Help -underweight?

[BambiPaws]

I have 3 piggies -

Nibbles and Paws are around 8 months old. Yogi is a bit older maybe 10/11 months.

I've just weighed them

Nibbles is 1105g
Yogi is 1133g
And paws is 595g

I understand weights can vary but is it normal she is so far behind the others?
She's always been a little smaller than her sister, but is her weight a cause for concern?

Also - Nibbles has always coughed and sneezed loads since I got her, are some guinea pigs just more sneezy than others? Had a uri ruled out when she was younger but the coughing and sneezing has carried on.

Thank you x

 

[Wiebke]

I have 3 piggies -

Nibbles and Paws are around 8 months old. Yogi is a bit older maybe 10/11 months.

I've just weighed them

Nibbles is 1105g
Yogi is 1133g
And paws is 595g

I understand weights can vary but is it normal she is so far behind the others?
She's always been a little smaller than her sister, but is her weight a cause for concern?

Also - Nibbles has always coughed and sneezed loads since I got her, are some guinea pigs just more sneezy than others? Had a uri ruled out when she was younger but the coughing and sneezing has carried on.

Thank you x

Hi!
Paws is very small for her age; ideally small adults reach 800g on a good diet. However, if you have her vet checked and she is perfectly healthy and well in herself, she is what is commonly a 'runt'. They can still live a good and happy life span, if often a somewhat shortened one, but they will never grow much over 600g. They are piggies you cherish specially while you have them.
You might see whether she puts on a bit more weight if you feed your girls their veg and pellets in small portions that can be eaten in one go twice a day in a bowl each spaced well apart, so the smallest cannot pushed off. I would not be tempted to feed her the equivalent of junk food in a try to boost her weight. Good overall health comes way before weight and makes a difference when it comes to longevity.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

Please try different varieties of hay or bedding if you do not use fleece re. Nibbles. Not every dust extracted hay is actually suitable for guinea pigs with a sensitivity. You also want to check re. air fresheners, scent sticks, perfumed body products of yours - these can also cause problems for guinea pigs with their rather small and very sensitive respiratory systems.

 

[BambiPaws]

Hiya,

Thank you so much.

I split their feeds into two a day, morning and evening and they have unlimited hay.

I guess paws is a runt - going to look up their shortened life span

I'm careful to not use any air freneshers or sprays, candles etc in the room they are in and I use fleece. Will change her hay never actually thought of that

Thank you x

 

[Wiebke]

Hiya,

Thank you so much.

I split their feeds into two a day, morning and evening and they have unlimited hay.

I guess paws is a runt - going to look up their shortened life span

I'm careful to not use any air freneshers or sprays, candles etc in the room they are in and I use fleece. Will change her hay never actually thought of that

Thank you x

Runts can live a normal life span or die earlier; it depends what is causing the reduced growth and whether it impacts on other aspects of their long term health. If it is just genetic defect that only affects growth, then she has a normal life expectation. If it also impacts on nutrient absorption or affects other organs etc., then it is ultimately going to shorten her life span. In any case, there is nothing you can do and there is no research on guinea pigs.
Just cherish her as she is!

PS: In this age of indiscriminate mass breeding, whether that is from shops, for sale breeders (the really caring ones usually do not breed lots and will not sell to unknown people) or via rescues that take in the unwanted, neglected or uncontrolled multiplied from any end, you can lose a seemingly healthy guinea pig at any time as the bad is handed on with the good. Paws is just a bit more obvious than the often unseen genetic luggage that some piggies come with!

I treasure all my piggies that live to a good age, and I mourn the ones that have died from a medical problem young, whether that is a stroke, a heart attack or heart failure at one or two years of age or something else. This year I lost my two year old Angharad when she stopped being able to swallow because of a neurological issue. There was just nothing anybody could do but spare her any unnecessary suffering. You just can never tell!

 

[BambiPaws]

Thank you, went into panic. You are right - can happen to any piggie at any time.
So sorry to hear about your pig we lost our bubbles earlier this year very suddenly, she was in good health and seemed perfectly fine.. she didn't come out for her food one morning and she died within an hour was a real shock it's heartbreaking