Weekly Weighing Problems

[FernEden]

Hello!

I'm having some trouble weighing one of my piggies. Lola is lovely to weigh, as soon as I've got hold of her she doesn't mind being handled and will snuggle and eat when I hold her and will sit nicely in the bowl on the weighing scales. Florence, on the other hand, hates me! As soon as I pick her up she won't stop wiggling and will do anything to get away, I have many scratches from her scrambling! She won't sit in the weighing bowl and is now big enough to tip over the bowl to escape so it's becoming impossible!
They're both 4 months old now and I understand this is still young for them but they'll happily sit on my knee when they're eating their tea, they'll eat out my hand and I spend a lot of time with them and they aren't phased by me being there. I've recently pig proofed their bedroom so now they can explore tons in the evening for a while (I thought it might help their confidence). Like I said, Lola is lovely and she'll let me stroke her and handle her but Florence is having none of it. The more I handle her, the more scared she seems to get!

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how I could weigh Florence as I really want to keep a log of her weight (I know how important it is!) but I'm struggling, I can't even get her in the bowl and put a blanket over the top while I look at the numbers because as soon as she's down she runs for it! She even tries to launch herself out of my hands no matter which way she faces when I pick her up! Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated because I'm stuck on what to do really

 

[Pawz]

I have flat digital kitchen scales than I can place my own plate/bowl on. I bought these especially for the pet weigh ins.

What I used to do for the wrigglers was put a high sided Tupperware box on the scales, set it to 0 with the box on and then add the pig. The box was too high to escape from and the weight was accurate without anyone having to hold and affect the reading.

The rats, I trained them to weigh themselves, they just walk right onto the scales and sit there until I signal they are done.

 

[FernEden]

I have flat digital kitchen scales than I can place my own plate/bowl on. I bought these especially for the pet weigh ins.

What I used to do for the wrigglers was put a high sided Tupperware box on the scales, set it to 0 with the box on and then add the pig. The box was too high to escape from and the weight was accurate without anyone having to hold and affect the reading.

The rats, I trained them to weigh themselves, they just walk right onto the scales and sit there until I signal they are done.

I use a digital scale at the moment, maybe I need to invest in a plastic box so they can't scrabble out of it. Poor Florence gets petrified but all I want to do is weigh her and love her

 

[Wiebke]

Hello!

I'm having some trouble weighing one of my piggies. Lola is lovely to weigh, as soon as I've got hold of her she doesn't mind being handled and will snuggle and eat when I hold her and will sit nicely in the bowl on the weighing scales. Florence, on the other hand, hates me! As soon as I pick her up she won't stop wiggling and will do anything to get away, I have many scratches from her scrambling! She won't sit in the weighing bowl and is now big enough to tip over the bowl to escape so it's becoming impossible!
They're both 4 months old now and I understand this is still young for them but they'll happily sit on my knee when they're eating their tea, they'll eat out my hand and I spend a lot of time with them and they aren't phased by me being there. I've recently pig proofed their bedroom so now they can explore tons in the evening for a while (I thought it might help their confidence). Like I said, Lola is lovely and she'll let me stroke her and handle her but Florence is having none of it. The more I handle her, the more scared she seems to get!

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how I could weigh Florence as I really want to keep a log of her weight (I know how important it is!) but I'm struggling, I can't even get her in the bowl and put a blanket over the top while I look at the numbers because as soon as she's down she runs for it! She even tries to launch herself out of my hands no matter which way she faces when I pick her up! Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated because I'm stuck on what to do really

Have a look at the tips in our picking up and weighing guide! How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig