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Guinea Pig weight

Eva121

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My guinea pigs have not lost any weight but I am just curious about what the ideal weight should be. Both my guinea pigs are 3 months old and weigh 750 grams, usually gaining 50 grams a week. Many websites say that adult guinea pigs weight 900-700 but mine are already more than the minimal weight for an adult sow. I do not overfeed pellets, only 1 tablespoon a day, so maybe they will just be big adults? I also want to know what ideal/good weights are while they are growing, like how much they should weight when their 4,5, and 6 months old.
 
Heft (how chubby, should be able to feel ribs but not sticking out) is more important than weight. 750g sounds quite big for 3 months but they might just be big pigs! My adult ladies range from 790g to 1250g. If they are steadily gaining weight and you can feel their ribs and they get a healthy diet and plenty exercise they should be fine. Some breeds and individuals are just... big!
 
Piggies are like humans.
Some are always slim and some of us aren’t.
I have 3 adult sows.
Priscilla and Phoebe are both neat and petite - they weigh in at around 1000 - 1100g
Jemimah has always been a chunky teddy girl and her normal weight is around the 1300g mark.
They are just different builds.
 
My guinea pigs have not lost any weight but I am just curious about what the ideal weight should be. Both my guinea pigs are 3 months old and weigh 750 grams, usually gaining 50 grams a week. Many websites say that adult guinea pigs weight 900-700 but mine are already more than the minimal weight for an adult sow. I do not overfeed pellets, only 1 tablespoon a day, so maybe they will just be big adults? I also want to know what ideal/good weights are while they are growing, like how much they should weight when their 4,5, and 6 months old.

Hi! Since the natural weight/size variance is so wide in guinea pigs, weight charts are unfortunately not worth their paper!

If you feed your babies on the generous side, they will come near their adult weight more quickly, but then stop growing faster sooner than youngers on a moderate diet.

Key is not a chart with ideal weights, but a good balanced hay and not veg/pellet based diet without lots of extra treats as well as checking around the rib cage whether your piggies are a good weight/size ratio and are not overweight (too much or too little fat around the ribs). We call this the 'heft' - and it works for all body shapes and ages as this is how you can measure whether you are in the right ball park for your individual piggy.
A good diet is also key for extending the life span in those healthy guinea pigs that do not develop a major medical problem in younger life. While keeping an eye on their weight is an important health monitoring tool, keeping a weekly eye on the heft around the rib cage is as vital in checking whether you aren't overfeeding, a trap into which doting or anxious owners can easily fall.
Please be aware that pet piggies tend to be a bit heavier on average than breeder piggies (on which the literature is based). There is nothing wrong with making the best of a good diet and a wide range of nutrients combined with plenty of regular exercise/run time as long as it doesn't result in your piggies ending up overweight. ;)

You can find more information about weight and how you check the heft in this guide here: The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

PS: Here is a picture of Helygen and her husboar Pioden. They are my smalled and my largest piggies. Pioden is double the size and weight of Helygen. They are both healthy adults with a perfect heft. Helygen is just about touching 700g while Pioden is around 1400g. Nothing wrong with either - it is just the way they were born. Pioden is covering my whole lower arm when I pick him up, but he hasn't got an ounce of extra weight on his massive frame. He could easily be 1600-1700g without being massively overweight. But it is tiny Helygen who is bossing him around, by the way! ;)
IMG_8503_edited-1.jpg
 
I checked the heft and will do so now every week. I can feel both of their ribs, not sticking out but I can still feel them. I am still perfecting their diet but I do believe it is quite balanced and healthy. I put them in their run everyday and they run around. Their cage isn't huge but its is two Midwest plus guinea pig habitats joint together so they have space to run around as well. There is a ramp joining them and the piggies do laps up and down! @Wiebke your piggies are so cute! I love their names! Thanks for the replies everyone!
 
