CrittrHavensCrittrHavens

Quickstart Guide 🚀

Welcome to CrittrHavens! In just a few minutes, you'll have your first workspace set up and be tracking your pets like a pro. This guide covers the essential steps to get you started with the four core workflows that make CrittrHavens powerful.

What You'll Learn

By the end of this guide, you'll know how to:

  1. Create a Haven - Your organized workspace
  2. Set up a Habitat - Where your pets live, with care frequencies
  3. Add a Crittr - Your pet's complete profile
  4. Log a Feeding - Track care activities

Let's dive in! 🐾

Step 1: Create Your First Haven

A Haven is your workspace where you organize pet habitats. Think of it as a room in your virtual pet facility.

How to Create a Haven

  1. From the main screen, look for the "Create Your First Haven" button
  2. Click it to open the haven creation modal
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Name: Something descriptive like "Reptile Room" or "Main Setup"
    • Type: Choose what fits your setup (Terrarium Room, Aquarium Room, etc.)
    • Description: Optional details about this space
    • Background: Pick a visual theme
  4. Click "Add Haven" to create it

Pro tip: Start simple with one haven. You can always create more as your collection grows!

Step 2: Create a Habitat with Frequencies

A Habitat is where your individual pets live. Each habitat can track care schedules automatically.

How to Create a Habitat

  1. In your haven, click any empty slot (the gray dashed areas)
  2. Fill in the habitat details:
    • Name: Like "Leo's Tank" or "Ball Python Enclosure"
    • Type: Choose from Terrarium, Aquarium, Paludarium, or Vivarium
    • Visual: Pick an image that matches your setup

Setting Up Care Frequencies

This is where CrittrHavens gets powerful! Frequencies tell the app how often care tasks should happen.

  1. Set your care schedule:
    • Cleaning Frequency: How often to clean (e.g., 168 hours = weekly)
    • Misting Frequency: For humidity needs (e.g., 24 hours = daily)
    • Measurement Frequency: For health tracking (e.g., 720 hours = monthly)

💡 Pro tip: Want to dive deeper into habitat management? Check out our Habitat Management Guide for advanced features like slot splitting, drag & drop, and substrate tracking.

What are frequencies? They're time intervals in hours:

  • 24 hours = Daily
  • 48 hours = Every 2 days
  • 168 hours = Weekly
  • 720 hours = Monthly
  1. Click "Add Habitat" to create it

Pro tip: Start with basic frequencies and adjust as you learn your pet's needs!

Step 3: Add Your First Crittr

A Crittr is your pet's complete profile with all their important details.

How to Add a Crittr

  1. Navigate to the Care section (bottom navigation) - this is Care Central, your hub for all care activities
  2. Find the Crittrs tab and click "Add Crittr"
  3. Fill in your pet's details:
    • Name: Your pet's name
    • Species: What type of animal
    • Sex: Male, Female, or Unknown
    • Morph: Color/pattern variety (optional)
    • Feeding Schedule: How often they eat (in hours)
    • Feeding Amount: Typical portion size
  4. Assign to a habitat: Choose which habitat they live in
  5. Click "Add Crittr" to save

Pro tip: Don't worry about getting every detail perfect initially. You can always edit their profile later!

💡 Want comprehensive pet management? Check out our complete pet management guides:

Step 4: Create Your First Feeding Log

Feeding logs help you track what, when, and how much you feed your pets. This creates a care history you can reference later.

How to Log a Feeding

  1. From the Care section (Care Central), find your crittr
  2. Click the menu button (three dots) next to their name
  3. Select "Log Feeding"
  4. Fill in the feeding details:
    • Date & Time: When the feeding happened (defaults to now)
    • Food Type: What you fed them
    • Amount: How much they ate
    • Notes: Any observations (optional)
  5. Click "Save Log"

Pro tip: Log feedings right after they happen while details are fresh in your memory!

What's Next?

Congratulations! 🎉 You've mastered the core CrittrHavens workflows. Your pets are now tracked, their habitats are monitored, and you're building a care history.

Ready to Level Up?

See Also

  • User Guide - Complete feature documentation and detailed guides

Need Help?

Welcome to the CrittrHavens family! Your pets are going to love the organized care they receive. 🦎💚