How Large Will She Get/how Long Do They Take To Mature?

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Gethenian

Gethenian

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It's taken me a while but I finally found my dad's postal scale and weighed Kindle.

She weighs just about exactly 1 lb 6.6 oz, or 642 grams.

They weren't certain of her exact age when I got her, but she's somewhere between 9-10 months old.

I've tried googling this, but I'm just finding a lot of really confusing blog crap. :P Can folks here please clarify for me... How long will she keep growing, and (assuming she remains at a healthy weight) how large will she get?

Thanks!
 
Guinea pigs can vary a lot in size. They generally reach adulthood around 15 months, but they retain the ablility to make up for a bad background until they are around 2 years old. However, there are always so called "runts"; guinea pigs which will always remain petite, but perfectly healthy at 600-800g. The average weight for adult guinea pigs is around 900-1300g (which encompasses about 80% of all adult pet guinea pigs), but a normal adult weight can be considered anything between 800g to in some cases up to 1800g. By 10 months, guinea pigs have usually got most of their adult weight, with one or two more growth spurts still coming.

To judge whether Kindle is a good weight for her size, please feel her "heft" around her rib cage. In a healthy guinea pig, you should be just about able to feel the ribs. if they are sticking out, then a guinea pig is underweight, if you can't feel them at all, the piggy is overweight. This is giving you a better guide as to whether Kindle is fine for her size or not. just stuffing her with food will only make her fat (and less healthy), not larger!

You may find this thread here helpful: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ng-ideal-weight-overweight-underweight.38805/

My Papi was only 450g when she arrived here at 6 months of age, and she was then stuck for another 2-3 months on ca. 650g. Eventually, she has inched up to 800g, realising her optimum on a normal good diet. You can see how small her head and chest is compared to her bum area. The picture (on the right) shows her as an adult at ca. 15 months old in comparison with her group mates. It is just how she is... ;)
IMG_0806_edited-1.webp
 
Thank you! That makes a lot more sense. :)

Kindle's "heft" is perfect for her size and has been since I got her. I know she HAS grown in that time... I can tell because she didn't used to leave scratch marks when I wore a low-cut shirt. Funny story: I have had a couple of people notice those scratches and say, knowingly, "Guinea pig?" Are these scars of honor among our kind? :lol:

I guess part of me was a little afraid she might get too big for me to carry on my shoulder... but honestly she could get more than twice the size she is now and still be just fine up there.
 
sleepypiggy.webp

BEST parrot piggy!

You know, I used to imagine having a pet that would ride around on my shoulder and hang out up there... I daydreamed of having all kinds of beautiful and intelligent birds, or a snake I would wear like jewelry, or a lean little cat who would follow me like a ghost and perch up there to watch me read or paint or do things on the computer, or a fancy rat with their clever little faces and strong characters... All of these scenarios are ones I'd seen other people have.

I never once dreamed that my "bondbeast" would end up being a guinea pig. But I have a hard time imagining anything ELSE now. :wub:
 
She did, Rosie... About a month ago, I got a second piggy to be her companion. She was a teeny wee baby, probably too young to have been separated from mum yet, but she seemed healthy and lively and she was friendly and full of personality and eating well and acclimating to her new home in quarantine as if she figured she owned the place now... Unfortunately, I only had her for nine days before she died in the sight of... well, of not being alive anymore, I guess. She showed no outward signs of illness at all, there was no warning, she just went to sleep in her fuzzy crinkle tunnel and never woke up.

Folks here told me that sometimes happens with pigs, especially in little ones.

I haven't given much thought to trying again. As much as I have love for these little creatures as a species, the bond I have with Kindle is particularly strong and particularly important, because she is actually a doctor-prescribed therapy animal, so I don't really want to break that focus. And more importantly, now that Kin and I have been together for several months, I don't feel that having a same-species companion is necessary for HER happiness and well-being. At least not in the urgent way I thought it was when I first got her and assumed I'd be leaving her alone in the attic for HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS ALL THE TIME...

...which is hard to do when I like, never leave the house except to shop and to go see my doctors. :P

So Kin rides around on my shoulder all evening most days... sometimes also all afternoon... sometimes basically she is with me all day. And when she gets antsy, I have this little castle I've made for her out of pieces of timothy hay huts from the pet shop, so she has a place she can go potty and take a nap or just sit and hide and chew on the architecture. :)

This was Nook, by the way:

Nook05.webp
 
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