Hi! I guess I'm restarting this thread...
I did my weekly weight check and found that Igby lost 10 grams.So now sh is 740 grams, she only lost a small amount but still...
Petunia hadnt lost or gained, she is still in 750 grams. I also want to change their diet or improve it.
If anyone could explain what you feed your piggies or what diet is good for 3 month olds it would be greatly appreciated!
I also read on a website you should check to see their backbone? I checked and couldnt feel it....
 
I was talking on the phone with my mom and she said their probably fat because of hay. For a few hours the piggies had no hay because we ran out and I had to wait for the petstore to open to buy more. My mother said that Igby probably lost weight because of those few hours. She also said that Guinea pigs who didn't have pellets or veg and only ate hay were fat. But hay doesnt make guinea pigs gain weight, right? If a guinea pig were only to eat hay they would be skinny and malnourished, right? I am genuinely interested....and want to prove my mom wrong.:inn:
 
Hay is not fattening but I don't think piggies that only eat hay would be skinny because hay should make up 80% of their diet. Hay is important for maintaining the right teeth length and for getting fibre in them so the poop machines keep running. They probably would be malnourished and ill though as they don't produce their own vitamin c which is where the need for veggies and fortified pellets comes from though not everyone feeds pellets.

The most fattening part of their diet is pellets, particularly cheaper brands which tend to be padded out with molasses and grains which are not good for piggies.
 
Ps 10g weight loss is nothing to be concerned about. 40g is the difference between a full or empty bladder. A 50g weight loss or continual gradual weight losses are when you need to consider a vets visit
 
10g is not significant in terms of weight loss, anything up to 30g can be accounted for by whether they just peed and pooped. 80% of the diet is hay, with veggies for vitamin C and a small amount of pellets. There shouldnt be any pugs that just eat hay, or any who just eat pellets and veg. Pellets are the most fattening and least important part of the diet. Fruit and some veg like carrots or sweet potato are sugary and high calorie too and should be kept as a once a week treat. Please make sure you always have plenty hay in stock, and dont overfeed pellets or fruit and carrots, but otherwise dont worry too much about diet- plenty hay and a good variety of veg through the week is a good general guideline!
 
How much do they say that a piggie should put on weekly? My 2 boys (approx 20-21 weeks old) have only put on 40-50g in 2 weeks. They have a constant supply of hay which they eat (pretty much nonstop!), a small amount of pellets each and a varied selection of veggies daily. They are both active, running around their hutch and look happy and healthy. Should I be worried about their weights?
 
How much do they say that a piggie should put on weekly? My 2 boys (approx 20-21 weeks old) have only put on 40-50g in 2 weeks. They have a constant supply of hay which they eat (pretty much nonstop!), a small amount of pellets each and a varied selection of veggies daily. They are both active, running around their hutch and look happy and healthy. Should I be worried about their weights?
They sound fine to me, weigh your piggies weekly while you check their feet, teet and bums x
 
I mean they look fine and are happy in theirselves, it just doesn’t seem like much weight gain for piggies so young. I forgot to weigh them last week because I was on night shifts 🙈
 
I mean they look fine and are happy in theirselves, it just doesn’t seem like much weight gain for piggies so young. I forgot to weigh them last week because I was on night shifts 🙈
Generally they should gain weight steadily over their first year, my boars put on 40-50g every week and are still growing.
 
I have 3 sows.
Two are nice and petite and weigh in at 1000 - 1100g
My 3rd is a chunky 1300g
All of them are healthy, they eat well, run and play, popcorn.
They are just different builds.
Don’t worry about yours as long as they are eating well, active and effective in the waste production department.
Like humans they will will grow at slightly different paces.
 
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Don’t worry about yours as long as they are eating well, active and effective in the waste production departments.

They love their food, they zoom around like loonies, enjoy having a little cuddle and are more than effective in the waste production departments haha! They’re happy and healthy little piggies. I just wondered if I should be concerned with their weight gain (or lack of) or if it’s because they’re outside piggies and/or have a faster metabolism?
 
So long as they’re not losing weight there’s no need to be concerned.
They sound as if they enjoy life and will eventually settle at their adult weight
 
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