"With large bodies and spiked tails, Skeiths are among the strongest Neopets. These dragon-like beasts excel in combat and heavy lifting, although they are known procrastinators who’d rather let others do the work. And how do they maintain their massive builds? By devouring anything except cheese, of course!"
- Neopets Site Description
I've played Neopets on and off since the year 2000. Though that time, my tastes in pets and pet colors have changed and evolved. One thing, however, has never changed: I fucking love Skeiths.
There's currently 55 different species of Neopets available, and Skeiths are one of the oldest, existing even before Neopets kept record of their updates. Age isn't indicative of popularity, though. They currently rank at 34th [1] in sheer population on retail Neopets and ranked in the 12 most hated pets in a 2021 community poll. [2]
It's easy to see why people might have negative impressions of Skeiths. For one, they are insatiably hungry. If a hapless Neopian forgets to feed their Skeith or doesn't check them in to the Neolodge, a Skeith has no reservations about helping themselves to a tasty item from their owner's inventory, even if it isn't food. They're not picky about what they eat, happy to feast on anything, including expensive paint brushes or petpets. They're allergic to any food containing the word 'egg', however, and will contract Neezles if they do.
Their appearance and typical portrayal on Neopets do not help their image. They are all overweight and have comically tiny wings. The Neopets Team is fond of depicting them as gluttonous, and many of the few Skeith NPCs are villainous characters.
I, however, disagree. They may be ill-mannered, but these round dragons are friend-shaped. They're full of character, and the most charming of the numerous Neopet dragons. They're relatable, too. I'd probably be a Skeith if I were a Neopet.
Infamous Skeiths
I've collected a list of the most notable unique Skeiths here. Some are much more minor characters than others.
King Skarl
"Skarl is the ruler of Meridell, greedy and always hungry, he also has a very bad temper - though many try to cheer him up by telling jokes. Although he did not personally order the theft of Darigan's orb after Meridell fell into a famine, he did not return it either - he also briefly fell under the Darkest Faerie's control when she stormed Meridell."
King Hagan
"Skarl's more intelligent brother, King Hagan is the ruler of Brightvale, a kingdom filled with wisdom and intellect. If you visit him at his rather magnificent castle, you may have a chance to say the wisest thing you think of; if you impress him, he'll give you a prize."
Malkus Vile
"With the help of the Meerca Brothers, Malkus organized the theft of King Coltzan's Crown. Once the crown was acquired back, he disappeared. He was due to appear in the Guildmaster's dinner puzzle as a guest of Galem Darkhand, but the puzzle was cancelled. On the orders of an unknown party, he launched a scheme to pollute the atmosphere of Neopia to weaken the Faeries."
The National Neopian Bank Manager
He's the manager of the National Neopian Bank, where all users can safely stash their hard-earned Neopoints. There's not much more to him than that, but he may be the most well-seen Skeith in the game due to his prominent position in a heavily used feature.
Gordos, the Collector
"Gordos is the tax collector of Altador. His acts of honesty when collecting taxes were what made King Altador choose him as a council leader. Gordos has the constellation "The Collector". He is known to be the last of the 12 heroes to join Altador's council."
Archos
"Archos is a wanderer at the camp in the woods. Once, he read a magical book which turned him evil, and proceeded to rampage across the area seeking the Wand of Wishing. His Werhond attempted to claim the wand, but Megan eventually used it to undo the damage he caused and return him to normal."
Commander Flint
"This Skeith was formerly a General in the Altador military. After fighting Wraiths during the fall of Faerieland, he left the army to form the Brute Squad, a group of warriors dedicated to stopping trouble before it starts."
Snargan
"Snargan is the Meridell Castle Treasurer, however, in his free time, he gambles using the King's money. He is a sneaky one though, and getting any money out of him is tricky."
Bigsby Shadington
Bigsby Shadington is the inventor of the Wonderclaw game, formerly in the NC Mall. In 2021, the game was discontinued due to relying on Adobe Flash, and it has not been converted.
Collectable Coins Shopkeeper
This unnamed skeith is the shopkeeper for the collectable coins shop, as you may have guessed. His shop is located in the Catacombs in Neopia Central.
Exquisite Ambrosia Shopkeeper
This unnamed skeith is, obviously, the shopkeeper for the shop Exquisite Ambrosia, which sells Altadorian foods.
Kayn Hireck
"Hireck plays as a forward in the Brightvale team. He's not as fast as he used to be, but has a crafty habit of tripping opposing players with his tail when no one is looking. During 2012, reporters noticed he was beginning to seem over laundered."
Kayn served as a member of Team Brightvale from 2006-2008 and 2010-2014.
Mungo Lifler
"Mungo Lifler is known as the best set of hands in the business. Though, his footwork and jumping leave a lot to be desired. Mungo is not currently playing on any Yooyuball teams, and is enjoying an early retirement."
