Approximate Age through Weight

[ylaena11]

I've recently become piggy mum to 2 baby girls, I was told they were 10-12 weeks old but I'm not convinced, so I weighed them

1, is 338g and the other 324g

Can anyone help with how old they approximately are?

 

[PigglePuggle]

Age isnt always a good predictor of weight at all, but those weights sound a bit low based on my own experience of bringing home piggies that age, so they may be a couple of weeks younger? But they are definitely big enough to be separated from mum and rehomed, weigh them weekly (or more often if you are concerned about their weight) and look for steady weight gain.
You could also pop them along to the vets to see if the vet thinks they are too small or just a bit younger than you think, a vet check is always a good idea for new pets just to make sure they are healthy x

 

[Lady Kelly]

It's virtually impossible to tell age from weight alone as piggies can be very varied in size. My last little one was 500-600g at that age but then she's topped my scales at just over 1300g as an adult and I've never had a piggy that big before! One of my previous pigs only reached 850g as an adult, she was so tiny but with big pig attitude I don't have her weights from when she was a baby but I bet she wasn't anywhere near 500-600g at 10-12 weeks.

 

[PigglePuggle]

My main point of reference here is petite little Puggle who was 390g when we brought her home at 11 weeks old and the vet commented she was rather small, she now weighs 950g at 2 years old

 

[Wiebke]

I've recently become piggy mum to 2 baby girls, I was told they were 10-12 weeks old but I'm not convinced, so I weighed them

1, is 338g and the other 324g

Can anyone help with how old they approximately are?

Hi!

Since newborns can weigh anything between 40-120g and this weight difference is then travelling on and getting larger rather than smaller, judging the age by weight only can be very misleading and cause you unnecessary anxiety.

I have adopted a 8 weeks old last January that was just 220g for instance (i.e. the weight of a small 3 weeks old) - Begw will never be large, but she is perfectly sturdy and well in herself.
My very fast growing Tegan weighed about 600 at the same age (she is the baby in my avatar and died in August not long before her 8th birthday). If it helps you, my fattest girl of 1500g in her heyday (Nerys, the large piggy in my picture on the left) as well as two of my smallest girls (Tegan's plymates, which had been rescued from a bad situation) that weighed in at just about 800g in their best times all lived to celebrate their 8th birthday, so you can simply never tell!

Far more important than size is that your babies are alert, active and well in themselves.

Please do not make the mistake of stuffing your babies full of junk calories (high fat/sugar/starchy food) in an attempt to make them comply with the average. The healthier your little ones are in themselves, the longer they will live irrespective of irrespective of whether they are little ones or whoppers!
On a good diet with unlimited grass hay and only limited but nutritionally balanced veg and pellets your babies will grow in their own time into their genetically determined optimal size and weight. Empty calories will only lead to them stopping growing more quickly and shorten their lifespan. The more hay your babies eat, the better for long term health and longevity. Always put quality over quantity - except with hay!

Please take the time to read our weight guide. It explains how you can very easily judge at any age whether your babies are a good weight for their size (i.e. checking their BMI); how their weight will change throughout life and how you use life-long weekly weigh-ins to monitor the health (including when you need to go on alert).
Our diet guide looks at all food groups in practical detail, including a sample veg diet picture.
Here are our guide links for weight monitoring and our comprehensive diet guide:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Both guides are part of our far ranging new owners guide collection, which specifically addresses all the questions and worries we get most often from new owners in a practical and precise way that can be easily followed. The collection makes a very good resource for looking up as you go along; unlike a book we can constantly update it. Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[ylaena11]

Thank you all, I was just a little concerned they were younger than told but I suppose each piggy is different and this could be normal for these 2 .

They're active, eating well and did their first zoomies within hours of having them in their new home

I also don't remember my 2 other piggies being that small when I got them around the same age just over 2 years ago... 1 of those is now 1300g and healthy active.