Record-breaking small pets: the oldest, longest and highest jumpers

Which small pet records does Guinness list?

Guinness World Records keeps official records for the age, size and jumping of rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice, gerbils and chinchillas. Every row below comes from a Guinness record page or a Guinness news story. Guinness itself says records change daily and are not always published online at once, so a newer holder may exist that its pages do not show yet.

What is the oldest rabbit ever?

The oldest rabbit on Guinness's books is Flopsy, who lived to 18 years and 10.75 months. Flopsy was caught as a wild rabbit on 6 August 1964 and spent the rest of that long life at the home of L.B. Walker in Longford, Tasmania, Australia. The record page's date field is blank, so the year the record was set is not given.

The oldest rabbit alive today, on Guinness's page, is Herbie, a Lionhead rabbit in Dorking, Surrey, UK. Guinness lists Herbie as 16 years old as of 20 August 2026. For comparison, the RSPCA says rabbits typically live 8 to 12 years in a safe, stimulating home with a good diet, health checks and company, so Herbie has passed even the top of that range by four years. Our guide to how long rabbits live covers what helps a rabbit reach old age.

What is the biggest rabbit and the longest ears?

The longest rabbit on record is Darius, a Flemish giant owned by Annette Edwards in Worcester, UK, who measured 129 cm (4 ft 3 in) on 6 April 2010. Guinness wrote in 2024 that it had not seen a holder for the longest living rabbit since Darius, which makes this one of the longest-standing gaps in its pet records. Our page on the Flemish giant explains what owning one of these big rabbits is really like.

The longest ears belong to Nipper's Geronimo, an English Lop whose ears measured 79 cm (31.1 in) from tip to tip on 1 November 2003, at the American Rabbit Breeders Association National Show in Wichita, Kansas, USA. That is a record for a rabbit "ever". Guinness says no rabbit has ever held the separate record for the longest ears on a living rabbit, so it is still open.

How high and how far can a rabbit jump?

The highest rabbit jump Guinness lists is 99.5 cm (39.2 in), by Mimrelunds Tösen, whose name translates as "The Lassie of Quivering Grove", owned by Tine Hygom, in Herning, Denmark, on 28 June 1997. The longest is 3 m (9 ft 9.6 in), by Yabo, handled by Maria Brunn Jensen, in Horsens, Denmark, on 12 June 1999. The Yabo page's summary box shows "3 centimetres", which looks like a slip next to the 3 m in its own text; we follow the text.

In 2023 Guinness added a speed record: Penelope, a rabbit trained by Ole Roski of Germany, cleared 10 jumps in 7.16 seconds on the Italian show Lo Show dei Record in Milan. All three come from rabbit show jumping, the sport the Swedes call kaninhop. Our guide to rabbit show jumping explains how courses work and how to try it gently.

How old was the oldest guinea pig, and how far can one jump?

Snowball, a guinea pig cared for by M A Wall in Nottinghamshire, UK, lived to 14 years and 10.5 months, reaching that age on 14 February 1979. The RSPCA says guinea pigs typically live 5 to 6 years, so Snowball managed more than twice the normal span. See our page on how long guinea pigs live for the usual ages and what affects them.

Guinea pigs jump too. The longest jump Guinness lists is 48 cm (18.9 in), by Truffles in Rosyth, Fife, UK, on 6 April 2012. The highest bar jump is newer: Cora, trained by a 13-year-old girl in San Francisco, USA, cleared 26.67 cm (10.5 in) on 22 October 2025, as Guinness reported in February 2026. That beat the 24 cm (9.44 in) jumped by Willow in Spain in January 2023.

How long did the oldest rat, mouse, gerbil and hamster live?

The oldest rat Guinness lists is Rodney, a common rat belonging to Rodney Mitchell of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, who lived to seven years and four months, reaching that age on 25 May 1990. The RSPCA says pet rats live around two to three years, though some live longer, so Rodney lived well over twice as long as most. Our page on how long rats live covers the usual span.

The oldest mouse is not a pet. Patrick Stewart, known in his programme as Male 36, is a Pacific pocket mouse, an endangered wild species, and was verified at 9 years and 180 days on 10 January 2023 at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in California, USA, where he was part of a conservation breeding programme. He is a different animal from the pet house mouse, which the RSPCA says usually lives for about three years. See how long pet mice live.

Sahara, a Mongolian gerbil belonging to Aaron Milstone of Lathrup Village, Michigan, USA, was born in May 1973 and lived to eight years and four and a half months, until 4 October 1981. Our page on how long gerbils live gives the usual ages.

The oldest hamster on record was 4.5 years old and belonged to Karen Smeaton of Tyne and Wear, UK. Guinness gives no name for the hamster and no real date. Its own page says the average hamster lives between 18 and 24 months, so this one lived about twice as long as most. See how long hamsters live.

How old was the oldest chinchilla?

Radar, a chinchilla owned by Christina Anthony, lived to 29 years and 229 days, reaching that age on 18 September 2014 in Acton, California, USA. Guinness lists the owner as from Germany. Radar is the oldest small pet in our table by a wide margin, more than ten years older than any rabbit on record. Our page on how long chinchillas live covers what to expect for an ordinary chinchilla.

Are there records for ferrets and degus?

We found none. We searched Guinness World Records for age, size and jump records for ferrets and degus and found no record page for either, so they are left out of the table. If you keep a ferret, our page on how long ferrets live gives the usual ages instead.

What do these records tell us about pets today?

Record ages are extraordinary, not targets. Every age record above is at least double the normal lifespan that the RSPCA or Guinness gives for that animal. A pet that lives to an ordinary age has had a full life.

What you can do is give the care that lets a pet reach the top of its normal range. The RSPCA's basics for rabbits are company, at least 3 m by 2 m by 1 m (about 9 ft 10 in by 6 ft 7 in by 3 ft 3 in) of space, plenty of hay and regular health checks. Our rabbit care guide and rabbit facts page start there, and the guinea pig care guide does the same for guinea pigs.