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Concern about weight loss

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Namida

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone.

My boy is now 8-month old and has stopped gaining weight recently. It used to gain ~20g per week during his teenage, but over the past two weeks it has dropped 20g per week. Now he is 1045g. He is provided with unlimited hay all the time, fresh veggies twice a day and nuggets, and he has been eating normally (he LOVES eating).

Neither is there any change in behaviour - he is exploring around and playing actively with his cage mate. I let my pigs free roam under my supervision as long as I am at home (most of the time because of WFH), so he should have plenty of space for fun and exercise.

One thing I noticed different is that he eats fewer nuggets than before, and I am thinking if it’s related to his recent weight loss. Anyway, I am planning to take him to the vet for body check just in case.

May I ask if anyone know any good vets in Cambridge (UK)? I can’t find any relevant information in the Recommended Guinea Pig Vets post.
 
So he has lost 40g in two weeks? Do you weigh on the same day and same time each week? We talk of weight loss when it is in excess of 50g in one go or as part of a continual downward trend over a longer time period. So 20g a week for two weeks would not be of great concern. At this point, I would, however, switch to weighing him daily so you can keep a closer eye on his hay intake in each 24 hour period. This will give you a better idea of whether there is actually a problem with his hay intake or whether a 20g drop per week is down to him having just been to the toilet or having not yet eaten.
Nuggets only contribute 5% to the daily food intake. Therefore, weight loss is almost always down to a reduction in hay intake (80%) of the food intake.

The guide below will help
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Thanks for your advice. I usually weigh my pigs every Sunday but from now on I will do it daily.
 
Namida said:
Thanks for your advice. I usually weigh my pigs every Sunday but from now on I will do it daily.
Click to expand...

Weekly is fine as routine, but daily is best if you have any concerns as it just enables you to keep a closer eye on the situation. If you are happy that there aren’t any problems, you can go back to weekly weight checks. If you are concerned and there is a day on day significant loss then that is when you step in with syringe feeding and see a vet.
 
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