Mother with 88 guinea pigs makes £40,000 a year through online fans

Mother with 88 guinea pigs reveals she makes £40,000 a year thanks to loyal online fans – but spends £7,000 of that on vegetables that take 80 minutes a day to chop

• Sophie Mason, 31, from Lincoln started collection of animals four years ago
• Herd has grown over the years to  88 guinea pigs who she posts about online 
• Social media pages dedicated to animals currently earn up to £40,000 a year
• Mum says she spends £7,000 a year on vegetables and £20,000 on vet bills

A mother who owns 88 guinea pigs revealed she’s opening a rescue centre with the proceeds of her thriving Facebook page – which earns her up to £40,000 a year.  

Sophie Mason, 31, from Lincoln, and husband Mark, 46, began collecting the animals four-years ago when the former shop worker bought what they thought was a herd of six female guinea pigs. 

But after a rogue male in the group mated with the females, their gaggle of guinea pigs grew and Sophie eventually quit her job to look after the animals full time, and dedicate herself to their growing social media presence. 

Now, Sophie can earn up to £3,500 through their Facebook page – but said on This Morning today the profits are necessary to look after so many pets, with her vegetable bill alone at a whopping £7,000 a year and vet bills coming in at around £20,000. 

Sophie Mason, 31, from Lincoln, began collecting guinea pigs four-years ago and now has a herd of 88

Sophie revealed she’s opening a rescue centre with the proceeds of her thriving Facebook page – which earns her up to £40,000 a year. Pictured, some of Sophie’s 88 pets in their pen

‘They are expensive,’ said Sophie. ‘Had we not had this success with Facebook we couldn’t do this. It would be too expensive. 

‘They do like to eat their veg and it does cost a lot of money, so we have the fans to thank for that, that we can continue to care for them to the standard we do.’ 

When asked whether she had plans to expand her guinea pig population, she said: ‘At the moment no.’ 

‘Once we get sorted out, we want to set up an official rescue. Until we do the plan will be to save as many as possible and educate people and make people smile.’ 

Sophie can earn up to £3,500 through their Facebook page – but said on This Morning today the profits are necessary to look after so many pets

Sophie’s page, Masons’ Cavies, currently has over 20 million views. Sophie is pictured holding two of her herd with 46-year-old husband Mark

Sophie’s page, Masons’ Cavies, currently has over 20 million views after she began posting about her herd on Facebook in August 2018. 

‘We’d always planned to have a large herd of guinea pigs,’ said Sophie. ‘I’ve always loved them, so after this guy got them pregnant he got neutered, but we participated in relatively large rescue.’  

Now, Sophie spends 80 minutes a day chopping vegetables in front of a live webcam for her followers as well as posting videos with the guinea pigs, including one of her pets nibbling lettuce while using her as a human table.  

Subscribers can pay for additional content or give ‘virtual stars’ that can be transferred into real money. 

Sophie began collecting the animals four-years ago when the former shop worker bought what they thought was a herd of six female guinea pigs. Pictured, the herd’s pen in Sophie’s back garden 

But after a rogue male in the group mated with the females, their herd of guinea pigs grew. Pictured, the pen in Sophie’s garden from the inside 

Sophie eventually quit her job to look after the animals full time, and dedicate herself to their growing social media presence. Pictured, some of Sophie’s guinea pigs

Additional funding also came from Facebook when it began using Sophie’s site to place adverts. 

Sophie believes her page is so popular because it’s given some light entertainment amid the Covid pandemic, and that viewers enjoy how ‘personal’ the account it. 

‘I think what makes us slightly different to everybody else is the page has become very personalised,’ said Sophie. ‘Everybody knows the guinea pigs’ names, they know me and my husband. 

‘But with everyone going through such an awful situation over the last 12 months, with lockdown and Covid, it’s just made people smile and have something to smile and enjoy. 

Sophie spends 80 minutes a day chopping vegetables in front of a live webcam for her followers. Pictured, one of Sophie’ herd 

She also posts videos with the guinea pigs, including one of her pets nibbling lettuce while using her as a human table (left|) 

‘I think that’s why the page has become so popular, especially over the last 12 months.’ 

She says she’s keen to use her newfound internet fame to dispel some common myths about guinea pigs.

‘There are so many myths and misconceptions, she said, ‘So we’ve set out to be myth busters for the guinea pigs world. 

‘They’re such fascinating animals, they’re so friendly, they very rarely bite. Unless they’re frightened or poorly they very rarely bite.’

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