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Female guinea pig weight

J

Jessdaisymay

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Hi all

I'm a pretty new piggy mummy, I've got a pair of sisters who I got in January. Previous owner said they were about 8/9 months old. I've just weighed them both - one is around 620g and the other is around 680g. I've been looking online and everywhere seems to be saying they should weigh more?! They don't look underweight and I do feed them plenty. Are they at their max size by this age or have more growing to do? Do they need to gain weight? I'm worried in case I'm under feeding them now 😖😖😥
 
Guinea pigs come in all shapes and sizes, their ultimate weight is determined by genetics. As long as they are healthy and gaining weight at their own pace, then don’t worry. Don’t do anything to make them gain weight, feed them unlimited amounts of hay, around 50g of veg per day and one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day.
 
Hiya, thank you for this. They both eat well, have plenty of exercise and space and I give them lots of things to keep their minds active. I actually weighed them because I wondered whether they would be overweight so it came as quite the shock when I saw their weights. They both seem happy and don't look or feel underweight so I wonder whether this is normal for them. I guess if I weigh them regularly I will start to gauge if this is their normal.
 
Jessdaisymay said:
Hiya, thank you for this. They both eat well, have plenty of exercise and space and I give them lots of things to keep their minds active. I actually weighed them because I wondered whether they would be overweight so it came as quite the shock when I saw their weights. They both seem happy and don't look or feel underweight so I wonder whether this is normal for them. I guess if I weigh them regularly I will start to gauge if this is their normal.
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Yes absolutely. You should see a steady weight gain each week. There is such a wide range of healthy weights for piggies.

You should weigh them every week as a matter of routine - often weight drops can be the first signs of a medical issue so knowing their weight at all times means you can spot potential signs of illness sometimes before any other symptoms show.
 
Okay that's useful to know, I will make it a part of their routine. How often do yours get through their hay? I hope mine are eating enough, they do seem to eat plenty but I'm not sure exactly what is normal..
 
Jessdaisymay said:
Okay that's useful to know, I will make it a part of their routine. How often do yours get through their hay? I hope mine are eating enough, they do seem to eat plenty but I'm not sure exactly what is normal..
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Again, weighing them will tell you if they are eating enough hay.

My two have a hay rack with Timothy hay in it and a large pile of meadow hay. Their Timothy rack gets filled about four times a day and I replace their meadow hay pile at the end of each day (so it’s not covered in pee). My boys live in my shed so I get through quite a bit of meadow hay as bedding so for an indoor piggy it’s not exactly fair to compare, but I get through 15kg of meadow hay (bedding and eating) and 5kg of Timothy hay (purely for eating) in a month
 
Try not to compare too much - it’s really best to weigh them to monitor how much hay they are eating as you can’t gauge hay intake by eye. Your piggies are younger than mine and as I say, mine are in a shed so need a lot of extra meadow hay for bedding.
 
Yes true, I will weigh them regularly and see how it goes. Mine are kept indoors. Thank you for your reassurance, I'm so glad this forum exists and that you are all lovely 🙂 thank you
 
Jessdaisymay said:
Yes true, I will weigh them regularly and see how it goes. Mine are kept indoors. Thank you for your reassurance, I'm so glad this forum exists and that you are all lovely 🙂 thank you
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Hi!

Please read our weight guide. It takes you through all aspects of health monitoring as well as how you check whether your piggies' weight is right for their individual size at any point in life (the 'heft' or, if you'd rather, the cavy BMI).

Weekly weighing is crucial for health monitoring; if you have concerns, you switch to weighing daily at the same time.
Feeling for the heft is making sure whether your girls are fine in themselves, or are under- or overweight for their individual generically determined size. My heaviest piggy is currently weighing 1400g - and he is on the slim side for his massive side while my smallest, Begw, is hovering around a dainty 700g and looking sturdy at that. Yet both are totally healthy and fine!
That is why checking the BMI is important and why average weight charts fail half of all piggies.
Here is the link again: Weight - Monitoring and Management

A long term hay based diet (over 80% of the daily food intake), a small bowl of mixed veg, ideally leafy (ca. 50g) and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day are more in the way of an extra but not the mainstay. Hay is key to long term health and longevity; the more your girls are eating, the better - but you cannot control the intake by eye even though it is the largest food group. Hence the weekly weigh-in.
Here is our diet guide. You may find it helpful because it looks at all areas of the diet and not just at veg.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
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