When your lioness is ready to breed, in your den, she will appear with a little flame under "Status" that looks something like this: , and looks like this in the den.
On her page, she will also appear with a message "This lioness is in heat and will be for X days." She is in heat for 4 days total, so the countdown (X) starts at 3, on her last day of heat it changes to 0. If you miss her heat, she will come back into heat in 8 days. This is what it will look like on her page:

As stated previously, your lioness stays in heat for a total of 4 days. You are free to breed her to any other stud that you'd like, including your own. You can only breed her to a King, sub-males cannot breed.
Depending on what you want out of the breeding will help you select the stud you breed to. We will discuss mutations later, but for now, lets talk about genetics.

All bases have certain genetics (e.g.: Red Light Countershaded), and they all are labelled as either Common, Uncommon, Rare, or Special. These labels mean basically what they say. Common bases are the most common bases that can be found. They can be produced from any combination of bases when breeding. They can also be applied via a base changer.
Uncommon are the next level up. These can only be produced by breeding a Common base (or higher) to an Uncommon base (or higher). If you breed a Common with a Common base, you will only get a Common base as a result. Rare bases are the next level above Uncommon, and Special bases are above Rare. Special bases can either be applicator bases (such as the Bast, Fuchsia, Interstellar, Opal, Hematite, etc bases) or breed-only bases (such as Haze, Pulsar, Temporal and Soul - these are combo bases).

Your best chance of breeding a Special base lion is to breed a Special base to another Special base. Usually you would breed the same bases together to get a higher chance of getting that particular Special base. If you cross a Common x Special base, you have higher chances of getting Uncommon or Rare bases, but also still a high chance of getting a Common base.

If you are trying to breed for a specific base (e.g. Interstellar), your best option of breeding that base is to use either Special or Rare genetics lions with the same coloring genetics. In this case, Interstellar has Black Dark Solid Special genetics, so your highest chance of breeding would be to use another lioness with Black Dark Solid Special genetics. If you don't have a Special lioness, then your next highest chance would be a lioness with Rare genetics, then next would be Uncommon, etc. It would also be best to breed to a stud that has the Interstellar base.

Here's the basic passing rates for crossing various genetics:

Dark x Dark = Dark
Light x Light = Light
Dark x Light = 25% Dark, 25% Light, 50% Medium
Medium x Medium = 15% Dark, 15% Light, 70% Medium
Dark x Medium = 50% Dark, 50% Medium
Light x Medium = 50% Light, 50% Medium


There is always one exception to these breeding combinations : the Albino base. There isn't really anything special about the Albino base, it is a Common base, but it tends to just pop up randomly in litters even if the parents do not have those specific genetics. You can breed a Red x Red combination and still end up with the Albino base. It just happens.


Common x Common = 100% Common
Common x Uncommon = Very High % for Common, Very Low % for Uncommon and Rare
Common x Rare = Very High % for Common, Very Low % for Uncommon and Rare
Common x Special = Very High % for Common, Very Low % for Uncommon and Rare, Extremely Low % for Special

Uncommon x Uncommon = Very High % for Common, Very Low % for Uncommon and Rare
Uncommon x Rare = High % for Common, Low % for Uncommon and Rare
Uncommon x Special = High % for Common, Low % for Uncommon and Rare, Very Low % for Special

Rare x Special = High % for Common, Low % for Uncommon and Rare, Very Low % for Special

Special x Special = High % for Common, Low % for Uncommon and Rare, Very Low % for Special

There are so many markings in the game and there are thousands of possible combinations that you can have. If you find a marking that you like and want to try breeding for, then your best bet is to breed to a lion that has it!
For example, if you like the White Underfur marking, find a stud that has it and breed to it. Chances are, you'll end up with a cub that has the marking! It's not 100% guaranteed, and some markings have different pass rates, but you have a chance of getting it.

Some marks can be applied via marking applicators. You can buy a Marking Applicator in Oasis to apply many markings. However, there are other markings that can only be applied via specific marking applicators, such as the Brimstone markings, Brawl markings, Feline Elysian markings, etc.

Rosettes are a little different. It is possible to get a rosette from a Random Marking Applicator, but it's rare. Mottled Rosettes can be passed down from studs or female lionesses, however the pass rate is low. Your highest chance of getting a natural Mottled Rosette is to breed a female leopon. Some rosettes have a chance of appearing randomly on your cubs even if the parents didn't have the marking. This does not apply to the Mottled Rosette.

