Lost Weight Whilst Being Looked After

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Tomsmum

Tomsmum

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Our two GP's have been looked after by the same cattery everytime we have been away. They are lovely people and we take our own pellets and they give them veg. This time we were away for our longest time yet - 10 days and the girls have both lost weight during that time though they seem healthy. would you be worried? left column is Stripey, right is Ginger

10/09/2015 400g 360g(about 2.5 months old)
17/09/2015 424g 400g
24/09/2015 482g 450g
01/10/2015 486g 467g
29/10/2015 560g 542g
20/11/2015 629g 609g
21/12/2015 720g 714g
23/01/2016 756g 738g
25/03/2016 755g 780g
04/04/2016 752g 796g
14/04/2016 716g 724g
 
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What I would say is that Stripey seems to have been slowly loosing weight since January, so maybe the loss while on holiday isn't related to her stay in the cattery?

If they appear happy and healthy then it could just be because they moved around more (new environment) while in the cattery.

If it were me I would probably start to weight them weekly just to keep an eye on things, and make sure they are moving in the right direction, or at the very least staying stable.
I guess they are about 9 months old now, which means their weight gain should start to slow, so maybe you just want to make sure they are not consistently loosing.
 
I think I would just keep an eye on them by weighing once a week and monitoring for any other changes in their health.
 
Tomsmum said:
Our two GP's have been looked after by the same cattery everytime we have been away. They are lovely people and we take our own pellets and they give them veg. This time we were away for our longest time yet - 10 days and the girls have both lost weight during that time though they seem healthy. would you be worried? left column is Stripey, right is Ginger

10/09/2015 400g 360g(about 2.5 months old)
17/09/2015 424g 400g
24/09/2015 482g 450g
01/10/2015 486g 467g
29/10/2015 560g 542g
20/11/2015 629g 609g
21/12/2015 720g 714g
23/01/2016 756g 738g
25/03/2016 755g 780g
04/04/2016 752g 796g
14/04/2016 716g 724g
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Being in different surroundings can impact on the appetite (it can also be due to the care they are getting). However, the weight loss is not too drastic.

You can see whether your piggies are eating normally now that they are back home. In that case, I would recommend to continue weighing weekly at the same time (ideally before their breakfast or dinner when tummy and bladder are empty); they should pick up the lost weight again quickly as the weight has been stable over the last weeks.

If you feel that they are not eating quite as normal and that the weight loss is ongoing, then switch to weighing daily and have them checked by a vet.
You need worry only about a weight loss of over 50g in a short time and go on alert; the daily variance between a full/empty tummy and bladder can be 30g.
 
360G is rather unhealthy.. they should be above 600G(girls) or 800G(boars) and most vets prefer them above 800g(for girls) and 1000G(for boars)
 
my4piggies said:
360G is rather unhealthy.. they should be above 600G(girls) or 800G(boars) and most vets prefer them above 800g(for girls) and 1000G(for boars)
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Please consider that baby weights can differ widely and that the weights are perfectly acceptable for sub-adult guinea pigs and are nothing to worry about! it would be good if you read the post carefully.
 
Wiebke said:
Please consider that baby weights can differ widely and that the weights are perfectly acceptable for sub-adult guinea pigs and are nothing to worry about! it would be good if you read the post carefully.
Click to expand...
where does it say they are babies? and going from 700 to 300G is not healthy..
 
my4piggies said:
where does it say they are babies? and going from 700 to 300G is not healthy..
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The OP makes it clear that there are 2 columns -left for one pig and right for the other. The earliest weights are at age 2.5 months. Current weights are 716 and 724g.
 
VickiA said:
The OP makes it clear that there are 2 columns -left for one pig and right for the other. The earliest weights are at age 2.5 months. Current weights are 716 and 724g.
Click to expand...
oh I see, ive read it backwards. I thought they started at 700 and went down, I apologise! :doh:
 
Thanks - they have both put on weight this week though Ginger much more than Stripey. I have always fed them together from the same bowl and Gingeris always waiting for the food and def gets first dibs - should I be feeding them separately? If so how could I do this?
 
Wait a few more weeks and then see what happens.

My trio vary in how much weight they put on, and one is not always consistently gaining more than the other.
As long as they are both gaining and seem healthy then maybe just keep an eye on it to be sure one is taking more than their fair share, but you would need to look at a longer term pattern to really decide.
Glad they are both gaining again.
 
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