Nottinghamshire pet Snowball still holds the official Guinness World Record as the oldest ever guinea pig on Earth. The impressive animal lived to be 14 years and 10.5 months old before passing away on February 14, 1979.
Guinea pigs usually live between 4 to 7 years, so Snowball’s owner Margate Wall, of Bingham, was understandably astonished her pet lived for so long. Snowball smashed the previous world record, which belonged to a mere ten-year-old guinea pig in Kent.
A keen animal lover, Mrs Wall also had a 19-year-old African ground pigeon, named Clementine. Clementine set no records, with the world’s oldest bird at the time being a 72-year-old Andean Condor named Kuzya who died in Moscow in 1964.
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Margaret, who used to live in Sutton Coldfield before moving to Bingham, told the Birmingham Daily Post at the time: “We had a male as well named Major Witherspoon and they used to fly loose all around the local houses”. Sadly, the Major had passed away, but Clementine was certainly not short of companions.
Aside from Snowball, there was Bella the Labrador, Hannibal and Minnie the tortoises and a pool full of goldfish. Mrs Wall also supported a flock of pigeons, who were at first attracted by her four tame doves.
“I am afraid the Siamese cat next door ate our four, but we get others coming still. I have always got 10 or 12 each morning waiting for me,” she said.
“I have tried not to feed them but they just sit there and look at you. What else can you do?”
Since Snowball’s impressive record set all those years ago, there have been numerous other guinea pigs reported to lay claim to being the world's oldest - but none are officially recognised by Guinness. There is 16-year-old Sweetie (1997 to 2014) who went on to appear on the front cover of Guinea Pig Magazine and had more than 1,700 followers on his official facebook page.
There is also 15-year-old Marty (2006 to 2021), who belonged to Reta Brookes, as well as 14-year-old Bear (2006 to 2021), owned by Edith Rotherham, of Grimsby. Fascinating creatures, you may be surprised to learn that guinea pigs don’t actually come from Guinea and originate from the Andes region of South America.
Quite how they got stuck with their name is shrouded in mystery, but one theory is that Spanish explorers brought them to Europe in the 1500s via Guinea in Africa. The cute critters also aren’t related to pigs, as they are rodents.
Many believe guinea pigs and rabbits can happily play together, but this isn’t the case – with the rabbit having a tendency to mercilessly bully the guinea pig. Guinea pigs also like to chat to each other, with the well-known ‘wheek-wheek’ being a sign of excitement and a ‘purring’ sound meaning they are relaxed, much like a cat. When exploring they like to go ‘putt-putt’.
Have you ever seen a guinea pig dance? Well, they do … kind of! When excited they like to jump straight up and down, sometimes even turning 90 degrees in mid-air. The animals only sleep for a mere four hours a day, so are usually on the go.
Interestingly, baby guinea pigs – which are known as pups – are born with their eyes open and covered in fur. They can run when barely a few hours old. They are weaned at three weeks and fully mature in just three months, but will keep on growing until around a year old.
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