diff --git a/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py b/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py
index 9533b275bd1..317b01f3861 100644
--- a/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py
+++ b/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py
@@ -255,6 +255,19 @@ class _LabeledMetric:
 
 _MetricLike: TypeAlias = "NoOpMetric | _LabeledMetric | MetricWrapperBase"
 
+_SeriesLimitT: Final = TypeVar("_SeriesLimitT", int, float)
+
+
+def _positive_or_ignored(setting: str, value: _SeriesLimitT | None) -> _SeriesLimitT | None:
+    if value is None or value > 0:
+        return value
+    verbose_logger.warning(
+        "%s is ignored because it is not greater than 0 (got %s). Prometheus metrics are emitted without it",
+        setting,
+        value,
+    )
+    return None
+
 
 def _get_budget_metrics_per_request_timeout() -> float:
     raw: Final = os.getenv("PROMETHEUS_BUDGET_METRICS_PER_REQUEST_TIMEOUT")
@@ -1285,8 +1298,10 @@ class PrometheusLogger(CustomLogger):
     @staticmethod
     def _configured_series_limits(multiprocess_mode: bool) -> PrometheusSeriesLimits:
         limits: Final = PrometheusSeriesLimits(
-            max_series=litellm.prometheus_metrics_max_series_per_metric,
-            ttl_seconds=litellm.prometheus_metrics_ttl_seconds,
+            max_series=_positive_or_ignored(
+                "prometheus_metrics_max_series_per_metric", litellm.prometheus_metrics_max_series_per_metric
+            ),
+            ttl_seconds=_positive_or_ignored("prometheus_metrics_ttl_seconds", litellm.prometheus_metrics_ttl_seconds),
             cleanup_interval_seconds=litellm.prometheus_metrics_cleanup_interval_seconds,
         )
         if limits.ttl_seconds is None or not multiprocess_mode:
diff --git a/litellm/integrations/prometheus_helpers/bounded_prometheus_series_tracker.py b/litellm/integrations/prometheus_helpers/bounded_prometheus_series_tracker.py
index 27ed8ae79ae..6538b457d44 100644
--- a/litellm/integrations/prometheus_helpers/bounded_prometheus_series_tracker.py
+++ b/litellm/integrations/prometheus_helpers/bounded_prometheus_series_tracker.py
@@ -19,14 +19,6 @@ class PrometheusSeriesLimits:
     ttl_seconds: float | None
     cleanup_interval_seconds: float | None
 
-    def __post_init__(self) -> None:
-        if self.max_series is not None and self.max_series <= 0:
-            raise ValueError(
-                f"prometheus_metrics_max_series_per_metric must be a positive integer, got {self.max_series}"
-            )
-        if self.ttl_seconds is not None and self.ttl_seconds <= 0:
-            raise ValueError(f"prometheus_metrics_ttl_seconds must be a positive number, got {self.ttl_seconds}")
-
     @property
     def enabled(self) -> bool:
         return self.max_series is not None or self.ttl_seconds is not None
diff --git a/tests/unit/integrations/test_prometheus_series_cardinality.py b/tests/unit/integrations/test_prometheus_series_cardinality.py
index 4af0d91dfa1..80de28b6723 100644
--- a/tests/unit/integrations/test_prometheus_series_cardinality.py
+++ b/tests/unit/integrations/test_prometheus_series_cardinality.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import logging
 import re
 from pathlib import Path
 from threading import Thread
@@ -368,8 +369,18 @@ def test_series_stay_unbounded_unless_a_limit_is_configured():
         ("prometheus_metrics_ttl_seconds", -1.0),
     ],
 )
-def test_non_positive_series_limits_fail_logger_startup(setting: str, value: float):
+def test_a_non_positive_series_limit_is_ignored_with_a_warning_and_metrics_keep_flowing(
+    setting: str, value: float, clock, caplog
+):
+    litellm.prometheus_metrics_cleanup_interval_seconds = 0.0
     setattr(litellm, setting, value)
 
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match=setting):
-        PrometheusLogger()
+    with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="LiteLLM"):
+        logger: Final = PrometheusLogger()
+    for index in range(3):
+        _count_request(logger, f"agent-{index}")
+        clock[0] += 100.0
+
+    series: Final = _scraped_series("litellm_proxy_total_requests_metric_total")
+    assert _label_values(series, "user_agent") == {"agent-0", "agent-1", "agent-2"}
+    assert setting in caplog.text