January 30, 2026, 3:49 pm | Read time: 7 minutes
We keep hearing about weird trends in pet keeping. Unfortunately, this often concerns animals that are not domesticated at all, but which people find cute. This is also the case with capybaras. They are appearing more and more frequently on social media and are the new trend pet, especially in the USA.
Capybaras, also known as water hogs or water pigs, are the largest rodents in the world. As they also seem pretty cute to many people, there is now a trend, especially in the USA, to keep a capybara as a pet. PETBOOK explains below whether this is really a good idea and what considerations are necessary if you want to keep these animals in Germany.
How Do Capybaras Live?
The capybara, a distant relative of the guinea pig, is primarily native to South America. They live almost everywhere there, except west of the Andes and in Patagonia, where they have not yet been sighted.
They prefer to colonize wetlands around the Orinoco, the Amazon, or the Pantanal in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The name Capybara is derived from a word used by the indigenous Guaraní people living in Argentina. In this language, “kapiyva” means “lord of the grasses”.
The habitats of the capybaras are sometimes very different, but they always need access to water. They lead semi-aquatic lives, spending a significant portion of their time in rivers, ponds, and still waters. However, they also need dense vegetation and solid ground for their sleeping areas and forage mainly in savannah areas and grasslands. They live both in the lowlands and at an altitude of 1300 meters.
Capybaras also play an important role in their ecosystem. They serve as prey for numerous predators such as jaguars, caimans, and anacondas. At the same time, they contribute to the regulation of vegetation in wetlands through their feeding behavior. Furthermore, their excrement serves as a food source for numerous microorganisms and insects, which in turn sustain the food chain.
Capybaras Can Bark
In addition to their preference for water, capybaras are extremely social animals. They communicate through a variety of sounds, including grunts, squeaks, and barks. These vocalizations help them to stay in contact with group members or warn of danger. In human care, they can become accustomed to us, but their natural social structures are difficult to replicate.
Typically, they live in groups ranging from six to twenty animals, with solitary males being the exception rather than the rule. The animals can grow up to 1.3 meters long and weigh 65 kilograms. Males and females are very difficult to tell apart as they have the same stature and size. The animals’ sexual organs also provide no clues, as they are internal.
Similar to other rodents, capybaras primarily subsist on a plant-based diet. Similar to rabbits, they also have to eat their appendix droppings, as some nutrients in them can only be metabolized on the second route through the digestive tract.1
What Do You Need to Consider if You Want to Keep a Capybara as a Pet in Germany?
The fascination with capybaras is probably due to the calmness that the animals exude. Even in the presence of humans, they remain very calm, even though they are not domesticated. Instagram and TikTok videos of the animals enjoying steamy baths can be found time and again. The fact that the young capybaras “surf” on their parents’ backs is also a regular source of online excitement.
However, many people underestimate the bureaucratic effort involved in keeping a capybara. Anyone who does not meet the minimum requirements or violates reporting obligations must expect to pay high fines or even have the animal confiscated. In some federal states, it may also be necessary to obtain a special permit before you are allowed to keep capybaras.
This is because they are considered wild animals in Germany, meaning that they are not actually pets. Accordingly, the Animal Welfare Act also stipulates certain minimum husbandry conditions for the animals, which are set out separately in an ordinance on the keeping of mammals.
Potential Health Risks for Owners and Animals
As already mentioned, capybaras are herd animals and must therefore never be kept individually, as this is tantamount to cruelty to animals. Capybaras are not classified as endangered and thus do not fall under the protections of the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Nevertheless, they are not native to Germany and must therefore be registered with the veterinary office.
At the same time, owners must also provide proof of a certain level of expertise in keeping the animals. The exact regulations that apply vary from municipality to municipality. If in doubt, you should ask your local council or district about the requirements.
Capybaras can also transmit various diseases, including leptospirosis, an infectious disease caused by bacteria that can also be transmitted to humans. The animals are also prone to parasite infestation, particularly by ticks. Anyone keeping a Capybara should therefore not neglect veterinary examinations in order to detect infections at an early stage.
What a “Pet” Capybara Needs
Given their substantial size and specific needs, capybaras cannot be appropriately housed in a small urban apartment. They need a lush outdoor area of at least 40 square meters with plenty of vegetation. They also need an indoor enclosure of at least ten square meters for two capybaras.
Additionally, a sizable pond is a mandatory requirement. According to the minimum requirements for keeping, it should be at least four square meters in size so that the Capybaras can follow their natural way of life. This is only the absolute minimum requirement—if you want to keep more than two or offer your Capybaras a nice home, they will need much more space. In the wild, they live in an area of up to 200 hectares, depending on the size of the group.
As the animals are used to tropical temperatures, the pond or swimming pool must be heated and have temperatures of 20 degrees and above. Capybaras also prefer clean, flowing water—very powerful pumps are therefore required for keeping them as pets so that the animals feel comfortable swimming.
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Capybaras Need a Few Kilos of Green Food Per Day
You should also not underestimate how much food a 65-kilogram rodent needs every day. Capybaras feed primarily on green and aquatic plants, especially the grasses they eat in their native South America. Due to their size, this can add up to quite a lot of food. As a rule, it is estimated that they eat 2.7 to 3.6 kilograms of green food per day.
Munching on grass is also in their nature, as rodents’ teeth grow throughout their lives. This means that they have to wear them down by constantly eating. This is why your pet’s teeth should be checked at regular intervals. This task should be entrusted to a veterinarian experienced in rodent care, a specialty that includes only a select number of vets in Germany.
Can You Keep a Capybara as a Pet in a Species-Appropriate Way?
While it is indeed possible to keep capybaras as pets in Germany, it raises the question of whether such a practice is truly species-appropriate for the animals. In addition, the supply of South American grasses and the heating of the capybaras’ swimming pool is expensive. The animals themselves are not cheap to buy either. Specialist pet stores can charge as much as 10,000 euros for a pair.
Capybaras are sometimes hunted in their countries of origin. However, they are also poached for the pet trade and shipped all over the world. Even though capybaras are a very calm species, there is no guarantee that the wild animals will not attack. Their long gnawing teeth, in particular, make these powerfully built relatives of the guinea pigs quite defensive. 2
In the best case scenario, they should therefore be allowed to remain in their habitats. The questionable trend on social media of showcasing a solitary capybara as a pet is decidedly contrary to the animal’s species-appropriate needs.
The German original of this article was published in March 2025.