Animal Care in Project Zomboid (Build 42)
Animal Care is a Farming skill. Taking it from 0 to 10 costs 32,775 XP before multipliers — 5 skill books multiply what you earn on the way; the Rancher occupation starts with 4 levels.
From the Build 42 dedicated server's files (depot manifest of 23 Sept 2026).
XP for each level
Level 10 alone costs 9,000 XP — 27% of the total.
XP needed for each level
| Level | XP for this level | Total XP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 75 |
| 2 | 150 | 225 |
| 3 | 300 | 525 |
| 4 | 750 | 1,275 |
| 5 | 1,500 | 2,775 |
| 6 | 3,000 | 5,775 |
| 7 | 4,500 | 10,275 |
| 8 | 6,000 | 16,275 |
| 9 | 7,500 | 23,775 |
| 10 | 9,000 | 32,775 |
What you actually earn is scaled first. Starting with no levels in Animal Care cuts every gain to ×0.25; a starting +1 is ×1, +2 ×1.33 and +3 or more ×1.66. Fast Learner adds ×1.3, Slow Learner ×0.7. How the multipliers work.
Animal Care skill books
Reading a volume multiplies the Animal Care XP you earn while your level is inside its range: every tenth of the book read adds a tenth of the multiplier. The game lets you open a volume from one level below its range, and not once you are past it (ISReadABook.lua).
Multipliers from the game's skill-book table (lua/server/XpSystem/XPSystem_SkillBook.lua); “where it spawns” opens the map's item finder on the loot tables.
Start with Animal Care
Levels a new character gets in Animal Care — and, through them, a faster XP rate (see above):
- Rancheroccupation · +4
- Farmeroccupation · +1
Animal Care from TV and VHS
2 VHS tapes give 600 XP. Both stop counting once the skill reaches level 3 in the default sandbox settings, and before the multipliers above. Shows and tapes, by name.
More skills
Pictures: item and trait icons and the health-panel figure are The Indie Stone's game art; item renders and shop signs are from PZwiki (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).
Project Zomboid is a game by The Indie Stone. PinDrop is fan-made and not affiliated with The Indie Stone.