How long to guniea pigs typically live?
By Dollface812
@Dollface812 (84)
United States
March 20, 2008 12:29pm CST
I was wondering how long guinea pigs usually live. I've had mine for about four years and she seems to be pretty healthy. She has gained a lot of weight though over the years. Is there anything you can do to improve there health or increase there lifespan.
2 responses
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
20 Mar 08
Guinea pigs typically live 5 to 8 years if nothing goes wrong. I've only heard of a few making it past 8.
There are a couple things that make a big difference:
1. Feeding a proper diet... guinea pigs should have grass hay (orchard, timothy, etc.) available at all times. Feed a variety of veggies as well and some plain pellets as a side dish.
2. Weekly weigh ins. If you don't already have a gram scale, get one. A scale could save your guinea pigs's life if there is ever an illness. You'll catch weight loss quickly on the scale, but if you wait until you can see it, it's usually already too late.
3. Guinea pigs are social animals and they do best if they have a friend. Consider adopting a guinea pig as a friend for yours. It's easy to find a friend around her age if you look through a rescue near you.
For more guinea pig information incase you haven't run across this site already, check out www.guinealynx.info
1 person likes this
@Dollface812 (84)
• United States
20 Mar 08
Thank you so much! I'll have to look into investing a scale. I'm also glad to see I have had my pig on an appropriate diet.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
21 Mar 08
Thanks for the best response! I'm glad that your piggie is on a proper diet as well. Most people don't seem to feed hay, which is essential. You'll definitely lengthen your piggie's life with a good diet as there are so many diet related problems they can get when people feed them improperly.
@bargaingirl (844)
• United States
16 Oct 08
I have read guinea pigs can live up to 7-8 years. Our guinea pig is only a baby still, we got him in July.
