guinea pig losing weight

[lisa fitz]

Hi, I am new to this site and so hope that this thread is in the right section.
I took in a rescue guinea pig last march, Maisy and her companion is George. Recently I have noticed that Maisy has lost weight, I weighed her last Monday and she was 613grams. I checked online and it stated that guinea pigs should be between 700-900g. She is eating really well, there is no change in her appetite and she eats plenty of grass / hay every day, including her pellets and veg, she drinks copious amounts of water but was advised by the rescue centre that she has always done this and they confirmed that her kidneys are fine. She is very friendly and active and there has been no change in her behavior. George hasn't lost any weight and it its not that George is bullying her and preventing her from eating because she is the boss! I was concerned that it was scurvy but she is showing no other symptoms bar weight loss, as well as her veg I put a vit c drink for guinea pigs into their water 3 times per week as per instructions on the bottle. i have started crushing up vit c tablets (again for guinea pigs) and putting that in their water too. I intend her weigh her on Sat. I have bunnies also who are due to go to the vet for their vaccinations next Sat Nov 16th and planned on bringing the guinea pigs in for a check up also but should I wait that long? Maisy and George are my first guinea pigs so its all still new to me. I struggle to find a vet in my area that has much experience with bunnies or guinea pigs.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Hi and welcome! Her weight does sound rather small for an adult, do you have a record of how much weight she has lost and how quickly? We recommend weekly weight checks for healthy pigs, but in a case of weight loss we recommend weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle. If she is still eating and pooping normally and seems well in herself, weigh daily and take her for the routine vet check as planned unless her weight suddenly drops any more. Vitamin C supplements arent usually needed and wont help her weight, all her vit C should really be coming from a healthy balance of fresh veg.
Hope she is ok x

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

She does sound little, but what is more important is a chart of her weight over time. Is she losing weight? You should weigh her weekly as a matter of routine, but if you are concerned at all, then weighing daily at the same time each day, can help you to notice any problems that may be occurring.

Guinea pigs come in all different shapes and sizes and the healthy weight range is actually much wider than you state - it certainly goes a lot higher than the 900g (1.6kg can be perfectly healthy for some piggies).

Adding vit c supplements is not recommended, particularly those added to their drinking water as if can change the taste of the water. A healthy hay based diet with a small amount of pellets and vit c rich veggies is all a piggy needs .

 

[lisa fitz]

Hi and welcome! Her weight does sound rather small for an adult, do you have a record of how much weight she has lost and how quickly? We recommend weekly weight checks for healthy pigs, but in a case of weight loss we recommend weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle. If she is still eating and pooping normally and seems well in herself, weigh daily and take her for the routine vet check as planned unless her weight suddenly drops any more. Vitamin C supplements arent usually needed and wont help her weight, all her vit C should really be coming from a healthy balance of fresh veg.
Hope she is ok x

hi pigglepuggle, thanks for your reply. i wasn't weighing her before i noticed the weight loss so don't know how much she has lost but will weigh her tonight after work and weigh her daily from here on in until i am happy with her weight gain. the websites i have checked have advised against a range of different veg to give to a guinea pig daily because of the calcium so generally i give them approx 1 cup of chopped up veg including cucumber, tomatoes, celery, peppers, broccoli and a little apple, i sometimes give them a little carrot also but a really small portion, approx 1 slim slice each which they love. they eat burgess pellets (not muesli). I will get her to the vet for a check up just in case. thanks again, really appreciate the advice x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I am new to this site and so hope that this thread is in the right section.
I took in a rescue guinea pig last march, Maisy and her companion is George. Recently I have noticed that Maisy has lost weight, I weighed her last Monday and she was 613grams. I checked online and it stated that guinea pigs should be between 700-900g. She is eating really well, there is no change in her appetite and she eats plenty of grass / hay every day, including her pellets and veg, she drinks copious amounts of water but was advised by the rescue centre that she has always done this and they confirmed that her kidneys are fine. She is very friendly and active and there has been no change in her behavior. George hasn't lost any weight and it its not that George is bullying her and preventing her from eating because she is the boss! I was concerned that it was scurvy but she is showing no other symptoms bar weight loss, as well as her veg I put a vit c drink for guinea pigs into their water 3 times per week as per instructions on the bottle. i have started crushing up vit c tablets (again for guinea pigs) and putting that in their water too. I intend her weigh her on Sat. I have bunnies also who are due to go to the vet for their vaccinations next Sat Nov 16th and planned on bringing the guinea pigs in for a check up also but should I wait that long? Maisy and George are my first guinea pigs so its all still new to me. I struggle to find a vet in my area that has much experience with bunnies or guinea pigs.

