Concerned About My Piggies Weight

[AliDreamer_90]

I have two guinea pigs which we adopted back in May of this year when they were six weeks old. My concern is with our Absynian piggie named Gizmo. I picked him up when cleaning their cage tonight, and I thought he seemed to feel light. He has always been smaller than our other pig Grey, who we were told is his brother from the same litter. I weighed little Gizmo and he weighs 600g. I'm reading online that by now he should weigh more? Is there a chance that he is, as we have suspected, just a runt? Or is this dangerously thin? His eating and drinking habits are still the same as they have always been, and our piggies seem happy, as we frequently see them popcorn in their cage. He shows no signs of physical illness. Is this the kind of thing he needs to go to the vet for immediately, or should we just track his weight and keep an eye on it and then see about a vet? We are first time pig owners and I am worried.

We keep their pellet bowl full, and make sure they always have plenty of hay and water, and we feed them fresh veggies twice daily. Their favorites are cilantro, carrots, green leaf lettuce, and yellow bell peppers.

Any information to help put these pig parents at ease is welcomed. Thanks!

 

[Elwickcavies]

Hi and welcome to the forum. We have members from all over the world so it would be very helpful if you could add your location to your profile so that we can give appropriate advice. As you say cilantro rather than coriander, I'll assume you are US-based. Not that it matters particularly in this case I don't think.
There is a wide range of healthy weights for guinea pigs, they are all different. This weight doesn't seem particularly low for a young guinea pig of six months. The important thing is to
weigh them regularly to check that they are not losing weight as this can often be the first sign of illness. In my experience, so-called runts catch up with their litter mates eventually anyway. One of my piggies, Ivy, was literally half the size of her brothers and sister at birth, but she is now one of my chunky sows. My rule of thumb is to feel their ribs: if you can't feel them at all - too fat; just feel them - just right; sticking out; too thin. As you get to know your pigs, you get to know what's normal for them, and Gizmo doesn't sound like he's seriously ill. That said, monitor his weight at the same time of day, weekly and if he is losing more than 60g (in adult pigs it's 100g) in a week, see the vet.

I hope this helps.

 

[Wiebke]

I have two guinea pigs which we adopted back in May of this year when they were six weeks old. My concern is with our Absynian piggie named Gizmo. I picked him up when cleaning their cage tonight, and I thought he seemed to feel light. He has always been smaller than our other pig Grey, who we were told is his brother from the same litter. I weighed little Gizmo and he weighs 600g. I'm reading online that by now he should weigh more? Is there a chance that he is, as we have suspected, just a runt? Or is this dangerously thin? His eating and drinking habits are still the same as they have always been, and our piggies seem happy, as we frequently see them popcorn in their cage. He shows no signs of physical illness. Is this the kind of thing he needs to go to the vet for immediately, or should we just track his weight and keep an eye on it and then see about a vet? We are first time pig owners and I am worried.

We keep their pellet bowl full, and make sure they always have plenty of hay and water, and we feed them fresh veggies twice daily. Their favorites are cilantro, carrots, green leaf lettuce, and yellow bell peppers.

Any information to help put these pig parents at ease is welcomed. Thanks!

Hi! The individual weight can differ a lot in guinea pigs. Your boy is a bit on the low side, but overdoing the food is not the solution. Some guinea pigs are smaller than others. Normal adult weight can range from 800g to over 1500g and still be healthy - and your boy has still got a few months until he is an adult. Any weight charts are just irrelevant. I have had piggies as small as that at that age, and they have eventually struggled into the normal weight range over 800-900g as adults.

Please weigh your guinea pigs once weekly throughout their lives, so you can spot any health-related weight loss early on.

If you are worried about food hogging, please feed veg (about 50g per piggy per day) and pellets (at this age ca. 20-30g per piggy per day) in smaller quantities that can be eaten in one go in a bowl each 2-3 times a day; the bowls are ideally spaced at least a body length apart. Unlimited hay should make the majority of the food intake (up to 80%), so your boys are not losing out in the meantime. This means that each boy is getting his fair share and it also avoids messing up any food bowls by peeing and pooing.

It is more important that you feed a good balanced diet with a wide range of nutrients rather than lots of food - this is for long term health. Smaller guinea pigs can have a perfectly healthy normal lifespan, so there is not a reason to worry if your little boy is not losing weight due to a medical problem or bullying. Any weight loss over 50-60g should be seen by a vet.

As we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or Uk county so we can tailor any advice to what is available and relevant where you are instead of keeping things general. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.

 

[AliDreamer_90]

Thanks for the input guys. We didn't learn until last night when we began doing a lot of research that we need to weigh them weekly to keep track of health. I started an excel spreadsheet to help keep track. Just to be on the safe side, we have a vet appointment for Saturday. Figuring the boys are 8 months old, so they should have a wellness check up anyway.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the input guys. We didn't learn until last night when we began doing a lot of research that we need to weigh them weekly to keep track of health. I started an excel spreadsheet to help keep track. Just to be on the safe side, we have a vet appointment for Saturday. Figuring the boys are 8 months old, so they should have a wellness check up anyway.

Guinea pig keeping is a life long learning curve. At least these days there is a lot of good advice around (and some very crap one too), so it is much easier than when I started out well before social media really took off!

You may find some of the information in our new owners collection of guides helpful, but you can find a lot more at the top of our various Care sections. You are however always welcome to ask any questions you may have in our Care sections; we will answer them all.