Which small companion are you thinking about today?
A rabbit0%
A guinea pig0%
A ferret0%
A chinchilla0%
A hedgehog0%
Another small pet0%
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Live poll results from rabbit, guinea pig and ferret owners
In a UK survey, 67%[1] of owners whose pet had recently died chose cremation. Here's how our small-pet readers are answering, live, next to the research.
- Real votes only, never pre-filled
- Published research shown alongside
- Updates every time someone votes
Before you read the board
How these results are counted
Every figure below comes from readers who chose to answer a question on this site. Each person's first vote on each question counts once, votes are anonymous, and the totals update live. Nothing is seeded or estimated: a poll with no votes shows no result.
That makes the board honest, but not scientific. People who find a small-pet aftercare guide are more likely to be grieving or planning, and early questions may have only a few answers. Use the results to see how others are thinking, and use the research further down this page for the bigger picture.
Live results
If your pet had a bonded partner, did the survivor get time with their body?
Yes, they stayed together for a while0%
Yes, just a few minutes of sniffing0%
No, it didn't happen that way0%
I didn't know that could help0%
My pet lived on their own0%
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For a pet this small, which goodbye feels right to you?
Burial in the garden0%
Burial in a large planter or pot0%
Private cremation, with the ashes home0%
Communal cremation, no ashes back0%
I honestly don't know yet0%
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What would you most want to keep from your rabbit, guinea pig or ferret?
A little clipping of fur0%
A paw or foot print0%
Their ashes, however few0%
Their favourite hidey house or blanket0%
Photos and videos are enough0%
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Was this (or will it be) your child's first experience of a pet dying?
Yes, and they were part of the goodbye0%
Yes, we told them afterwards0%
No, they'd been through it before0%
There are no children at home0%
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When you got your rabbit or guinea pig, how long did you expect them to live?
Only a few years0%
Around five to seven years0%
Eight years or more0%
I had no idea0%
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What would you expect private cremation of a rabbit or guinea pig to cost?
Under $500%
$50 to $1000%
$100 to $1750%
More than $1750%
I have no idea0%
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When your small pet died, did your vet explain the aftercare options?
Yes, burial and cremation choices with prices0%
They offered one option only0%
No, I had to ask or look it up0%
My pet died at home, so it didn't come up0%
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Research alongside
Garden burial or cremation: what the studies say
Our burial-or-cremation poll is the one to compare with national research. In the UK, the competition regulator's survey found burial figures of 27% home burial; 2% burial elsewhere[2]. In a US survey of preferred future care, the answers were 40.4% cremation; 34.9% home burial; 1.9% aquamation[3]. Those studies were mostly dog and cat owners, so small-pet answers may lean further toward the garden.
67%[1]
In the CMA's UK pet owners survey, 67% of owners whose pet died in the previous two years had the pet cremated.
40.4% cremation; 34.9% home burial; 1.9% aquamation[3]
Asked their preferred future after-death care, 40.4% of US owners chose traditional flame cremation and 34.9% home burial; 10.7% chose cemetery burial and 1.9% alkaline hydrolysis (aquamation).
If our readers' answers differ from those figures, that's interesting rather than wrong. A guinea pig can be buried under a hedge in twenty minutes; a Labrador can't. Our services page explains what each route involves, and the aftercare options comparison lets you weigh them for your own situation.
Expectations
The lifespan question, and why it matters
Our lifespan poll asks how long owners expected their rabbit or guinea pig to live. The research answer is sobering: UK vet records show a median age at death of 4.3 years[4] for rabbits and 4.03 years[5] for guinea pigs. Many individuals live well beyond that, but a median of around four years means many families face a goodbye sooner than planned.
If you're reading this while your pet is healthy, the pet age calculator shows where they are in their life, and our pre-planning guide covers what to decide calmly now.
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.
Small-pet questions
Bonded partners and keepsakes: questions research hasn't asked
Some of our questions have no published research to compare against at all. Nobody, as far as we know, has surveyed how many rabbit owners let a bonded partner see the body, or what guinea pig families keep when there's only a spoonful of ash. That's exactly why we ask. Read these results as the start of a conversation among owners, not a verdict.
