What other rabbit, guinea pig and ferret owners would do
In the RSPCA's pet-loss survey, 75.4%[1] of owners grieved before their pet had even died. Our short polls let you see how others in the same position are thinking.
- One click, completely anonymous
- Questions written for small-pet owners
- Live results you can see straight away
Why we ask
Why we run polls for small pet owners
Owners of rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets often feel their grief is out of proportion to the size of the animal, and they rarely know anyone else who's been through it. Research tells us a lot about dogs and cats, and very little about what small-pet families choose. By our estimate roughly 290,000[2] pet rabbits and guinea pigs die in the UK alone each year, yet hardly anyone asks their owners what they chose. These polls are a small way of filling that gap.
There's also a simpler reason. When your rabbit has died overnight and the house is quiet, it can help just to see that other people stood in the same kitchen, facing the same shoebox and the same questions.
Each poll is one question with a handful of answers written the way people actually talk. Vote once and you'll see the live totals so far. Browse them all below, then head to the live results page to see every question side by side.
Browse every poll
How owners of rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, chinchillas and hedgehogs handle goodbyes, bonded partners and what they keep.
Which small companion are you thinking about today?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If your pet had a bonded partner, did the survivor get time with their body?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
For a pet this small, which goodbye feels right to you?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What would you most want to keep from your rabbit, guinea pig or ferret?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Was this (or will it be) your child's first experience of a pet dying?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
When you got your rabbit or guinea pig, how long did you expect them to live?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What would you expect private cremation of a rabbit or guinea pig to cost?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
When your small pet died, did your vet explain the aftercare options?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Reading the numbers
How to read a reader poll (and what it isn't)
A reader poll tells you what people who visit this site chose to answer. It isn't a scientific survey: the people voting are self-selected, many are in the middle of a loss, and early results can swing a lot with only a few votes. Treat the totals as company, not as evidence of the right answer.
Where proper research exists, we put it next to the poll. For example, UK vet records put the median age at death at about 4.03 years[3] for guinea pigs. If our lifespan poll shows many owners expected much longer, that's a gap in what new owners are told, not a fact about guinea pigs.
The questions
What our small pet questions are really about
- The bonded partner. Whether the surviving rabbit or guinea pig spent time with the body. It's a practice many keepers swear by, and we want to know how widely it's known.
- Garden or cremation. Small pets are one of the few cases where home burial is easy, so this choice is much more open than it is for a large dog.
- What people keep. Fur, a print, ashes, a favourite hidey house. With so little ash, keepsakes matter more.
- Children. Whether this was a child's first experience of death, and how they were involved.
- Lifespan and cost. What owners expected before the end came, which tells us where better information is needed.
When you got your rabbit or guinea pig, how long did you expect them to live?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Families
Why we ask about children and first losses
Short-lived small pets are often bought for children, so their death is frequently a child's first close loss. In the RSPCA's pet bereavement survey, 93.4%[4] of parents wanted better guidance on helping children through pet loss. Your answer helps us see how families are handling it now, and our guide to talking with children about losing a small pet is shaped by those questions.
Was this (or will it be) your child's first experience of a pet dying?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Money and advice
Why we ask about cost and what your vet told you
Two of our questions are about information rather than feelings: what people expected cremation to cost, and whether their vet explained the choices. In the UK, only 47%[5] of cremation buyers remembered being told about a range of options, including home burial. For small pets, where a garden grave is often simple, that missing conversation matters.
The cost question works the same way. Guesses tend to be anchored on what a dog or cat costs, but rabbits and guinea pigs sit at the bottom of any weight-based price list. After you vote, the cremation cost calculator gives you a sourced range to compare with your own guess.
When your small pet died, did your vet explain the aftercare options?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Next steps
Turning what you read here into a plan
Seeing how others voted can make a decision feel less lonely, but your pet, your garden and your budget are your own. If the polls leave you leaning one way, check the practical side with the aftercare options comparison, then read the services page for what each choice involves.
If grief is heavier than you expected, you're far from alone. In the same RSPCA research, 66.9%[6] of owners were surprised by how intense their grief was. Our page on grief after losing a small pet has gentle, practical ideas for the first weeks.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
If your pet had a bonded partner, did the survivor get time with their body?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What would you most want to keep from your rabbit, guinea pig or ferret?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What was the hardest part of losing your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Questions people ask
Are the polls anonymous?
Yes. We don't ask for your name or email to vote, and results are only ever shown as totals. Your browser remembers that you've voted so the same person isn't counted twice, but nothing links your vote to you. You can vote on as many or as few questions as you like.
Can I change my vote?
Only your first answer to each question is counted, so that one person can't tip the totals. If you clicked the wrong option by mistake, one vote rarely shifts the percentages much, and the live figures keep moving as more readers answer. We keep it simple so voting takes a second on a hard day.
Do the polls start with any numbers already filled in?
No. Every poll starts empty and fills only with real votes from readers; we never add starting numbers or sample answers. That also means a question with only a few votes can look lopsided at first, and the percentages will settle as more people take part.
Can I suggest a poll question?
Please do. If there's something you wished you'd known how others handled, such as introducing a new companion to a bereaved rabbit, send it through our contact form. We add questions that small-pet owners genuinely wrestle with and that we can't answer from published research.
Do the polls cover hamsters and rats?
Our questions are written for rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, chinchillas and hedgehogs, because their owners face things like bonded partners and garden burial of a 2 kg body. Hamster, rat and mouse owners have their own sister guide in our network, with polls about their pets' very different needs.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 75.4% of RSPCA pet-loss survey respondents experienced anticipatory grief before their pet died. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [2] Roughly 290,000 pet rabbits and guinea pigs may die in the UK each year (~116,000 rabbits, ~174,000 guinea pigs). Our estimate: UK rabbits (500k)/4.3 yrs + UK guinea pigs (700k)/4.03 yrs. How we calculate.
- [3] Pet guinea pigs in the UK have a median age at death of 4.03 years. O'Neill et al. 2024, PLOS ONE - VetCompass guinea pigs, 2024.
- [4] 93.4% of parents in the RSPCA survey wanted better guidance on helping children through pet loss. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [5] Fewer than half (47%) of UK cremation buyers recalled being told about a range of options, including communal cremation or home burial. UK Competition and Markets Authority - Veterinary services for household pets, Provisional decision report Part A (Oct 2025), 2025.
- [6] 66.9% of respondents were surprised by how intense their grief was after losing a pet. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
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