Illness - Slow Weight Gain

[GuineaMom1106]

How do I tell if one of my cavys is sick?
I have 3 female guinea pigs. They range in age from about 6 months old to a little over a year. 2 I got together and 1 was adopted. They get along well and I've seen each of them eat, a lot!
But 1 (1 of the pair I got together) is significantly smaller than the others.
I started weighing all 3 just to monitor them, and she isn't losing weight, but she's also not growing as fast as her sister.
Could something be wrong with her health wise, or is she maybe just a runt?

 

[GuineaMom1106]

There's no physical signs either. She has normal poops, no hair loss, and none of them bully. My cage is roughly 10sq ft.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! Guinea pigs can have a very wide discrepancy of "normal" weights and sizes. As guinea pigs grow, the difference in weight tends to get larger rather than smaller, even between siblings and on the same diet. As long as your smaller piggy is perfectly happy and healthy in herself, there is no reason at all to worry. She has every chance to live a perfectly long and happy life as her mates - the same as you get normal adult small humans that are under 5 ft in size and those that are well over 6 ft. Both have the same life expectancy.

My teddy sister pair was already 150g in weight difference when I adopted them at 10 months old. During the peak of their lives, the difference grew to 500g. Energetic Nia never got over a kilo and greedy, but lazy Nerys spread to a rather impressive 1500g in her prime. Nia, who ran the whole group despite being one of the smallest lived to nearly 6 years and her sister Nerys even to 8 years of age.


You can find out a lot more about weight ranges and how to check whether a guinea pig is a healthy weight/size ratio (we call this the 'heft') at any age in this guide here: The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

Early signs of illness: Early Signs Of Illness