# How long do guinea pigs live?



## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

Hi all - sorry not posted here before, I mainly hang out in the Dog forum.

Sounds like a dumb question - as I have 4 one would assume I new something as basic as this!!!

Reason I ask is that I have lost 2 in the last 6 weeks.
They were adopted as a group of x breeding females, all I new is that they were older than a year, but we assumed younger than 18 months. We've had them 2 1/2 years. So I estimated they were 4yrs old now.

They live in a large out door hutch in a sheltered corner on the south coast so the weather is quite mild. In winter they get an extra thick layer of newspaper and sawdust for insulation an a daily bundle of hay. The hutch has an insulating cover as well. 

Ginge passed away 6 weeks ago - she was fine in the morning came home from work to find her curled up in the corner.

Then I found Teddy today exactly the same.

It has been Fluffy I was worried about as she seemed to be getting a little thin - so have been giving her extra food away from the others, just in case they were bullying her a bit. She is fine now.

And Snowy appears OK.

Their eyes are bright their coats are clean and shiny and bums are clean.

Food and water they have 4 bowls and 4 water bottles that are filled twice a day. And they get carrots and apples and any greens we don't eat every week - also in the summer they go out n their run every day it's dry enough.

Have I missed something or has old age caught up with them?


----------



## Guest (Dec 17, 2008)

Not a clue - sorry - we did have one opnce and it died quite young - I seem to recall I was told they could live for 7 or 8 years - but I really do not know
lol
DT


----------



## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

The breeder we got ours from said they can live up to 6 not much more but many go at around 4. All the ones we have lost have been 4 to 4half.


----------



## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

thanks - that puts my mind at rest.
I've given them a pretty good life I think, so I'll just accept it was their time to go.
The only thing is I think they were all about the same age so I could loose the other 2 soon as well.


----------



## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

my two lived till 7 and one 7 and a half


my other died at 2 with an unknown cause 

(Y)

but my pets always ALWAYs live longer than they should 
xx


----------



## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

If they could live 'till 7 or so then I could have Fluffy and Snowy for another few years - horray!!!!

I've always had 4 - I know my daughter would like to get another couple next spring, is it possible to introduce new piggies? 
I'm sure I read somewhere that although they are social animals they don't lke newbies.


----------



## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

yhh you can it just takes time 

ill let 'GP queen' tell you what to do though

xx


----------



## guineapigqueen (Jan 12, 2008)

My oldest sow is 7yrs old on the 4th January, a good age is between 4 and 8 years but some die young, some die old it really depends on the environment, feed type, what breed they are (dolly mixture or pure bred) etc etc. A lot comes into play when you ask how long they live for. 

LOL all the wives tails that go around regarding guineas makes me laugh. I have a small heard of 7 living together including the old girl Fred I mentioned above. They are all varying in age and breed and they love each other. Kanika my hairless girl is their hot water bottle. 

All my pigs you see in my signature minus 3 live indoors with us, and the 3 that dont have a heated shed for them cold winter nights. They live with nathans parents and when we moved out she asked me to leave a couple behind for her.

When introducing some new pigs make sure its on neuteral territory ie in a run on the grass and give plenty of goodies to keep their minds on the grub not on each other. Sows can be just as tempremental as boars so dont let that fool you. If they are to live outside with the other two and you are considering getting babies I would wait to the weather starts to get warm around March/April/May time. I would never recommend keeping them outside between October and March but if they are kept warm and happy then what I am to say about it? 

What dry feed are they on? I would recommend a complete pellet as some of the mixed flaked diets can hinder them getting all the goodness. Try Supa Guinea Excel or Supreme Selective. Regarding fresh feed they can have a range of goodies such as Apples, Carrots, Spring Greens, Cabbage, Califlower, Brussel Sprouts(not to many too much gas), Broccoli, Peppers, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Kale, Parsley, Pears etc. I usually advice to give them a cup full each day, it doesnt have to be all of the above, I usually offer my gang something leafy and carrots, then next day leafy then apples.

Anymore advice gimme a shout.
Emma x


----------



## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

Thanks Emma for the reply.

Ginge was an Abysinnian I believe, she had a few rossettes on her fur - she was possibly a mixed breed as she only had a few though.

Teddy was a rex - called teddy because of the texture of her fur.

Snowy is smooth and white with pink eyes

Fluffy is a Sheltie - she has long fur but it doesn't fall over her face.

