Guinea-pig losing weight but seeiming fine?

[Elitah]

I have noticed that our guinea-pig Cotton has lost some weight. She has always been very slim. Last year at this time (she was about 1 year old then) she weighed around 1045 g, but then her weight went up to 1125 by December last year and now she is down to 1060 again. She is eating very well and she is lively and acting completely normally otherwise, so I'm not sure if I should be worried. I was wondering if maybe this is her normal weight and she was just a bit heavier in December? Should I be worried if she is eating well and acting lively like usually?

 

[shiny]

How often do you weigh Cotton? I would suggest weighing her weekly from now on to see if her weight is fluctuating at all. I would not normally expect weight to change by that much.

 

[sport_billy]

Agree with Shiny, if you haven't weighed since December then you don't know when the 65g drop happened. She may have been stable for some time now at the lower weight.

I would suggest weighing daily for the next few days to make sure she isn't losing now then weigh weekly or twice weekly from now on. Hope Cotton is ok, love her name.

 

[Elitah]

I had weighed her a week before and then she'd been 1064. I'm not sure why she lost the four grams, but I'm going to weigh her weekly from now on. I find it confusing that she seems fine. Admittedly, she pees a lot when she is out on my lap while the other piggies usually wait until they are back in the cage. Not sure if that means soemthing though. She loves food and goes crazy whenever we do something in the kitchen, hoping for some carrots or cucumber. And she is always very lively and very interested in her environment. Could she just have a fast metabolism?

 

[sport_billy]

I had weighed her a week before and then she'd been 1064. I'm not sure why she lost the four grams, but I'm going to weigh her weekly from now on. I find it confusing that she seems fine. Admittedly, she pees a lot when she is out on my lap while the other piggies usually wait until they are back in the cage. Not sure if that means soemthing though. She loves food and goes crazy whenever we do something in the kitchen, hoping for some carrots or cucumber. And she is always very lively and very interested in her environment. Could she just have a fast metabolism?

4 grams in a week is literally nothing. With weight loss look for a trend e.g. Losing 20g each weigh and constantly losing.

However a weekly fluctuation of 20g up and down week after week like:
Week 1 - 1030
Week 2 - 1010
Week 3 - 1030

Can be down to weighing at different times of day or the piggie having a wee or poo before weighing.

Just keeps very close eye on her. Give Cotton a cuddle for us.

 

[katiepops]

I would highly recommend weighing weekly, you can spot signs of illness early on. What you're looking for is weight loss of over 50g or continued loss over a number of weeks. Less than 50g fluctuation is the difference between a full tummy / empty bladder.

 

[XxCavyLover123xX]

Her weight shouldn't change that much maybe the scales were set differently? Or she could of put a bit of weight on in the winter to keep warm. But if it keeps decreasing I would take her to the vets. Good luck.

 

[Elitah]

I'm going to weigh her weekly from now on. If she gets under 1000 g, I will take her to the vet. If she maintains, she might just be slim and might have been a bit on the heavy side during winter. But I will definitely keep an eye on her. She is the left piggie on the photo that I use as an avatar, btw.

 

[sport_billy]

I'm going to weigh her weekly from now on. If she gets under 1000 g, I will take her to the vet. If she maintains, she might just be slim and might have been a bit on the heavy side during winter. But I will definitely keep an eye on her. She is the left piggie on the photo that I use as an avatar, btw.

She is a cutie x) look at them after food!

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

i weigh my piggies weekly and always in the morning before they have their breakfast. i find some pigs will be almost identcal in weight week on week while others fluctuate up and down, which for them is normal. weekly weigh ins will let you see what is normal for your piggies and as others have said is a very good way to help spot illness.