The Importance Of Weighing

[Briony_S]

Just thought I'd make a post about the importance of weighing.

I weighed my lacey last night and she had lost 109gms since 30th dec. I know we should do this weekly so I'm going to add it to my calendar so I remember weekly to do it .

Lacey is a long haired so she looks no different. I had a through check over her and everything seems fine. More import antly she is eating and drinking normally.

As I got this result I am on daily weighing now and she was up 50gms today so I am less concerned.

I just wanted to stress the importance as laceys weight loss was not visable , when I felt her fat pads they did feel smaller so its also goid to k ow how they feel too.

Also my george died after loosing weight and he was not diagnosed intime & died before treatment

As I weighed lacey regularly I now know to monitor her and will be able to get to vets quickly should she go downhill.

 

[piggyfan]

Well done for taking care to weigh your little ones.

 

[AbiS]

I had a panic this week as Toby & Barney had both lost about 70g. Then I remembered that my timing was a bit out last week and I weighed them after they had their breakfast and fresh hay!

Very good point to raise though

 

[Bekki]

I believe 50g is the difference between a full and empty bladder

 

[Jerrybelly]

A very important point

 

[Little Pips Rehoming]

Weighing is so important for guineas, it's a great habit to get into . It is a real early warning sign of things not being right if you see a dramatic change in weight & might often be the only sign you see as guineas are so good at hiding illness early on.

We always weigh at the same time of day & before veggies that way we know food isn't showing up as weight! We weigh poorly guinea pigs every day & all others once a week.

 

[karonus]

We have noticed that there can be a 50gm difference between weighing in the morning after breakfast and then later in the afternoon. It is so important that we spotted a 100gm drop in Star and it turned out to be a urethral stone combined with arthritis due to the change in weather. She ended up dropping from 950gm to 720gm over the course of 3 weeks before she turned it around and is now 920gm.

 

[Stewybus]

Yes, it's very important to weigh at same time of day. Probably best to weigh either before or after a meal but stick to the same timing every week. If you normally weight after a meal then weigh before a meal you could be easily 50 grams or more out. Similarly if you normally weigh after a meal then weigh 3 hours later you could also be out because your piggy has poo'd & wee'd all their meal away.

If you get a big difference in weight from previous week then weigh again the next day to be certain there's something wrong. If in doubt, either ring vet or take piggy to see vet.