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Correct Weights?

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Chief Guinea Pig

Chief Guinea Pig

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I weighed the pigs today, and Lily is smaller than Lola, so I expected there would be a weight difference.
Lily was 543g, and Lola was 634g.
They're still youngsters, and I will be weighing them each week, but are the measurements ok, not too low or too high?
But, obviously if their weight would drop within that week, then I'd have cause for concern.
 
We THINK that they're around 18-19 weeks, but we weren't given a precise age when bought.
 
I think it is all down to the individual piggies. And I think girls tend to weigh less than boys (I could be wrong there). At that age Toby was 741 and Barney was 844. But they have ended up to be really chunky.

Hopefully someone with experience of different piggies will come along soon and reassure you. Have they been consistently putting weight on? If so then I am sure that is fine.
 
AbiS said:
I think it is all down to the individual piggies. And I think girls tend to weigh less than boys (I could be wrong there). At that age Toby was 741 and Barney was 844. But they have ended up to be really chunky.

Hopefully someone with experience of different piggies will come along soon and reassure you. Have they been consistently putting weight on? If so then I am sure that is fine.
Click to expand...

That is the first time I've weighed them, but they're always eating food.
Me and my mum had to go out yesterday to buy another pair of scales, just for the pigs, so that's why I had to wait.
Lily is just a slim build anyway, and Lola is just a big fluff ball!
 
It's really difficult to determine the correct weight for a guinea pig. Like us they come on all shapes and sizes. What's important with your young ones is you see a gradual but steady increase in weight which should slowly decline as they reach 12-14 months of age. As a rough guide you should be looking at your piggies gaining weight between 30-50 gms per week. Please do not become obsessed with your piggies weights as any increase is to be viewed as positive. Its weight loss that you should be concerned about. Also try to weigh them at the same time of day every week as the difference in a full/emtpy belly/bladder can be as much as the weight gain that you expect to see. With weight gains its a trend you are looking for so keeping graphs is a great way of monitoring this.

Now for the maths to put your mind at rest...... Assuming your piggies were weaned at say 7 weeks and were at an average weight of 250 gms you can expect the weights of your piggies to be anything in the range of 500 gms and upwards but again this depends on the piggy as their birth weights vary considerably due to the size of the litter they came from or the conditions in which they were reared. It is not an exact science as we have said but its all to do with the trend.

Have fun weighing your piggies and keeping track of them :D

Lisa & Ali....x
 
lisaali said:
It's really difficult to determine the correct weight for a guinea pig. Like us they come on all shapes and sizes. What's important with your young ones is you see a gradual but steady increase in weight which should slowly decline as they reach 12-14 months of age. As a rough guide you should be looking at your piggies gaining weight between 30-50 gms per week. Please do not become obsessed with your piggies weights as any increase is to be viewed as positive. Its weight loss that you should be concerned about. Also try to weigh them at the same time of day every week as the difference in a full belly/bladder can be as much as the weight gain that you expect to see. With weight gains its a trend you are looking for so keeping graphs is a great way of monitoring this.

Now for the maths to put your mind at rest...... Assuming your piggies were weaned at say 7 weeks and were at an average weight of 250 gms you can expect the weights of your piggies to be anything in the range of 500 gms and upwards but again this depends on the piggy as their birth weights vary considerably due to the size of the litter they came from or the conditions in which they were reared. It is not an exact science as we have said but its all to do with the trend.

Have fun weighing your piggies and keeping track of them :D

Lisa & Ali....x
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
To keep an accurate record you need to weigh them at similar times each week also if you weigh them before a meal, do the same each week.
 
Just like people, guinea pigs come in all different shapes and sizes.

My Eliza is 6.5 years old. She is currently weighing 930g
Emma, Erika and neutered boar Enoch are around 18 months old. Enoch and Emma are weighing in at around 1160g were as Erika is a whopping 1450g but she is a big piggy as she is also long.

So long as your girls are gradually gaining weight as they grow I wouldn't worry.

Like has already been mentioned, weigh them weekly, record on a weight chart and weigh at roughly the same time of day. Please remember that a difference in 20g or so of weight can be the difference between an empty bladder and a full bladder.
 
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