Breeding items are any items that you use to enhance the breeding in some way.
Here is a list of items that you'd use in a breeding, and what they do.

Angelic Blessing : an item that when used on a lioness will allow the lioness to get pregnant on the first attempt regardless of fertility. This does not work on infertile lionesses, and is permanent unless the item is removed. (It appears as a decor in the lioness's decor list).

Black Stallion : an item that when used on a lioness will allow the linoess to get pregnant on the first attempt regardless of fertility. This does not work on infertile lionesses, and is only a one-use item.

Buffalo Scrotum : an item that is fed to a stud and guarantees at least 3 cubs in the next litter.

Chasteberry : an item that will boost a lioness's fertility by 10% per chasteberry used. Up to 4 can be used on one lioness.

Cotton Root Bark : used to induce a miscarriage on a lioness (this means it can only be used on a pregnant lioness). The lioness will lose her current litter, but her next litter will have a higher chance of producing mutated cubs.

Crunchy Worm : this item is given to a lioness before she is bred, and gives her a 25% chance of passing on her exact appearance onto one of her cubs. This does not pass on mutations.

GMO Cow : this item is given to a lioness before she is bred to increase her chances of producing a mutated cub in the litter.

Grain of Paradise : an item that is fed to a stud and guarantees at least 2 cubs in the next litter.

Lion Meat : this item is given to a lioness before she is bred to increase her chances of producing a mutated cub in the litter. It has a lower chance than a GMO Cow.

Lion Scrotum : this item is given to a lioness before she is bred to increase her chances to 25% of passing on her mutation to her cubs. This effect does not work on Primals or hybrids (Leopons or Tigons).

Ochre Gnawrock : this item is given to a lion before breeding to pass down one marking to all cubs in the litter that the item is used for. The marking will retain the same opacity and slot that it is in the parent.

Ochre Saltlick : this item is given to a lion before breeding to pass down the mane shape and base to all cubs in the litter that the item is used for.

Pennyroyal : an item that is fed to a Primal stud (of any variation) and increases chances of either the Felis or Smilus mutation appearing in the litter. It does not increase chances of having a Primal cub at all.

Red Cock : an item that is fed to a stud that guarantees that all cubs in the next litter will be male.

Roasted Vulture : an item that is fed to a stud that gives a slight speed boost in the next litter. Cannot be used in the same breeding as a Shamanic Stew.

Shadow of Death : this item is given to a lioness to age her by one day to shorten her breeding cooldowns.

Shamanic Stew : an item that is fed to a stud that gives a slight strength boost in the next litter. Cannot be used in the same breeding as a Roasted Vulture.

Tackweed : an item that will lower a lioness's fertility by 10% per tackweed used. You are able to use as many as you'd like.

Yohimbe Bark : an item that will shorten your lioness's breeding cooldown by one day per bark, but does not physically age your lioness.

Easiest answer to this? Breed to any lion that has a mutation! Some mutations cannot be passed down by the males, but we can get into that.
Here's just a basic list of various mutations and who can pass them down.

Achromia - Can only be passed down using by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Blind - can only be passed down by females (blind males cannot become King), and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly.
Bobbed Tail - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Clawless - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Dwarfism - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum.
Eyeless - can only be passed down by females (males cannot be Kinged) and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Felis (Primal variation) - can only be passed down by males
Folded Ears - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Melanism - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Primal - can only be passed down by males
Polycaudal - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Smilus (Primal variation) - can only be passed down by males
Tailless - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Tootless - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Overgrown Claws - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Overgrown Teeth - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Mane Mutations (Maneless) - only affects males, cannot be passed down
Mane Mutations (Feathery, Fluffy, Frizzy, Fuzzy, Imperial, Ruffled, Scruffy, Shaggy, Silky, Villous, Whiskered, Overgrown Fur) - can only be passed down by females and only using a Lion Scrotum. It can also appear randomly
Piebalds (Bisected, Broken, Clouded, Daedal, Harlequin, Heavy, Light, Mosaic, Mottled, Slender, Svelte, Symmetrical, Withered) - can be passed down by both males and females. Cubs can only inherit patterns on their parents, they will not appear with any other patterns.
Patches (Corrupted, Croupe, Dense, Fringe, Frontal, Striped) - can be passed down by both males and females. Cubs can only inherit patterns on their parents, they will not appear with any other patterns.


