Boar weight loss

[piggl]

Hi digby is my 9 month old guinea pig and he’s currently been loosing weight. It’s only been around 6 grams a week but it’s not what i want, since his weight reduced also two weeks ago i started feeding him more food to try and get him to put on weight. I’m sure what’s wrong with him because he seems fine and seems to be eating fine but his weight is reducing Any help would be so great xx

 

[Claire W]

A loss of 6g is nothing to worry about. Are you weighing him at the same time each week eg before breakfast? Guinea pigs weights can fluctuate plus / minus 30g within a day depending on food eaten and bladder changes.

But if you are still concerned, I’d recommend a vet check

 

[piggl]

A loss of 6g is nothing to worry about. Are you weighing him at the same time each week eg before breakfast? Guinea pigs weights can fluctuate plus / minus 30g within a day depending on food eaten and bladder changes.

But if you are still concerned, I’d recommend a vet check

Oh right i didn’t know that - But i weighed him before bed at 6 so he probably pooped out his breakfast but it’s been going down the last month or two and i haven’t been doing anything different

 

[Claire W]

Oh right i didn’t know that - But i weighed him before bed at 6 so he probably pooped out his breakfast but it’s been going down the last month or two and i haven’t been doing anything different

It doesn’t matter what time of day you weigh as long as it’s at the same time.

You are looking for a sudden huge drop in weight or a gradual decline over several weeks. If you are experiencing this, I would recommend a vet check just to be on the safe side

 

[Piggies&buns]

Weigh at the same time each day - it doesn’t matter when.
6g is nothing to worry about. They can fluctuate up to 30g per day without there being anything wrong.
Don’t feed him more food - pellets or veg - if you want to give him more food, then ensure he has plenty of hay, but as I say 6g a week is not of concern

Weight Monitoring and Management

 

[piggl]

It doesn’t matter what time of day you weigh as long as it’s at the same time.

You are looking for a sudden huge drop in weight or a gradual decline over several weeks. If you are experiencing this, I would recommend a vet check just to be on the safe side

How much of a gradual decline would you say needs to be checked by a vet because there isn’t any exotic vets near me and i’m not sure if my normal vet would know what to do. His weight normally goes up and down it’s just he’s been going down recently .

 

[piggl]

Weigh at the same time each day - it doesn’t matter when.
6g is nothing to worry about. They can fluctuate up to 30g per day without there being anything wrong.
Don’t feed him more food - pellets or veg - if you want to give him more food, then ensure he has plenty of hay, but as I say 6g a week is not of concern

Weight Monitoring and Management

Sorry i’m being silly but do you mean weigh them at 6 o’clock every time you weigh?

 

[piggl]

Sorry i’m being silly but do you mean weigh them at 6 o’clock every time you weigh?

Obviously not at 6oclock but the same time every weighing session

 

[Siikibam]

How is he in terms of eating his hay? And what does his heft feel like? I think if he’s losing weight each week then I would take him in.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes, at the same time each day (if there are health concerns) or same time each week. It just means that you are weighing st the same time during their feeding cycle.

 

[piggl]

How is he in terms of eating his hay? And what does his heft feel like? I think if he’s losing weight each week then I would take him in.

He eats it like normal - He has hay in his bed and two hay racks and in heft i’m not quite sure i’ll go check

 

[piggl]

Yes, at the same time each day (if there are health concerns) or same time each week. It just means that you are weighing st the same time during their feeding cycle.

I’ll reweigh him tonight at 6 then

 

[Claire W]

How much of a gradual decline would you say needs to be checked by a vet because there isn’t any exotic vets near me and i’m not sure if my normal vet would know what to do. His weight normally goes up and down it’s just he’s been going down recently .

I would say a gradual decline of around 20g a week would warrent a vet check

 

[piggl]

I would say a gradual decline of around 20g a week would warrent a vet check

Ok i’m going to do daily weight checks - I just realised that about two months ago i stopped putting pellets in their cage 24/7 and now they’re only in overnight as i realised how high in fat the were - could this affect him around 40 gs

 

[Claire W]

Ok i’m going to do daily weight checks - I just realised that about two months ago i stopped putting pellets in their cage 24/7 and now they’re only in overnight as i realised how high in fat the were - could this affect him around 40 gs

Yes, piggies should have limited pellets anyway so a change in diet could be causing the weight loss

 

[piggl]

Yes, piggies should have limited pellets anyway so a change in diet could be causing the weight loss

Ok thank you, i’m going to watch his weight daily at the same time and see if it goes back to normal in around two weeks because he’s eating and drinking fine and if it still going down instead of done and up then i’ll definitely take him to the vet