level 1 wild values, with the gain each point adds in the wild and after taming.
| Stat | Base | Per wild level | Per tamed level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 210 | +20.0% | +15.0% |
| Stamina | 150 | +5.0% | +4.0% |
| Oxygen | 150 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Food | 1200 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Weight | 120 | +2.0% | +3.0% |
| Melee damage | 1 | +5.0% | +7.5% |
| Movement speed | 1 | +0.0% | +2.0% |
| Torpidity | 120 | +6.0% | +0.0% |
Taming & saddle figures
Breeding & movement
Where it spawns & other details
Pteranodon spawns on The Island, Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, Valguero, Astraeos, The Center, Extinction, Lost Colony, Genesis Part 1.
Pteranodon variants
- Corrupted Pteranodon
- Eerie Pteranodon
- Lightning Pteranodon (Astraeos)
- Revenant Pteranodon
Related tools & resources
Pteranodon — Background & Lore
The Pteranodon is usually the first flyer a survivor tames. It is fast, cheap to tame and light. It cannot carry much and goes down quickly, but nothing beats it for scouting, quick trips and escaping danger early in the game.
Where to find it
It is common along coasts and plains on almost every map in both games. Ragnarok in ASA has a spawn zone that holds only Pteranodons.
Taming
A knockout tame and a quick one: low torpor and low food needs make it easy with a bow and tranquilizer arrows. It is skittish and flies off when hit, so take a couple of shots and track it. Feed it meat or fish. The saddle unlocks at level 38. See the taming calculator.
Breeding
- Egg: hatches in about 1 hour 40 minutes.
- Temperature: 29 to 32 °C in ASE.
- Growth: a baby matures in about 1.5 days at 1x.
Uses
- Travel: scouting and fast travel.
- Carrying: picks up small creatures and players.
- Escape: its barrel roll attack also gets it out of tight spots.
Tips
Level stamina and speed. A Pteranodon with no stamina left drops out of the sky.