Over 5,000 guinea pig owners lent their voice to a census aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of an estimated 400,000 pet guinea pigs living in the UK.  

Key findings

• Only 3% of guinea pig owners have their guinea pigs insured
• 46% of guinea pig owners have rescue guinea pigs
• 65% of guinea pig owners feed hay as their primary food source

Burgess Pet Care has published the findings from its Great British Guinea Pig Census, an online census for guinea pig owners living in the UK, with over 5000 guinea pig owners taking part. 

The census was launched earlier this year to help raise awareness and improve understanding of the estimated 400,000* guinea pigs that are living as pets in the UK. Despite being an enduringly popular pet choice with young children, guinea pigs – like many other small animals – have very particular needs when it comes to their welfare.

The questions in the census were designed to identify any areas of widespread misunderstanding when it comes to guinea pig care and knowledge, and the answers will be used to help improve the health and wellbeing of pet guinea pigs in the UK. 

Peter Lancaster, marketing manager at Burgess Pet Care, said: “Guinea pigs make fantastic pets but, as with other small animals, they have very particular needs when it comes to their welfare. Thankfully, according to the findings of our census, we found that the majority of guinea pig owners who provided answers on the five welfare needs – diet, company, health, environment and behaviour, are conscientious with their care, reflecting their dedication to keeping their pets happy.

“It was fantastic to see the number of guinea pig owners entering the census keep rising by the day, and we’re reassured that there are thousands of well-informed owners out there. However, despite these resoundingly positive findings, there is always work to be done when it comes to improving standards of animal welfare. The information we’ve received from this census does identify the gaps of knowledge in certain areas, and we anticipate these gaps to be much larger when it comes to less-informed and engaged guinea pig owners.”

The census, comprised of 5045 respondents, found:

Diet

• 76% of owners believe feeding hay is the most important part of their guinea pig(s) diet.
• 65% of owners say feeding hay is their guinea pigs’ primary food source
• 49% of guinea pig owners give their guinea pigs feeding hay once per day

Companionship

• 46% of owners have a pair of guinea pigs
• 52% of owners have more than two guinea pigs
• 74% of owners with just one guinea pig, but said they would consider welcoming another

Health

• Only 3% of owners have their guinea pig(s) insured
• 17% of owners take their guinea pigs to the vet once a year
• 33% of owners take their guinea pigs to the vets less than once per year

Environment

• 88% of owners provide their guinea pigs with additional space to roam outside of their housing

Behaviour

• 45% of owners say their guinea pigs were from a rescue centre
• 24% of owners believe social interaction puts their guinea pigs in a good mood.