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· 29 Jan 2022

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How long do Guinea pig live?

Many people confuse Guinea pigs with hamsters and vice-versa. If you are also among them, then nothing to surprise about. Both are adorable, cute and fluffy that in general many people find it confusing to distinguish among them. Another aspect that is common among the two is, kids love both. Are you interesting to bring a teeny tiny companion for your kids? Then, yes guinea pigs are a good option. But before having a Guinea Pig as a pet, one should be well- aware of some important caring tips to handle them properly when finally bring them home. Here in this article, you are going to get all the crucial and interesting facts and how long do Guinea pigs live so that you can make a well-informed decision about keeping a guinea pig as pet.

About Guinea Pigs
Guinea Pig also known as Cavia Porcellus belongs to theCavy family (Caviidae). Guinea pigs are domesticated rodents from South America. They usually resembles other rodents or cavies where they have robust body with short limbs, ears are short and with large eyes and head. Their feet are covered with hairless soles and the claws are short and sharp. The forefeet have four toes and three on the hind feet. Different species of Guinea pig are recognized on the basis of their coat texture and hair length.

How long do Guinea pigs live
Like any other creature, lifespan of a guinea pig is also determined by a number of factors including genetics and environment. The typical life span of a guinea pig range between 5-7 years. A balanced diet, healthy environment, no fear of predator all plays a crucial role in determining the longitivity of guinea pig. Snowball was the oldest ever lived guinea pig. It lived for 14 years and 10.5 months and died on 14 February 1979.  ‘Snowball’ holds a geuinness book record for the same.

Some interesting facts about Guinea pigs
Guinea Pigs love so socialize: Guinea pigs can mingle easily and lives happily with other Guinea Pigs; thus considered as a highly social animal. Even if the pair are of same sex, they do not fight each other like some other animals does. A pair of females alone or a pair of males alone can always be kept together without any issues. But in some particular cases only if there are some personality differences in the animals, they won’t get along. If they are introduced together as babies, then there is good chance they will get along. Even in adult stage, if proper care is taken, they can be introduced together.
They need bigger space to live: Guinea Pigs expect much larger space than the cages available in market which are much small, especially for a pair. One could go for a home-made cage, it is easy to make as well as economic compared to those available in market. It also allows the owner to customize and modify size as per the need.
The whistling sound they make: At times, the Guinea Pigs make whistling or wheeking sounds in order to grab the owner’s attention or as a request for a treat. Though these sounds aren’t really loud, but sometimes could be annoying. If you feel irritated with such sounds; it is better to rethink upon your idea of bringing a guinea pig home.
Highly trainable: In the beginning, Guinea Pigs take few days’ time to get tamed. They can be nervous or skittish in the beginning but with continuous gentle handling, it can be trained very quickly. When children handle these pets, always supervise to make sure that the animal is not handled roughly which can make the pet to even bite when felt stressed.

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