The complete pet lifespan chart
How long do pets really live? This chart pulls the typical lifespan from every one of our 457 charted species profiles and lines them up on one scale, from fish measured in a few years to parrots and tortoises that can outlive their owners. Sort it, filter by type, and click any animal for the full care guide.
Figures are the typical ranges given in each species profile, shown here as the midpoint with the low-to-high span. Real lifespan depends heavily on care, diet, genetics and luck, and good husbandry often pushes an animal to the top of its range. Treat these as honest averages, not promises.
Average lifespan by type of pet
Averaged over the species we profile in each group, so it reflects popular pets, not every animal in the wild.
Why some pets live so much longer
Body size and metabolism drive a lot of it: among mammals, smaller pets often live longer than giant ones, while cold-blooded reptiles and long-lived parrots play by different rules entirely. A tortoise or a macaw is a decades-long commitment, so it is worth knowing the number before you fall for the animal. For the full picture on any species, open its care guide, and see the 2026 Dog Data Report for how size and lifespan interact in dogs.
Free to cite: link back to this page. Numbers are typical ranges from our own species library, updated as the library grows.