Grow a Garden has no shortage of creative pets, each with unique abilities that enhance your gameplay. But not all pets are created equal—and some are so powerful, mysterious, or controversial that they’ve been outright banned, unreleased, or even erased from the game’s data. In this guide, we break down the top three banned pets in Grow a Garden: what made them special, why they vanished, and if there’s any chance we’ll ever see them again. Also check out our Grow a Garden Guide for new players in the game.
1. The Firefly – The Mythical Mutator
The Firefly was first mentioned during the Blood Moon Update on May 17th, and for a brief moment, it looked like it would be one of the strongest pets in the game. The pet supposedly had an ability to apply the Shock mutation every 79 seconds—making it stronger than even the Dragonfly, according to early footage.
The drama began when a player named Toasty gifted a Firefly to another user, Vexo, in a video. But the video was cut short, raising doubts about whether the Firefly was ever real. Some fans even claimed they were “clickbaited” by the footage.
No real proof of the Firefly exists outside of this video. Toasty can’t be tracked, and no public player owns the pet today. However, the Shock mutation introduced in the Pet Mutation system (added in July 2025) now offers a similar effect—with a 3.22% chance of being rolled on a level 50+ pet.
- Firefly: Shock effect at any time, not reliant on weather.
- Shock Mutation: Only activates during thunderstorms.
While the Firefly may never be officially released, it might have inspired the Shock mutation. Technically, with a flying pet and the right luck, you can almost recreate the Firefly—but it’ll never be quite the same.
2. The Jandel Monkey – The One-of-One Mystery Pet
The Jandel Monkey is one of Grow a Garden’s most controversial pets—not because of what it does, but because of how rare (and potentially dangerous) it is. Announced by Jandel during the Summer Harvest Update, the Jandel Monkey was designed to be a one-of-one pet, meaning only a single player in the world could own it. This caused immediate concern among the community. Giving a single person a pet this rare could:
- Attract hackers or scammers.
- Create huge imbalances in trading value.
- Put that player at risk of being targeted.
Oddly enough, despite the announcement, no one has ever publicly shown proof of owning the Jandel Monkey. The pet’s original wiki entry has been deleted, with only a browser history snapshot remaining as evidence it ever existed.
On Discord and forums, several users claim to own or trade the pet—but these are likely scams. Every attempt to verify an owner has failed, and many “Jandel Monkey owners” disappear immediately after being confronted.
As of now, the Jandel Monkey exists only in rumors and archived posts. Whether it was pulled due to safety concerns or simply never made it past the idea stage, it remains Grow a Garden’s biggest mystery.
3. The Red Dragon – Admin Exclusive or Just a Myth?
The Red Dragon was confirmed as real through a leak by an admin named Remorse on April 30th. The pet was shown in a screenshot with a level of 16, and its supposed ability was to apply the Burnt mutation, likely making it an extremely powerful passive crop booster. But here’s where things get complicated.
Shortly after, players began flaunting “Red Dragons” in public servers. They’d roam around gardens, hold them in-hand, and flex with other rare pets. But most of these sightings were fake—just clever edits or modified watering cans with the Red Dragon name.
Eventually, it was confirmed that the actual Red Dragon was never publicly released and its role was replaced by a new pet: the Cooked Owl. This owl has the exact same functionality and mutation ability but a completely different look. To honor the original Red Dragon, Grow a Garden even added:
- A Fried Chicken weather event (a tongue-in-cheek nod to the dragon’s demise)
- A cosmetic referencing its disappearance
So technically, the Red Dragon did exist—but its design was removed, replaced, and turned into a quirky in-game joke.
The banned pets of Grow a Garden reflect both the creativity and chaos of a growing live game. Whether it’s the potentially overpowered Firefly, the mysterious Jandel Monkey, or the misunderstood Red Dragon, these pets left a mark—whether they were real or not.
For now, they remain legends, myths, and maybe even teasers for future features. One thing is clear: Grow a Garden isn’t afraid to experiment—even if it means banning a few pets along the way. If you’d like to see one of these pets brought back (or reimagined), which would it be?