Guinea pigs are popular pets. They are smart enough, they can recognize the owner, they will sit in their arms with pleasure and allow themselves to be stroked. At the same time, the animals are quite small and are content with the cage. Another plus - pigs live for a long time, almost like a cat or a dog.
Long eyelid of a little guinea pig
When choosing a pet, the future owner is not least worried about how long the animal can live. After all, an animal, even a small one, is capable of becoming a family member, and its loss will be very painful. In this regard, the guinea pig is a rather comfortable pet. Unlike small rodents such as mice, rats and hamsters, it can live from nine to thirteen years. In the Guinness Book of Records, there is a mention of a domestic guinea pig, which died at a very respectable age - at the sixteenth year of life.
How to make your guinea pig's life even longer
The life span of a guinea pig is influenced by many factors, and first of all, it is heredity. If the animal is lucky, its parents were long-livers, and the genes formed a successful combination, the pet's chances of living to a ripe old age are also high. Of course, choosing an animal, you will not be able to find out its genotype, but you can ask the breeder how old your pet's parents are, how long its grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived. There is a good chance that your guinea pig will live no less.
Diseases, even successfully treated, can shorten the life of an animal. The healthier your pet is, the longer it will stay with you. Pay attention to disease prevention. Make sure that your guinea pig's diet contains all the necessary substances, give the animal vitamin supplements and regularly carry it to the veterinary clinic for preventive examinations. This way you can be sure that your pet is healthy and there is nothing to worry about.
Guinea pigs are herd animals and living alone can negatively affect your pet's health. So that the animal does not get bored, it is better to initially start them in pairs. If you do not plan to get offspring, choose animals of the same sex - they will get along well together and will delight you with their antics. It is not necessary to take animals from the same litter, you can even have guinea pigs of different breeds. If they know each other from childhood, they will have time to become friends.
To be healthy, a guinea pig needs to move. These animals are kept in spacious cages, but toys such as wheels designed for rats and hamsters are not suitable for pigs - they have too fragile spines. Periodically release the pig to run around the apartment, but at the same time make sure that it does not gnaw through the wires or get stuck under the sofa or closet.