"Invisible Mutations" - mutations that do not change the lion's art.
Deaf - this is a lethal mutation, so the lion will die randomly between the ages of 4 months and 4 years. It can be passed down by females but only with the use of a Lion Scrotum
Double Uterus - only affects females, and means that the female will have twice the amount of cubs that she normally would. It can be passed down by females but only with the use a Lion Scrotum (and only has a 5% chance of passing using this item).


"Lethal Mutations" - mutations that are very rare, are not passed on by males or females, and most cubs tend to die within the first few months after birth. These mutations most frequently appear with the use of a GMO Cow during breeding, but it is not guaranteed.
Cyclopia
Harlequin Ichtyosis
Conjoined
Two Heads
Lipomatosis
Sirenomelia
Extra Limbs


"Hybrid Mutations" - there are two
Leopon - a cross between a male leopard and a female lion. First generation leopons are extremely rare, but the mutation can be passed down by females (Lion Scrotum has no effect). A 1st generation leopon has 10% chance of passing down the mutation, and any other generation has a 5% chance.

Tigon - a cross between a male tiger and a female lion. First generation tigons are extremely rare, but the mutation can be passed down by females (Lion Scrotum has no effect). A 1st generation tigon has 10% chance of passing down the mutation, and any other generation has a 5% chance.

I hope that most of the above explained that to you, but basically, yes. Some mutations can be passed down by the parents, and some can only be passed down using items (like the Lion Scrotum). Some mutations can appear randomly through the use of a GMO Cow or Cotton Root Bark, or even a Very Low Fertility lioness (a 1% gets you the highest chance without using items).

I shared these in the list above with the breeding items, but here's a basic overview. All of these items can be used by finding them in your hoard, clicking on them, and then selecting the lion you want to use them on.
Cotton Root Bark - given to a pregnant lioness to induce a miscarriage, and increases chances of the next litter she has of having a mutation (this does not affect Piebalds or Primals)
Lion Meat - fed to a lioness and increases chances of a mutated cub (does not affect Primal or Piebald)
GMO Cow - fed to a lioness and increases chances of a mutated cub (does not affect Primal or Piebald)
Pennyroyal - fed to a Primal stud, and increases chances that if a Primal cub is in the litter, that Primal will be a variation - Felis or Smilus)
Lion Scrotum - fed to a female, and increases chances to 25% (except in the case of a Double Uterus (DU)) that she will pass down her mutation to one of her cubs (does not include primals or Hybrids)

If you want the best mutation, that's all up to your opinion of what the best is. The most popular mutations are the Piebalds and Patches and Primals, because those are the easiest to pass down without using any breeding items. The most valuable mutations are the Hybrids (Leopon and Tigon) because they are so rare. At the moment Tigon would be the most valuable of all because it is the newest mutation, so everybody wants one. Some of the other more valuable mutations are Lethal mutations (people usually tend to "freeze" them so they don't age and die, and they can sell for a bit as a collector's item). Dwarfs can be somewhat rare as well, so they can sell for a bit, but they aren't extremely rare, and aren't usually the most high in demand.

The best way is to sell items. Any items you find in explore (including food) can be sold in Monkey Business (or in the Trading Center). The fastest way to sell your items is to just sell directly to the Monkey Business, but if you are a little more patient, you can sell for higher prices in the Trading Center. The larger carcasses (such as Zebras, Elephant Calfs, Giraffes, and Wildebeests), can be sold for quite a bit. If you pile enough carcasses of those I've listed, enough to have over 100 uses, then you can sell for even more. For example, if you've got 25 Elephant Calf Carcasses with the max number of uses (totalling 125 uses), then you can sell those 125 uses for about 1 Gold Beetle or 1200 Silver Beetles. There are various items that can be bundled like that and sold for quite a bit.
Another really good way to get Silver Beetles is to sell Gold Beetles, but since those can be a little harder to acquire, then that's not where you should start.

Honestly fighting is one of the best way to earn SB in explore. There are a few other encounters in explore that give you some SB, but they don't give much. So yes, the best way to get SB in explore is through fighting.

