Mata Fernando
Center for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Viana do Castelo, Portugal.
PeerJ. 2025 Jul 18;13:e19702. doi: 10.7717/peerj.19702. eCollection 2025.
In Britain, an estimated number of 700,000 guinea pigs are currently kept as pets. Despite their widespread presence, research on pet guinea pig survivability remains limited. While demographic studies exist, they primarily focus on morbidity rather than lifespan analysis. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating factors influencing pet guinea pig longevity and constructing life tables, contributing valuable insights into their survival patterns and potential improvements in care practices. The study was conducted using publicly available data from the VetCompass™ UK Program, including 675 guinea pigs receiving veterinary care in the UK in 2019. The survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier models, with lifespan differences tested via the Log-Rank test. Key predictors included sex, neutering status, and breed classification. The results of the study indicate an average lifespan of the British pet guinea pigs is 4.022 (3.875; 4,170) years; a median survival time of 4.025 95% confidence interval (3.830; 4,290) years; and an interquartile range of (2.563; 5447) years. Unlike other companion animals, no significant differences in longevity were found between sexes, neutering status, or breed (log-rank Mantel-Cox 2 > 0.05), suggesting that these factors may play a less critical role in guinea pigs. The findings challenge common assumptions about lifespan determinants in domesticated species. The study also highlights low neutering rates, likely influenced by concerns over surgical risks. Additionally, breed classification remains inconsistent, indicating a possible lack of standardised identification among owners and veterinarians. This study is limited by potential selection bias, lack of environmental and husbandry data, few neutered animals, unclear breeding backgrounds, unaccounted cohort effects, and no geographical analysis of care variation across different regions of Britain.
在英国，目前估计有70万只豚鼠作为宠物饲养。尽管它们广泛存在，但关于宠物豚鼠生存能力的研究仍然有限。虽然存在人口统计学研究，但它们主要关注发病率而非寿命分析。本研究旨在通过调查影响宠物豚鼠寿命的因素并构建生命表来填补这一空白，为它们的生存模式和护理实践的潜在改进提供有价值的见解。该研究使用了来自英国兽医综合数据库（VetCompass™）项目的公开数据，包括2019年在英国接受兽医护理的675只豚鼠。生存分析使用Kaplan-Meier模型进行，寿命差异通过对数秩检验进行测试。关键预测因素包括性别、绝育状态和品种分类。研究结果表明，英国宠物豚鼠的平均寿命为4.022（3.875；4.170）年；中位生存时间为4.025年，95%置信区间为（3.830；4.290）年；四分位间距为（2.563；5.447）年。与其他伴侣动物不同，在性别、绝育状态或品种之间未发现寿命存在显著差异（对数秩Mantel-Cox检验P>0.05），这表明这些因素在豚鼠中可能发挥的作用较小。这些发现挑战了关于家养物种寿命决定因素的常见假设。该研究还强调了绝育率较低，这可能受到对手术风险担忧的影响。此外，品种分类仍然不一致，这表明主人和兽医之间可能缺乏标准化的识别。本研究受到潜在选择偏倚、缺乏环境和饲养数据、绝育动物数量少、繁殖背景不明确、未考虑队列效应以及未对英国不同地区护理差异进行地理分析的限制。