The keepsake question matters for a practical reason. By our estimate a median pet rabbit returns about 74 g[6] of ashes, which fills a keepsake urn and perhaps a pendant or two, not a row of jewelry. If lots of readers say fur clippings or prints mean more to them than ashes, that's a useful nudge to take those before collection. The ashes sharing planner shows how far a small pet's ashes go.
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.
Grief
What the research says about grieving a small pet
Several of our questions touch on grief, and here the research is clear. Market research reports that 40%[7] of owners say their grief for a pet equals or exceeds grief after a human loss. A Death Studies paper found that closeness to the one who died, not their species, was the strongest predictor of how hard grief hits. Harvard Health's write-up of a large UK pet-grief study makes a similar point.
In other words, the size of the animal doesn't set the size of the loss. If our results show many readers found the hardest part was the silence of an empty hutch, or a surviving partner searching, that fits what studies find. Our guide to grief after losing a small pet has ideas for the first weeks.
Using the results
What to take from these results, and what not to
- Take comfort in knowing others face the same choices, especially about bonded partners and children.
- Don't take a popular answer as the right answer for your family. A communal cremation or a garden grave is no less loving because fewer people picked it.
- Check the practical details with a provider: prices, timings and how they handle very small pets.
- Come back later. Results change as more people vote, and new questions are added.
Haven't voted yet? The polls page has every question. When you're ready for real prices rather than opinions, send us your pet's details.
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.
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 expect private cremation of a rabbit or guinea pig to cost?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Compared with losing a person, losing your pet felt...
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Questions people ask
Are these poll results accurate?
They accurately count the votes cast on this site, but they aren't a representative survey. Voters choose themselves and are often in the middle of a loss. For population-level figures, look at the published research quoted on this page, which comes from national surveys and veterinary records.
Why do some results change so much from day to day?
When a question has only a few votes, each new answer moves the percentages noticeably. As more small-pet owners take part, the figures settle. That's one reason we never present poll results as facts about rabbit, guinea pig or ferret owners in general.
Can I see results without voting?
This page shows the live totals for every question, whether or not you've voted. If you'd like to add your own answer, each poll on the polls page takes one click and asks for no personal details.
Do you use the results for anything else?
We use the totals to decide which questions to answer in more depth on our guides, for example if many readers say they didn't know a bonded rabbit could see its partner's body. Individual votes are anonymous and aren't linked to requests sent through the contact form.
Why don't you publish percentages in your articles?
Because they change every day and come from a self-selected group. Quoting "most owners chose X" from a live poll would turn opinion into something that looks like a fact. We quote published studies instead, with sources, and keep reader polls on their own pages where the context is clear.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] In the CMA's UK pet owners survey, 67% of owners whose pet died in the previous two years had the pet cremated. UK Competition and Markets Authority - Veterinary services for household pets, Provisional decision report Part A (Oct 2025), 2025.
- [2] In the same CMA survey, 27% of UK owners buried their pet at home and 2% used a pet burial company elsewhere. UK Competition and Markets Authority - Veterinary services for household pets, Provisional decision report Part A (Oct 2025), 2025.
- [3] Asked their preferred future after-death care, 40.4% of US owners chose traditional flame cremation and 34.9% home burial; 10.7% chose cemetery burial and 1.9% alkaline hydrolysis (aquamation). Cooney, Kogan, Brooks, Ellis - Pet Owners' Expectations for Pet End-of-Life Support and After-Death Body Care, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine (2020), 2020.
- [4] Pet rabbits in England have a median age at death of 4.3 years. O'Neill et al. 2020, Veterinary Record - VetCompass rabbits, 2020.
- [5] 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.
- [6] A median-weight adult pet rabbit (2.1 kg) would be expected to return about 74 g (2.6 oz) of cremated remains. Our estimate: 2,100 g x 3.5%. How we calculate.
- [7] Mordor Intelligence reports that 40% of owners say their grief after a pet's death equals or exceeds grief after a human loss. Mordor Intelligence — Pet Funeral Services Market report page, 2025.
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