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How to age a piggy?

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Joey&Gizmo

Joey&Gizmo

Adult Guinea Pig
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Does anyone know how to tell the age of a piggy? Ive had my two boys for a year and the lady at the rescue centre said that Gizmo was 8 months when I had him and Joey who I rescued from a horrible home was about the same age. As the family said they 'Had him for a few months and didnt know his age.' But i think both have grown looking back at the photos I took of them from last year. mallethead Can you tell there age from teeth or nails or is it just a matter of guessing?:p
 
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Baby claws need cutting around age 10-12 months for the first time. Piggies stop growing between 12-15 months old.

Later on in life the nails start to thicken and twist.

But it is quite difficult to age an adult piggy.
 
When I had Gizmo the lady from the rescue said that Gizmo just had his nails cut and Joey's were long to so I cut them. I now cut there nails when needed a Gizmo does have one nail that twists. I just wanted a rough age for my two.
Thanks for the advice!
 
Nia had the most razor sharp baby claws at 10 months when I rehomed her. the vet had tried to file them down, but to no avail. I usually go by 12 months for first cutting.

The nails start to twist a bit in their second year and later on thicken noticeably and sometimes twist like very tight screws.
 
Vickyt said:
Nia had the most razor sharp baby claws at 10 months when I rehomed her. the vet had tried to file them down, but to no avail. I usually go by 12 months for first cutting.

The nails start to twist a bit in their second year and later on thicken noticeably and sometimes twist like very tight screws.
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Second year? That makes my guinea pigs (at least Africa) in his 2nd year, I'm glad I was right. Does it happen with all Guinea Pigs (the nail twisting? Leo doesn't have it yet)
 
Gizmo has one nail that has a twist in it. He is the one who the lady said was 8 months when I got him last October. I would say they have both grown since then, how long till they are fully grown? I would have estimated that Gizmo and Joey would be 2 in December going on the info from the recuse and when I took then to the vets they said they were young under 1 yrs, I took them last year at the end of october. I would say that Joey had baby nails if I remember as I cut them quite easy and they were like baby nails, but maybe I could be wrong too. Lol.
Its so confusing! Just would like to put an age to them.
Thanks for the advice.
 
I know - I have the same problem with Llewelyn whose age was "about one year old" when I adopted him in October 2007. He stopped growing in February 2008 (which would be 15 months), so I think it was about right.

I think that working on the assumption that your boys will be 2 in December is not bad - your rescue was probably about right if your boys stopped growing somehwere in spring and their nails are starting to twist ever so slightly. It tallies with your vets comment that they were not fully adult in October as well!
 
Thanks, my mum thinks they have grown and looking at the pictures from last year they do look like they have grown. Just wish there was a easy way!
 
Ive weighed them both today and Gizmo is 1200g and Joey 1300g. Thats if I worked it out right! As Joey was 1kg and 5 lines on the scales and Gizmo was 1kg 4 lines. Am I working it out right as a 1000 grams is 1kg? So each line is 50g?
 
All of my own pigs have had their nails trimmed monthly from 3 months old; only two of those pigs had such short nails I only needed to take the tiniest tip off. All the others had quite long, thick nails, they needed more than the tips taking off each time. The good thing is with trimming nails so early, is that the quick (blood line in the nail) stays very short, meaning you don't have to worry as much later on when the nails really do need trimming often!

Two other indicators of age is apparently the width of the feet, and the colour of the iris bleeding into the whites of the eyes - but neither of these can be relied upon to suggest an exact age, and not every pig has these characteristics in their older years. Each of my own pigs who have reached over the age of 5 have had twisted toes, but some of my four year olds have aged far more gracefully and look as good as they did when they were two.
 
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