Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus): Facts & Species Wiki

Field
notes

Popcorn Party

A guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is a tailless rodent, and it may popcorn. That is a playful jump that scientists file under locomotor play. In an online survey of 1,181 German-speaking guinea pig caretakers, 26.8% said they saw it at least daily.

In the same survey, popcorning, friendly behaviour between animals and use of enrichment were more frequent when caretakers interacted positively with their animals and provided food enrichment more often. The study lists play like this among the signs of good welfare.

A Small Rodent with a Big Vocabulary

Guinea pigs generally range from 20 to 25 centimetres long and weigh 700 to 1,100 grams, and males tend to be larger than females. They can live up to 8 years in human care, but an average life is 4 to 5 years. At the National Zoo they eat root vegetables, leafy greens, hay and nutritionally complete pellets.

Six main vocalizations Guinea pigs make chutts, squeaks, whines, whistles, purrs and chirps. Whistles and chirps convey the presence of food and are used for long-distance communication. Squeals, squeaks and tweets indicate the presence of danger or injury.

Freeze or Scatter

A guinea pig has two defensive responses. When one animal senses danger, it goes completely still until the threat has passed. When a group senses a threat, the animals scatter and split up to confuse a predator.

Made by People

The domestic guinea pig does not live in the wild. It is most likely derived from the Andean montane guinea pig, Cavia tschudii. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo dates its first domestication to 5,000 B.C. Today it is kept around the world as a pet and for its meat.

In one study, 15 adult wild cavies of C. tschudii averaged 295 grams, significantly smaller than 25 creole guinea pigs from Bolivia and Chile, which averaged 639 grams. Two improved breeds were selected for size and meat, and one of them, Peru’s Tamborada, averaged 1,241 grams.

Guinea pigs also had a ritual role. Early Spaniards reported that the Inkas periodically slaughtered hundreds of animals, and that guinea pigs were the most common sacrificial animals. At the Inka site of Tambo Viejo in Peru, several dozen sacrificed guinea pigs were found, some adorned with colourful string earrings and necklaces.

One even went to space. In 1961 the Soviet dog Chernushka was launched on Sputnik 9 with a dummy cosmonaut, some mice and a guinea pig.

Published August 30, 2026Updated September 29, 2026

Traits

Rodent Herbivore Social Colony Domestic Pet

Intel
& FAQ

01Is a guinea pig a pig?

No. It is a stout little rodent. One theory is that a guinea was the price of one in 16th century England. Another is that the name could reflect their squealing, and a third is that their meat is similar in taste to suckling pig.

Source: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

02Are guinea pigs endangered?

No. The Smithsonian's National Zoo says they are domesticated and not threatened or endangered. Animal Diversity Web lists the IUCN Red List status as Not Evaluated, and says the animal is no longer found in the wild.

Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

03How developed are guinea pig pups at birth?

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says pups are born with fur and their eyes open. Animal Diversity Web calls the young precocial, meaning relatively well developed when born, and says pups can usually survive on their own without extended maternal care. Mothers still nurse them for 14 to 21 days until weaning.

Source: Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

04Do guinea pigs need vitamin C?

Animal Diversity Web says the pellets fed to pet guinea pigs carry many of the vitamins and minerals, vitamin C among them, that guinea pigs require to stay healthy. The same page notes that guinea pigs are often used as subjects in biomedical research on scurvy.

Source: Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Guess
first

How big is a Guinea Pig, really? Slide, lock in, and see what the sources say. Every answer is a figure from this page, quoted from where it came from.

Weight: How heavy is an adult??
The sources say 700 g to 1.1 kg.
Source ↓
Length: How long is an adult, head to tail??
The sources say 20 to 25 cm.
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Lifespan: How long does one live??
The sources say 8 years.
Source ↓