HI and welcome

Please have your piggy vet checked! That is a very low weight; please have any weight loss over 50g/2 oz vet checked. If you notice that your piggy is thinner and lighter just by feel, then this has already happened.

The actual weight range in well kept adult pet guinea pigs is more like 800g-1800g, with the average 50% ranging around 900-1300g.

Please follow the advice in our weight monitoring and management guide. Absolute weight is fine for monitoring the weekly weight swings and to know when to see a vet and switch to weighing daily with an ill guinea pig or one you have major concerns about.
But if you want to work out whether a guinea pig is a healthy weight for its individual size, then you feel for the 'heft' around the ribcage - it's in the equivalent of working out the individual BMI and can be done at any size and any time in the life.
Please take the time to read this guide here. It explains it all much better with practical advice: Weight - Monitoring and Management

Here are our tips on what you can do in terms of care in the meantime until you can see a vet. Stepping in with support feed is important. Please keep in mind that the mainstay of a guinea pig diet is unlimited hay, which makes over 80% of the daily food intake. A little balanced veg (ca. 10%) and a tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day (ca. 5%) are more in the way of a daily treat. If you don't know that, it is very easy to miss a lot of weight loss in a relatively short time because watching a piggy nibble on a little veg can be very deceptive. Only regular weighing can tell you the truth.
Emergency Resources and Critical Illness Care - Contents list and subforum link

All the best!

 

[lisa fitz]

Welcome to the forum

She does sound little, but what is more important is a chart of her weight over time. Is she losing weight? You should weigh her weekly as a matter of routine, but if you are concerned at all, then weighing daily at the same time each day, can help you to notice any problems that may be occurring.

Guinea pigs come in all different shapes and sizes and the healthy weight range is actually much wider than you state - it certainly goes a lot higher than the 900g (1.6kg can be perfectly healthy for some piggies).

Adding vit c supplements is not recommended, particularly those added to their drinking water as if can change the taste of the water. A healthy hay based diet with a small amount of pellets and vit c rich veggies is all a piggy needs .

thanks piggies&buns, will weigh her daily from here on in, the weight loss seemed to happen fast, she was running around and stretched out when i noticed she was thinner. it was only about a month ago that i thought she was overweight, going to get the vet to check her out though..thanks again..

 

[Piggies&buns]

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Remembering that hay should be the biggest part of their diet, Use the link above for a basis of your piggies diet. If you follow that, adding in a few other veg then you won’t go wrong! There are high calcium veg which while should not be fed in large quantities, can still be given once a week.

Tomatoes should not be fed very often - once a week. They are a fruit and should be treated as such in that they are veg occasional treats. High acidity foods such as apples and tomatoes can cause.
Broccoli (and other brassicas) can also cause bloat so should not be fed too often.

My daily basis of my boys diet is: a couple of sprigs of coriander, a slice of spring greens, a small piece of lettuce (it’s low in nutrition), a slice of cucumber and a few slices of pepper. I then rotate in another veg for interest - a piece of celery ( but only the smallest amount), some green beans, baby sweet corn, limited use of a piece of kale, parsley, rocket amongst other things!