There are many ways! You can put your King up as a stud, you can sell items on your Branch and in the Trading Center, you can complete quests with the Quest Snake (you can do one every day), you can sell items to the Monkey Business, you can raffle items off, and you can earn SB in explore and battling (unless you have 5000+ SB on your account). There are also various mini games that you can play to earn some SB. If you are artistically inclined, you can sell your art through the Custom Decor option or you can create a forum thread in the art category and sell your art there! You've also got the option of selling your Golden Beetles for Silver Beetles.

I've personally found the best way is to trade your SB for Gold Beetles (GB). It's simply the easiest for me, but if you don't have a lot of SB, it can be hard to use this method. Another really good method is to sell items that have higher value, such as applicators and rare decor. You can also sell rare lions (lions that has mutations or Special bases). Some of the items that are worth the most GB are GMO Cows, Buffalo Scrotum, Lion Scrotum, Crunchy Worms, and Mutie On Demand applicators. Some of the more expensive lions are Dwarves, Leopons and Tigons (although these two are very hard to come by), and various bases (Soul, Sunset, Temporal, Sunrise, Solaris, Interstellar, Haze, etc). Most of these you have to get by breeding, although that isn't the easiest either.

I believe I've answered most of that above. The best ways are by selling breeding items and special-based or mutated lions. I've never spent real money on this game, and over time I've managed to accumulate enough GB for my projects. So even if it's tough, you just have to be patient and wait to collect items and wait for them to sell, and you'll make it!

You earn event currency in explore by encountering specific event-only encounters. There are certain encounters that will give more currency than others, and depending on the event, there will be different bars that you need to unlock. The bars are unlocked by the joint effort of everyone on the site, so don't worry about it all depending on you. Your event currency is only available to buy event-related items in the shops as they open up, and sometimes some events will have you spend SB to buy event-related items.

The items won't be available after the event has ended, but yes, they will definitely show up next year during the same event! All of your event currency stays as well. If you don't spend it all, don't worry because it will stay on your account and be available again the following year. All of the prizes will be available next year, and they usually add more to them to keep them interesting.

You've got two main places to buy items. 1 - Branch Sales. In branch sales you can buy any and all items, including food. Any item you can find in your hoard, you can buy/sell in branches. 2 - the Trading Center. In the TC, you can buy and sell everything and anything, including lions and your SB and GB.

Well, the only options you've really got left is to contact people directly about any items they've got for sale. One good way to figure out what people have for sale is to check out if they've got any posts in the sales forums! People always have art for sale, or perhaps they are auctioning off lions or items. There are always sales going on in the forums, so good chance is you'll find something good by browsing through forums!

Your definition of the best items to buy depends on what you are trying to acocmplish. Some would argue that the best items are breeding items that give you mutations, such as GMO Cows and Lion Scrotum, as well as other breeding items such as Grain of Paradise and Buffalo Scrotum. As was mentioned before, you can only buy things in the Trading Center or in Branch Sales, or contact people directly if you notice them advertising anywhere.
Others would argue that the best item to buy would be muties or Muties on Demand, or applicators. Many, many people love applicators, they can be worth quite a lot.

Stats are passed down by the parents. It's not a direct inheritance, but the higher the stats are that you are breeding to, the higher your cubs stats will likely be.

You can breed for high stats. If you are not a Hard Mode player (see Game Questions for a description of what Hard Mode is), and if you have the funds you can easily breed to high stat lions. The stats that your cubs will have is difficult to calculate, but your best chances of having high stat cubs is to breed a high stat lioness to a high stat stud.

For example - breed a lioness with 200 stats to a lion with 800 stats, you’ll get cubs around 100-200 stats I believe.
Breed a lioness with 200 stats to a lion with 10,000 stats, you’ll get cubs around 800-1200 stats or so.
Breed a lioness with 3000 stats to a lion with 12,000 stats, you’ll get cubs around 3000-4000 stats.
Note : these are just approximations, they are not actual proven numbers! I'm just giving a ballpark. The stats in the cubs can be less or more than my approximation.

Most tend to see “high stats” as having 1000+ stats. The higher stats your lion had, the more it will sell for. (And doubly so if the lion had a Special base or a mutation!)