Aging up pets is the slowest grind in Adopt Me. It takes hours to go from Newborn to Full Grown, and if you're making neons or megas, you're doing it four times over. Age Up Potions speed that up dramatically — but only if you use them right.
Every pet starts as a newborn and progresses through Junior, Pre-Teen, Teen, Post-Teen, and finally Full Grown. Each stage takes roughly the same amount of time — about 2-3 hours of active play to reach Full Grown from scratch. Tasks, mini-games, and just having the pet out all count toward age progress. You don't need to be doing something specific; passive time with the pet equipped adds up.
Stacking methods is the only real strategy. Use a Big Age Up Potion to blast through the early stages, then park your pet in a pet bed or stroller while you do other things — the age timer runs regardless. If you've got multiple pets to grind, rotate them. The most efficient players keep four pets out at once (one main, plus three in strollers) so all of them age simultaneously.
Making a neon requires four Full Grown pets of the same type. That's the painful part — not the fusion itself, but getting all four to max age. Use Age Up Potions on the last pet to finish, not the first one. The logic is simple: the first three can grind age passively while you're playing, but that fourth one is the bottleneck. Potions close the gap fastest when the finish line is in sight.
Mega Neon follows the same logic but requires four neons. Same strategy applies — grind three neons, potion the last one over the line. It's expensive in potion costs, but it's faster by days.
Once you've got your neons, check the Trading Guide to get the best deals on them. And never skip Adopt Me codes — free potions are always worth claiming.