So, you're wondering what that new crazy Lab Ray can do? How to get it? Is it even worth getting?

Here are some answers.

First of all, to make use of the Petpet Lab Ray, you will have to have access to the "normal" Lab Ray. Pieces of the Petpet Laboratory Map are found as random events, as are the Secret Laboratory Map Pieces. That means unless you are very lucky, you'll have to purchase them from the Shop Wizard, or the Trading Post.

The Investment

These days, Secret Laboratory Map Pieces run in price from 45k - 60k, so a complete set will cost anywhere from 500k upwards.
Where at first the complete Petpet Laboratory Map ran at about 250k, the price has dropped to less than 100k. This may be due to the various, severe drawbacks of the Petpet Lab Ray (see below).

What you should know before zap.

Whatever you get from the Petpet Lab Ray is not a "permanent" change. Once you unequip the petpet, it will revert to its original form (with the notable exception of the Pile of Soot).

That means if you zap a measly common Spyder into a snazzy new Strawberry Meepit, it'll stay that way as long as it's equipped to your pet. Once you unequip the Meepit, it will change back into a Spyder.
The petpet will also lose all levels gained by the Petpet Lab Ray, and of course it will "lose" its name (and any equipped petpetpets, naturally).

There is the chance that you will zap your petpet into a Pile of Soot (not unlike the Pile of Sludge Dr Sloth occasionally leaves in your inventory when happily firing his gun). This change is permanent, so I would advise not using rare and expensive petpets in the Petpet Lab Ray isn't permenant as you can simply unequip your soot pet, but this option may not be an option in the near future.

Your pet will not be eligible for the PPL. So I suggest not putting an old petpet into the petpet lab ray. On your pet lookup under your petpet you will have a little message saying:

[ Zapped by the Petpet Lab Ray ]

What you get from the Petpet Lab Ray

Here's the list of known changes the Petpet Lab Ray can effect:

• Nothing happens. (Do I need to explain?)
• Name Change. (Cutsiepie shall now be known as OMGROFL.)
• Level up/down. (To a minimum of 1, supposedly.)
• Species Change. (From Spyder, to Meepit)
• Color Change. (Unknown whether it will do all colors.)
• Pile of Soot. (yeah well, at least you'll probably get an avatar out of it...)
• Destroy Yes, the lab ray can completely destroy your pet off the face of neopia. That means, gone, silch, nothing, time to buy a new petpet.

Color Changes & Lab Possibilities

Since this probably is the reason why you got the Petpet Lab Ray in the first place, here's the quick and dirty breakdown on it.

Acclaimedly you can get all petpet colors from the Petpet Lab Ray. Since I haven't gotten a color change yet, I cannot say anything about it from personal experience.

Remember that while Pets can only gain the Robot Paint Job from the Lab Ray, there is a Robot Petpet Paint Brush.
Petpets also have a Mutant Petpet Paint Brush, but no Transmogrification Potions.

Colors exclusively gained by the Petpet Lab Ray currently are:

• Chocolate
• Gold
• Jelly
• Strawberry

Once I have gotten all the changes, I'll be sure to post the exact wording here. So far, here's the loot:

• Soot shall now be known as OMGROFL. How nice. (Name Change)
• But... nothing happens. It makes a kind of 'zzrrrppptttt' sound before shutting down completely. The creepy Kookith shoos you away and appears quite angry, so you hightail it out of there before he shoots some miniature laser beam at you or something. (...)
• Nothing looks different about Times New Roman but you can sense something happened. It becomes evident later when it tries to climb a tree but breaks off the branch instead. The ray has increased its level to: 2 (level up)
• Your eyes recover quite quickly after the giant explosion, but that's more than you can say for your Petpet. The Kookith is kind enough to sweep up Your Ad Here for you and you head home.
  Do you really want to come back tomorrow?
  Something has happened!
  You are now eligible to use 'Petpet Laboratory' as an avatar on the NeoBoards!
  
• Whoa... did it actually work? Sure looks like it. Your Petpet has been transformed. Imagine that.
• Your fears that the Kookith didn't actually know what the heck he was doing are confirmed when Help me eat suddenly disappears, leaving no trace.
  None. Nada. Zip. Ziltch.

Note: At the moment, any changes to your pet are reversible by unequipping the petpet (Including your pile of soot pet). As was mentioned in the News by Donna, this shouldn't be the case, though. Expect the change to be permanent in the near future.

Is it really worth it?

Probably not, as you cannot gain any money from it (apart from 10k upon completing the map.).

Then again, you don't get any money from the "normal" Lab Ray either. Since the Petpet Lab Ray is so young, nobody truly knows whether you can actually get all species of petpets from it. I wouldn't mind a Snowickle or Turmac to call my own.

If you're a fan of Jelly or Chocolate petpets, then you probably have not other choice but the get first the Secret Laboratory Map, and then the Petpet Laboratory Map, at a total of about 750k.

On the other hand, most Pet paintbrushes these days are more expensive than that, and Petpet paintbrush prices aren't what they used to be, either. So in the end, it's really up to you. I actually bought the Petpet Lab Map in a fit of spending spree. Maybe I'll eat my hat for it in about a week or two, but hey, it's just a game XD