A Ranking of Common Pets' Life Expectancy, from Shortest to Longest

The average lifespan of a hamster is 2 to 3 years. Factors like species, diet, exercise, and quality of care directly contribute to a hamster's lifespan.

Guinea pigs live for 4 to 7 years on average. They need to be well-kept as common infections can be deadly — especially respiratory illnesses.

When kept in a healthy environment, goldfish can live for 5 to 10 years. It is important that they swim in fresh waters as they can react badly after a change in the chlorine levels or heavy metals in the water.

Budgies and parakeets are a common species of parrots that people have as pets. On average, these species live for 5 to 15 years.

On average, dogs live for 7 to 14 years. There are a lot of factors when it comes to determine a dog's lifespan like breed because some breeds are more prone to disease than others.

Rabbits or bunnies live for 8 to 14 years on average. They are prone to unique problems like overgrown teeth and loss of appetite over the years.

Indoor-only cats have an average lifespan of 10 to 20 years. On the other hand, cats that only live outdoors have an average lifespan of 2 to 5 years. Keeping cats indoors can actually increase their lifespan as they are less likely to encounter predators or toxins.

Turtles or tortoises can live for 40 to 50 years as they have a very slow metabolism. However, often in captivity they do not get sufficient care in order to live full lives.