Unlike humans, other primates and some animals like hamsters, guinea pigs don’t have ‘thumbs’ to help them pick up their food with their front feet to eat. And, unlike many other mammals, guinea pigs have a different number of toes on their front feet compared to their hind feet!

All in all, guinea pigs have 14 toes – four on each front foot, and three on each back foot.

Some guinea pigs are born with extra toes, just like some

cats or other animals are, but this is more of an exception than the norm.

Even though they don’t have thumbs, if you look at a guinea pig’s front foot from the bottom, you can feel Read more →

Guinea pig life expectancy tends to vary, depending on what source you’re consulting with. Some resources say guinea pigs live an average of 4-6 years. Others say the average lifespan of a guinea pig is 5-7, some say guinea pigs live to be 6-8. If we look at the middle range we’ll get a general consensus of 5-7 years.

Now, it’s entirely possible to have an otherwise healthy guinea pig suddenly fall ill and only live to be a few years old, and it’s also entirely possible, (and quite likely!) with proper care and a focus on preventive care, to have a guinea pig live to be 8 years old or more! So don’t lose heart and assume the worst for your guinea.

I lost my first guinea pig, Gus, when he was five years old. He was struggling with arthritis in his back, had a cyst in his neck that required routine draining and suffered from renal (kidney) problems for the last year and a half of his life or so. So he was quite sick at a young age. It was heartbreaking to go through that with him, but having him in my life and feeling the happiness he brought me far outweighed the pain of letting him go.

On the flip side of things, my other guinea pig, Max, who I got shortly after we adopted Gus, lived to be over 8 years old, sweet little guy. We were at the vet’s quite often with poor Gus, but Max passed the 5 year mark with ease and always had normal checkups at the vet until his health declined from old age a few years later. Sadly you just never know how things will go.

While it’s sad that some of the cutest, sweetest animals we humans have the joy of having as pets often are only with us for a few years, it gives us all the more reason to fall in love and cherish them while we have them. It’s heartbreaking to say goodbye to a best friend after only 5 or 7 years, but far worse to not have known that best friend in the first place! Don’t you think so?

Do you have a guinea pig who has surpassed the ‘average’ guinea pig life expectancy? How old is your guinea pig, or, if your piggie is no longer with us, how long did your guinea pig live?