How long do piggies live?

[Sarah-sore]

I always though it was anywhere between 6-8 but the vets kept telling me it was 2-3 years :{:{
When I said this the vet assistant jumped in and said he's had 5 guinea pigs over the course of his life and they have all lived to a max of 5 years?

 

[biscandmatt]

change vets!

 

[Sarah-sore]

I wish I could, they're sadly the only one who does exotics in this area lol

 

[klee]

Well my Rosie is 7 and still going strong

 

[Poppy'sMum]

My first pair lived until around 3 1/2 years old, the second pair we had one die from heart failure around 4, then the other one lived until 7 years old, up until then she was very healthy, a bit slower that was all, but in perfect health, she got ill very quickly.

Currently we have 3, one is 3 years old & the other two are both two years old. I do know of someone who had one that was over 10 years old though I would probably say the average is around 5 years old given that they can suddenly develop problems that could probably have been helped with if they could only tell us what was wrong, they do hide illnesses very well unfortunately

 

[Rodentopia]

My last piggy was 9 when he died of old age, he never ailed anything. His son was 6/7 whereas another pair I had one was 2 and the other got to 5. Piggies are like any animal some live a long time whereas others have health issues and might not be with us as long. I think an average age is around 5

 

[yorkiegirl]

My first guinea pig lived til he was 8, second one was 9, my current old man is almost 6.

 

[Freela]

I think the 'average age is supposed to be 5-7 years. Obviously some will live longer and some not as long. Sadly, one of my piggies died before she was even 2, but she had a dental issue that led to a severe infection and she passed from complications of that acute illness
Out of my current pigs, one is 4.5 years old and still going strong (she really has not even slowed up yet.) The other is 3 and also going strong. My childhood pig lived to be about 7. So I would say that the 2-3 year span your vet is giving to you is on the very low side in terms of averages.

 

[Sarah-sore]

Thanks guys! Are you all feeding your guinea pigs normal pellets, veggies & hay? Maybe he wasn't feeding them and they didn't have the proper cage size?

 

[Rodentopia]

Mine have unlimited hay, pellets and lots of veg. I think a lot of it is genetic if poorly bred they are more prone to health problems sadly

 

[Wiebke]

The average age seems to be between 4-7 years for a healthy piggy. The record for longevity atands by over 14 years, according to Reader's Digest. Our first family piggy lived to nearly 10 years, and I knew of others locally back in the seventies.

Sadly, the current indiscriminate breeding for the mass market (in rodent farms on the continent for shops or for many breeders for the sake of a fast buck, plus the backyard breeding aimed at the freeads) has long term consequences and there is a rising number of piggies with health problems at a young age; I have lost a couple of youngsters to sudden acute heart failure myself.

In my case, I consider any additional time over 4 years as a bonus.