Mungo was a Team Darigan member in 2006 only.
Oten Runeu
"Runeu replaced Jair Tollet in 2007 when she left for Roo Island. He played as a centre defender, and lacked scoring ability."
Oten has served as a member of Team Brightvale from 2007-2024.
Skeith Colors
Skeiths come in tons of fun colors, like any Neopet does. Please look at all of them!! I love them. I've included both converted and unconverted images
Baby
Biscuit
He's eating himself! 
The only Biscuit pet I like.
Blue
Brown
Camouflage
I love Camouflage pets that use more natural markings, but I'm not totally sure what the inspiration is here...
Candy
Checkered
Chocolate
Christmas
Cloud
Darigan
One of my favorites.
Desert
Desert is a deeply unfortunate color all around.
Dimensional
Disco
Brown
Electric
Eventide
Faerie
Fire
Ghost
Glowing
Gold
Green
To me, Green is the color I think of Skeiths as by default, for some reason...
Grey
I think Grey suffered the most from conversion. 
Halloween
I love him.
Ice
Invisible
I used to roleplay with someone who had an Invisible Skeith, in like 2004.
Island
Island is also a very unfortunate color.
Jelly
Magma
Maractite
Maraquan
Marble
Mutant
I love Mutant pets so much.
Pastel
Pink
Pirate
Plushie
Plushie suffered a lot from conversion, too. I wish it still looked grumpy!
Polka Dot
I think this might be the worst color, honestly.
Purple
I miss the orange bits.
Red
Relic
Robot
Royalboy
Royalgirl
Shadow
Silver
Sketch
Skunk
Snow
Speckled
Split
Spotted
My very first Skeith was spotted. The account he's on has been frozen for almost 20 years.
Starry
Stealthy
I like this one more without the clothes. Why are they all patchy?
Strawberry
Striped
Swamp Gas
I don't really understand this color.
Transparent
Tyrannian
One of my favorites, before conversion.
Water
Water is my favorite post-conversion color.
White
Woodland
Wraith
Yellow
Zombie
Most of my Neopets playtime these days is on Grundo's Cafe. If you enjoyed Neopets of old but aren't a member, you should consider it! It's invite-only, but don't let that scare you off, they're not too hard to come by if you try. I might even have an invite code available, if you ask me!
I'm including some highlights of Grundo's Cafe exclusive Skeith colors here, too. There's a lot more than this -- like new basic pose colors and revived old art poses! I just wanted to show the unique pose colors available on there, and alt colors of those, because they're SO good!
Skeith Items
There are SO many Skeith items. I will compile them here later.
My Skeiths
I have a fair number of Skeiths! I've had many, many more in the past, but for various reasons many of them have been lost to me. Here's who I have now.
scorpje
I know what you're going to say -- "that's no Skeith, you liar!" To that, I say: scorpje is an honorary Skeith. I've had him for 20 years, and long ago he was a Tyrannian Skeith. He's the only one of my old Skeiths (I had 10 at one point!) left. In 2007, I converted scorpje to dress him up. I regretted it almost immediately. Eventually, I turned him into a Lupe because I disliked the conversion less. In my heart, he's still a Skeith! If I ever fall back into retail, I'll probably repaint him and try to get him the deconverted style.
Meliana_123
An adoptee! I never got to do much with her before I fell off retail Neopets again.
pufflie123
Another adoptee! I never got to do much with her before I fell off retail Neopets again, either.
My latest addition. She's got no characterization or petpet yet, but I'm excited to have her!
I had a Halloween Skeith on retail at one point and I miss him, so I was absolutely thrilled when GC released a deconversion of it! Vomit is carnie in the Haunted Fairgrounds, and he is a gullible conman who gets conned more than he manages to con others. His best friend is Hustler, who is a conman only marginally more effective than he is. He has a Halloween Ona named Shambles and it has an Aboogala.
I thought retail's Faerie Skeiths had so much potential that was squandered by only existing converted, and GC's delivered everything I imagined it could've been and more. Vinca is a kindhearted gal who runs an offshoot of the Soup Kitchen on the border of the Lost Desert and the Haunted Woods, hoping to be accessible to Neopians who live further from Neopia Central. She's not very good at making soup, but she's an excellent baker and her bread bowls make up for the bland soup. Her Faerie Trunkard, Periwinkle, and its Skidget, help her out.
Defiance was the first alt Edgy Skeith on GC! She's in a band with her friend Tobe and works in the Petpet Shop in Neopia Central. Usually somewhat gruff and distant, she absolutely loves petpets and is an expert in petpet care. Her Black and Spotted Spardels, Themla and Louise, are her spoiled babies, and the only thing she loves as much as them are her two girlfriends, Allegiance and Acceptance.