my sister got a guinea pig and she said that the lady at the petsmart said that they lie about guinea pigs living form 5-8 years (read desc)?

My college roommate had two seven year old guinea pigs my senior year. She had kept guinea pigs her whole life, and said most had died around 7 or 8 years old, rarely less. They absolutely do live around 5-8 years, provided they get good care and do not have any major medical defects.

Why do they have people working in these places that either lie or know nothing about the animals they are selling.

A guinea pig will not die from old age or any natural causes after 1 year, it's not normal. If it dies after a year then either its being terribly cared for to the point of neglect, it had an undiagnosed illness or it can happen occasionally if animals are poorly bred, over red they'll not live as long due to genetic illness and abnormalities. Guinea pigs are social animals and live in groups, neglecting a basic need as another guniea pig for company is one way to cause depression and reduce their life expectancy.

As a child we kept guinea pigs, they all lived a minimum of 3 years outdoors, through winters and a few 6-9.

Guinea pigs can live to be 5-8 years old, but they can get illnesses without enough vitamin C in the diet or upper respiratory infections that can shorten their life span. FYI, many of the people that work at Petsmart or Petco don't know that much about animals.

You properly take care of guinea pigs, they should do even better than 5 years. I have had 5 of them and they all lived 7 or more, one lived over 9 years.

Maybe I have just had good luck with small animals, but all of my rodents like mice, rats, gerbils, and hamsters lived longer than what I see for life expectancy.

Years back I had a pet skunk the vet said may not live over 8 years, but she died a happy and healthy 13 year old lady.

I think when you talk to people at Petsmart, you are talking to people that run the cash register, and some of those people just don't know animals.

Things I see that might shorten a life are incomplete diets or foods bad for a particular animal.

Improper exercise, activity, and mental stimulation.

Too much stress or fear for the animal.

Improper handling or interaction can result in injury or death.

"Ol Lady" my pet house spider, she is right at 5 years old here and lived another full year. (LOoong time for a spider):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32083154@N02/3710724...

If you look after your pets, They tend to live for a long time.

Like vet checks if they seem ill.

And constant care.

They will live a long and healthy life.