My Piggy is not growing

[Kenzieandherpiggies]

Hi everyone I have four piggies and they are all going to be one in August! One of my boars is the runt of the litter and he is the feistiest. He eats all day and drinks so much, but he hasn’t grown like his brothers. I feed him vitamin pellets, hay, red and green leaf lettuce and other veggies and some fruit as a treat. Am I not feeding him something that can help his growth or is he just fine?

 

[Siikibam]

If you’re feeding him a varied diet as you should be then there shouldn’t be the need for the vitamin c. And he will be the weight that’s correct for him. Heft is the best indicator of whether a piggy is in reasonable body condition or not. Do you weigh yourself piggies weekly at the same time?

 

[Kenzieandherpiggies]

If you’re feeding him a varied diet as you should be then there shouldn’t be the need for the vitamin c. And he will be the weight that’s correct for him. Heft is the best indicator of whether a piggy is in reasonable body condition or not. Do you weigh yourself piggies weekly at the same time?

yes I do. In the beginning he was gaining weight just the same as his brothers, but he just stopped gaining weight suddenly. His brothers are still growing and gaining weight, but for Sweet Pea he just stays the same I am just worried that he is to thin and can get sick.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Piggies Put weight on in their own time with a good hay based diet. As siikibam said, it is important to monitor this and also check their heft - some piggies are just smaller but you would still expect to see some weight gain.
Have you had him checked by a vet?

Can I ask about their living situation? I note you say you have four piggies and you mention brothers so, are all four boys living together in one cage? Boys must be kept in pairs and not in groups.
if not, and he is living with one other piggy then does he get on with the piggy he lives with?

The issue can come if bullying occurs which is highly likely if you are keeping all four together in one cage. It can however still happen between a pair of piggies living together if they are not compatible. One piggy becomes withdrawn due to a fractious relationship and doesn’t eat as much as they should.

 

[Siikibam]

Does he have access to food like the rest of the piggies? Or is he chased away at veg time? If possible please could you post his weights.

 

[Kenzieandherpiggies]

Piggies Put weight on in their own time with a good hay based diet. As siikibam said, it is important to monitor this and also check their heft - some piggies are just smaller but you would still expect to see some weight gain.
Have you had him checked by a vet?

Can I ask about their living situation? I note you say you have four piggies and you mention brothers so, are all four boys living together in one cage? Boys must be kept in pairs and not in groups.
if not, and he is living with one other piggy then does he get on with the piggy he lives with?

The issue can come if bullying occurs which is highly likely if you are keeping all four together in one cage. It can however still happen between a pair of piggies living together if they are not compatible. One piggy becomes withdrawn due to a fractious relationship and doesn’t eat as much as they should.

In the beginning he was paired with S’mores but as S’mores got bigger he started to bully Sweet Pea so I had to separate them. At the moment Sweet Pea is in his own cage. I am slowly introducing Bean so he won’t feel alone. His eating routine is just fine. He doesn’t get kicked out of eating time with his brothers. What I do notice is that when Sweet Pea is by himself he’s more relaxed and more open to me. Is it bad if I decide to keep Sweet Pea in his own cage?

 

[Kenzieandherpiggies]

Does he have access to food like the rest of the piggies? Or is he chased away at veg time? If possible please could you post his weights.

Veggie time is just fine. He doesn’t fight or bother any of them and they all eat and drink. I don’t know if a small body comes with being the runt of the litter I just don’t want him to be starving or sick. Once I weigh him again next week I will post a picture along with his brothers weight too.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s not ideal that he lives by himself but as long as they can interact through the bars then that will stop him from getting lonely.

What you are dealing with is the fact that they are teenagers, that brings hormone spikes and can cause issues when bonding.

What you can’t do is put them together for a little while to eat for example, and then separate them and put him back by himself, and then have them meet up again. If that is what you are doing (it sounds as if they are eating together or that him and bean are having some physical interaction), then being put together and then separated again isn’t a good idea, every meeting is a bonding session and it is stressful to them to have it interrupted. I may have misunderstood what you meant when you said they are fine when they eat and don’t fight when eating.

If you are going to have sweet pea and bean live together, then do a neutral territory bonding and ensure a successful bond and then have the two of them live in a cage together permanently.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

We need to have an idea of their weights over the previous weeks to know whether he is gaining at a good rate. Giving us just his weight next week won’t really help us.

Ultimately though if you have concerns about him, then having him checked by a vet would be a good step to take

 

[Kenzieandherpiggies]

It’s not ideal that he lives by himself but as long as they can interact through the bars then that will stop him from getting lonely.

What you are dealing with is the fact that they are teenagers, that brings hormone spikes and can cause issues when bonding.

What you can’t do is put them together for a little while to eat for example, and then separate them and put him back by himself, and then have them meet up again. If that is what you are doing (it sounds as if they are eating together or that him and bean are having some physical interaction), then being put together and then separated again isn’t a good idea, every meeting is a bonding session and it is stressful to them to have it interrupted. I may have misunderstood what you meant when you said they are fine when they eat and don’t fight when eating.

If you are going to have sweet pea and bean live together, then do a neutral territory bonding and ensure a successful bond and then have the two of them live in a cage together permanently.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

We need to have an idea of their weights over the previous weeks to know whether he is gaining at a good rate. Giving us just his weight next week won’t really help us.

Ultimately though if you have concerns about him, then having him checked by a vet would be a good step to take

thank you much I am definitely going to look into the link you sent me and try everything. I just want him to be happy and healthy and safe. I attached a picture of what their current living space is like right now. At the moment their mat is on the floor because our big table they are usually on is in storage. Thank you so much for helping me I will keep posting to update you all.

 

[Siikibam]

Is sweet pea living alone or with another piggy? I’m not understanding your setup. regarding bonding and seeing it through, not putting them together for food time then separating. Please can you post the previous weeks’ weights and we’ll see. But as said above, if you’re worried then have him seen by a vet.