I feed then PAH nuggets which is a complete food, and give then vitamins in their water and I tend to alternate carrots and apples every day and give the cabbage or something similar once or twice a week, depends what I've got. 
I tried them with cucumber and peppers but they won't eat them, I don't think they got much fresh food before I got them and are a bit suspicious of anything new!

If we got some more it would be after Easter, I'm not sure that we will but wanted to check out my options first. If we do get some more and they didn't get on I could always split the 2 storey hutch the live in to keep them seperate.

Thanks again for your advice.

There are a couple of pictures of the dogs stealing their food in my album and you can see the piggies if you want to have a look.


----------



## jilly40 (Oct 22, 2008)

i used 2 keep n breed them eons ago.they are lovely little things.olga lived past the age of 5 that was an average 4 most of mine.i used 2 bring them in2 the garage in the winter tho.u will prob have a bit longer with them its just as they get older the cold gets them.bit like us!!! x


----------



## guineapigqueen (Jan 12, 2008)

Aww they are gorgeous Snowy in the show would would be classed as a PEW (Pink Eyed White) and are you sure Fluffy (name of my puppy, lol) is a Sheltie not a Coronet? They have a crest right in the middle of their head and makes it look like they are wearing a crown of hair, prehaps its the photo.
Also Teddy looked more like the Teddy breed than a Rex but you can only decide this by the texture of the fur. I used to breed both Rex and Teddys.

PAH nuggests is just as good as they Supa Excel, I am sure they are made by the same company. Becareful of apples because the acid in them can cause the lips to get a fungal infection and its pretty painful and not nice to look at. Try them on Broccoli or Tommys my guys go nuts for tomatoes, Celery is another favorite. I dont bother with the Vitamins in the water due to them not drinking enough to get the right amount required each day plus the vitamins can evaporate in warmer weather, I think. As long as they get fresh vegs and good food they are happy piggies.

Emma x


----------



## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

To be fair I'm only going on the breeds I was told when we got them. I've never looked them up as I'm not really that bothered, their just little cuties. I tend to cut Fluffys hair anyway as I'm too lazy for loads of brushing lol.

I love the way when I come in from work through the back gate they squeak and chatter and come to the front of the cage, I'm sure it's just for their tea but I like to pretend they are pleased to see me. (I'll cut back a bit on the apple - thanks for the tip - and try them on tomatoes)
Ginge (short for ginger due to her colouring) hated being picked up, the others are/were pretty tame.

Thanks again for all your help


----------



## littlecomet (Dec 24, 2008)

Hello everyone  i'm new to this forum.

i used to have 2 guniea pigs when i was younger, a boy and girl.
Stewy and Cocoa, my parents got them from pet shops for me..
(before we knew that buying animals from pet shops was wrong, as they dont look after them very well!

I also used to keep mine in a big hutch in our shed, which was warm and cosy..

I had stewy for 5 years? i can't remember what my mum told me the other day..as we were talking about them, as we saw that new movie trailer on the tv.. with the guinea pig. lol

he died during a thunder storm one night, the bangs scared him. 

after he went, we brought cocoa inside, as i didnt want to loose her, i'd got her from a baby, no older than 6 weeks old. 

(i was 8 at the time, when we got them both)

gosh that long ago! 

cocoa was great, but sad after loosing her mate.. 
(they'd had 4 babies before, a boy, girl and 2 still borns. the girl and boy were over at my cousins. had been for acouple of years.)

anyway, cocoa was the sweetest little piggy you'd ever known, she liked music too. ( i kept her in my room, and she had lots of freerange time 

and going over to my aunties to see her children, also outside on the grass with a washing basket over here, so she wouldnt run off! lol
thats before we got the big rabbit run! lol

she lived until she was 7 years old, i think it was the love and freedom, also dandylion leaves..that made her live long? but i dont know.

(when we got her from the pet shop, she was young, but how young i'm not sure..as i was only 8.. )
so she could have been older than 7? 

but sadly she grew old, and got mites from some hay we got from the pet shop! we took her to the vets and he did his best for her, gave us stuff.

but one night, while it was raining, she passed away...and i was asleep 
gosh i still miss her today.

so i dont know why ur piggys have died? you could check them for mites? as thats horried.. 
and if the piggys are old.. like mine she didnt over come them..she was just too old and in too much pain. 

sorry,

mites look like bites.. as they burrow under the skin... 
my rats have got mites at the moment!! gosh knows why? ah! 

the vet gave us some, anit parasite spot on.. 
(contains Ivermectin) which is supposed to be good suff.

it seems to be working 

its for rabbits, guninea pigs, ferrets and rats.

just a guess? for you.


----------

