When does a piggy's age start showing?

[RosieLily]

Hi and good morning,

My girls are both almost 3 years old. At night when I walked by their cage, Lily was so deep in her sleep she didn't even open her eyes for me, only after I'd called for her a couple times. She seems to be in perfectly good health, but has been extra snoozy lately.

So that got me wondering, when do our piggies start getting old?

 

[Piggies&buns]

The guide below will help you but 2-3 years is the prime of their lives.
4-5 is considered old age and when age related issues might start to show, with a typical lifespan being 5-7 years.

My oldest two are 5 now (turned 5 years last month). They are obviously less excitable than my two six month olds (everything makes them happy!) but they are still very active and aren’t having any joint issues etc so we still get the odd popcorn!

Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs

 

[Freela]

I know with mine they started to mellow out more around 2 or 3... just calming down from the baby activity level. In terms of physical changes, I really find I noticed them around 4.5 or so... just less muscle mass, bonier shoulders and hips, fur that doesn't look quite as lush, maybe the start of cataracts. Right now my elder pig is Leela, who is 6 years and 3 months old... she sleeps a little deeper and she has the bony shoulders of an older pig now.