Is my piggy too small?

[soupgirls]

Hello again! My girls are Tonkotsu and Miso. Miso is definitely the dominant one and she weighs about 25 ounces. Tonky is visibly smaller even though she’s much furrier and only weighs about 20 ounces. They are both 6-7 months old. They consume the same amount of hay, pellets, and water, but Miso always gets her pick of the snacks and veggies because she’s braver and will take them from my hand and because she’s dominant. I’m worried that Tonkotsu is underweight. How do I help her and make sure she gets enough snacks? I’ve considered doing independent floor time with just Tonky so she can eat snacks, but I’m concerned this would stress her out more, as the girls have a very strong bond.

 

[soupgirls]

Here’s a photo!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Are they both gaining weight each week? This is what will count, all piggies are different shapes and sizes so you can’t compare one to the other - you can only go by what is healthy for the individual piggy by checking their heft.

Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

The smallest newborns can be about one third the size of the largest ones (40-120g); and that difference is carried through into adulthood (ca. 700-1700g). As long as your babies are active and healthy and keep growing you need not worry. Even siblings can vary in weight quite considerably.
'Average weight' is an entirely arbitrary human definition that basically declares half of all piggies as either underweight or overweight, irrespective of them being perfectly healthy in themselves and living to a perfectly normal age.

A once weekly life-long weigh-in and body check will help you spot problems early on.
Please take the time to read our weight guide. It explains how weight changes over a life time but how you can figure out at any age whether a piggy is a good weight for their current individual size ('heft').
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths

Much more important than the absolute weight is a good grass hay based diet with a modicum of green veg and herbs that ideally reflects the supplementary role that wild forage had in the natural diet that guinea pigs have evolved on. Pellets should only be max. 2 tablespoons for piggies under 4 months and 1 tablespoon for those above. Compared to pellets, hay and fresh grass contain a lot more nutritious fibre.
A good diet and good general care are much more important for long term health and and can push the longevity in healthy guinea pigs for 1-2 years from the lower end of the average life span to the upper end or beyond (ca. 5-7 years). Individual size is not important in that respect.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Two of my current 7 year olds are pretty much at the extremes - Morwenna was just 40g at birth and needed a bit of a helping hand in the first days while my big Pioden was borderline underweight at 1500g in the prime of his life. Just to illustrate that point.

Please take the time to read these guide links. You will find them very helpful.
They are all part of our much more comprehensive information resource, which you may want to bookmark, browse, read and re-read at need: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

PS: Since we have members and enquiries from literally all over the world we prefer to use metric measurements for clarity in order to avoid a conflict between US metric ounces and pounds and the old UK imperial ones (we are UK based), which can cause confusion and misleading advice in the piggy weight range. We also prefer to use metric length measurements for clarity.

 

[Freela]

There are a wide variety of different weights and sizes for guinea pigs... we've had pigs that weighed 3 pounds and pigs that never reached 2 pounds even in adulthood. As long as they are gaining weekly when they're young, they are likely doing fine and are just growing into their predetermined genetic body stature. If you're concerned that one is getting all the food, you might consider having two bowls or providing treats in two separate areas to make sure no one is hoarding all the treats! They're both adorable, thanks for the pic!