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Cocoa's Weight

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Katy Felix

Katy Felix

Junior Guinea Pig
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I'm very sorry for posting so much! Anyways, my boar, Cocoa seems very healthy. He's eating, playing, popcorning and the likes. But I just got a scale (i don't usually weigh him as I did it have one) and I weighed him. He's only 506 grams! Is that unhealthy? He eats lots and never leaves any behind. How does he eat so much but weigh so little? He has a very lean build by the way. He's always had this body but I just haven't weighed him in a long time. Again, sorry for post-spamming. I just have lots of questions and I didn't know there were sites like this.
 
Hey, no need to apologise at all.

How old is he?
 
Questions are good, they get us all thinking.
What sort of scales are you using. I scared myself once with my digital scales when Spike appeared to have lost a lot of weight - the batteries were going flat! The weight can also fluctuate on the scales if the piggie is not sitting in the middle or is wriggling. Worth trying again? If you're worried about him a vet visit would be worthwhile for peace of mind.
 
piggieminder said:
Questions are good, they get us all thinking.
What sort of scales are you using. I scared myself once with my digital scales when Spike appeared to have lost a lot of weight - the batteries were going flat! The weight can also fluctuate on the scales if the piggie is not sitting in the middle or is wriggling. Worth trying again? If you're worried about him a vet visit would be worthwhile for peace of mind.
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It's a kitchen scale. It's called the "star fruit", I think. It's new so the batteries are good. He stayed still while he was being weighed.
 
Firstly never worry about asking questions.
We love questions.
And photos of cute piggies too.

How old is Cocoa?
 
Katy Felix said:
I don't know his age. He was given to me and the owner didn't know his age. I think he is about three or four, but I really have no idea.
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Right.

Can you upload a photo of him?

506 is low for an adult, I really don' think he is going to be over 1 year old from that weight. If no one knows his age he could be anything...

What do you feed him?
 
image.webp
sport_billy said:
Right.

Can you upload a photo of him?

506 is low for an adult, I really don' think he is going to be over 1 year old from that weight. If no one knows his age he could be anything...

What do you feed him?
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I feed him lettuce, pepper, carrots, and other veggies. Sometimes he gets fruit, but only like every two "wheeks" hehe. He also gets hay and sometimes pellets. But he is def over a year, previous owner had him for a year or so. It's just weird, he's so healthy and active and weighs so little.
 
Is he getting veg each day? Unlimited hay? Please feed him pellets in morning and evening too

The recommended ratio of food groups:
- 80% hay
- 10-15% veg and fresh herbs (ca. 1 cupful / 50g / nearly 2oz)
- 5-10% pellets (amount depending on the age) around 20g
- plenty of fresh water daily

Was it digital scales?
 
sport_billy said:
Is he getting veg each day? Unlimited hay? Please feed him pellets in morning and evening too

The recommended ratio of food groups:
- 80% hay
- 10-15% veg and fresh herbs (ca. 1 cupful / 50g / nearly 2oz)
- 5-10% pellets (amount depending on the age) around 20g
- plenty of fresh water daily

Was it digital scales?
Click to expand...
He gets lots and lots of hay. He gets one cup of veggies (sometimes some fruit mixed in) everyday. And okay, I'll start pellets morning and eve. Before he only got them in the evening. He gets lots of water, too. It was a digital scale I think. Here's a picture of it.

image.webp
 
He looks very healthy is it possible the scale is on a different setting or something he also looks alot like my guinea pig

guinea pig pic.webp
 
I have to say that looking at his nails in the photos, and also his general size and shape he doesn't look very thin, and he also looks very young (under 1 year).
@sport_billy has given you some great recommendations for a balanced diet.
The key is to keep weighing him weekly (ish) and see what happens when he is fed good food on a regular basis.
Chances are that if he gains every week then he is still growing, and the people you got him from might have been mistaken about how long they had him.
 
Swissgreys said:
I have to say that looking at his nails in the photos, and also his general size and shape he doesn't look very thin, and he also looks very young (under 1 year).
@sport_billy has given you some great recommendations for a balanced diet.
The key is to keep weighing him weekly (ish) and see what happens when he is fed good food on a regular basis.
Chances are that if he gains every week then he is still growing, and the people you got him from might have been mistaken about how long they had him.
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Okay. Thank you guys so website is so helpful :) he could be younger, maybe. I'll weigh him every week now. Thanks for the helpful tips!
 
Did you tare the scale or zero it before you put him on?
 
Have a read of this thread here. It tells you how you can feel whether a piggy is the right weight, too little or too much for its particular size, considering that adults weights differ widely. We call this the "heft". Less than 600g is however very low for an adult guinea pig.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

I would recommend to weigh daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of weekly to see whether you get a different reading. You want to weigh from day to day at about the same time, so tummy and bladder are equaly full or empty as the difference can make 30g.
 
Wiebke said:
Have a read of this thread here. It tells you how you can feel whether a piggy is the right weight, too little or too much for its particular size, considering that adults weights differ widely. We call this the "heft". Less than 600g is however very low for an adult guinea pig.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

I would recommend to weigh daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of weekly to see whether you get a different reading. You want to weigh from day to day at about the same time, so tummy and bladder are equaly full or empty as the difference can make 30g.
Click to expand...
I took a look at above thread. Cocoa feels pretty normal, not fat or skinny. He's always been quite lean around the neck and still is. I think he was just younger than thought to be. I'll keep weighing him and maybe borrow a scale to see if mine screwed up. I really think he is either younger than thought, or maybe the scale glitched? I'm not sure. Tomorrow I'm going to check over the scale and weigh books or whatever to see what's up.
 
I weighed my guineas and realised the scales were out because the scales need to be on a hard surface. Weighed a tin of beans to check as it has the contents weight on it and a bit extra for the tin. Hard flat surface and the scales have been accurate every time.
 
Katy Felix said:
I took a look at above thread. Cocoa feels pretty normal, not fat or skinny. He's always been quite lean around the neck and still is. I think he was just younger than thought to be. I'll keep weighing him and maybe borrow a scale to see if mine screwed up. I really think he is either younger than thought, or maybe the scale glitched? I'm not sure. Tomorrow I'm going to check over the scale and weigh books or whatever to see what's up.
Click to expand...

At least you have the relief that he is feeling healthy in himself! ;)
 
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