Minecraft Snapshot 26.1 Brings Golden Dandelion: Keep Baby Mobs Young Forever

In a delightful update for animal lovers everywhere, Mojang Studios has released Minecraft Java Edition Snapshot 26.1 Snapshot 5, featuring the Golden Dandelion — a magical flower that lets players freeze baby mobs in their adorable juvenile forms forever. This long-awaited feature responds to years of community pleas for permanent baby pets, transforming farms and bases into eternal nurseries of cuteness.

How the Golden Dandelion Works

The Golden Dandelion is simple yet revolutionary. Right-click on any eligible baby mob while holding the flower, and it pauses the mob's natural aging process. No more watching your fluffy baby wolf or speedy baby horse mature into a full-sized adult! To reverse the effect and allow growth, simply interact with the mob again using another Golden Dandelion.

Limitations to note:

Does not work on hostile baby mobs (like zombies or spiders, which do not age in vanilla Minecraft anyway).
Ineffective on baby villagers.

Crafting Your Eternal Youth Flower

Crafting is straightforward and accessible early-game:

Gather 1 Dandelion (found in plains and flower forest biomes).
Collect 8 Gold Nuggets (smelt gold ore or mine from bastion remnants).
Place the Dandelion in the center of a crafting table, surrounded by Gold Nuggets on all eight sides.

The recipe yields one Golden Dandelion, complete with its own use and unuse sound effects for extra immersion.

Adorable Visual and Audio Upgrades

Alongside the Golden Dandelion, the snapshot revamps baby aquatic mobs for maximum charm:

Dolphins, Squids, Glow Squids, Turtles, and Axolotls now sport rounder models, updated textures, and slightly larger hitboxes for smoother interactions.
Baby chickens get brand-new ambient, hurt, and death sounds, distinct from adults.

These changes make baby mobs even more playful and expressive, perfect for snapshot testers building underwater menageries or chicken coops.