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Weight concens

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hellsbells82

hellsbells82

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I've just weighed my boys for the first time, I've had them 2.5 weeks and they were rescued in December in a group, I believe they were underweight and hadn't had a great start in life.

They are both noticeably smaller than my old boars, but Roy seems to be putting weight on by the day and is still young so I'm less worried.

Today's weights are.

Roy, 6/7 months, 746g

Fitz, 14/15 months 756g

I'm worried that Fitz is so light for his age, currently they have unrestricted hay and pellets as well as 2 large bowls of veggies to share a day, I bought some alfa hay cubes as a treat but they don't seem too keen.

Is there anything else I should do? I'll weigh them weekly now I've got some new scales.
 
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Fitz is pretty light for his age - My rex Lentil isn't even a year old and he is 1100g :o

Have you thought about worming him?

A healthy weight for a adult boar can be anything from around 900g up to 1800g but usually on average its 900g - 1400g

Weigh them weekly and see if he steadily puts weight on

Oats is good to help gain weight as well as barley rings (given as a treat)

Sweetcorn too - but not too much as it is fattening.
 
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Hanwombat said:
Fitz is pretty light for his age - My rex Lentil isn't even a year old and he is 1100g :o

Have you thought about worming him?
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I haven't done, I might speak to the rescue first and see if they were done and if he was weighed there at all, I know one of the other boys they were with, Jasper was really underweight.
 
thanks- do you soak their oats then, in water I guess?

I'm also giving them some dried dandelion and oat treats every cpl of days
 
I just had a little warm water (obv not too hot so it burns their mouths) and mix it so it looks like porridge if you were to eat it .. or you could just add some oats with their food.
 

Roy

Fitz

Thanks, have just taken Roy for a cuddle and put some oats in for Fitz, as Roy tends to push to the food first, so will see what he thinks
 
They looks heavier than my dental piggy and hes nearly 1kg :o

Fitz is quite small for his age isn't here? Maybe he was possibly a runt or something.
 
i dont have any advice but they are gorgeous :))
 
Hanwombat said:
They looks heavier than my dental piggy and hes nearly 1kg :o

Fitz is quite small for his age isn't here? Maybe he was possibly a runt or something.
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see I'm wondering if it's the effect of spending his whole life not being well looked after, there was 6/7 boars in a hutch in a shed I think ( Wiekbe knows more as Tani came in with them), so am wondering if he's a bit stunted due to that? Although Roy is younger he's becoming quite dominant now and am wondering if Fitz was just so soft he was bottom of the pecking order with so many boars together
 
Fitz is still young enough that he may have another growth spurt once he settles down, even though he is now officially a mature adult (but only just!). He will never be a big piggy due to the conditions he sadly has grown up in. Fitz and Roy are both from the same lot as Jasper. Thankfully, Tani was in that place for only a week before the owner grew tired of trying to deal with a feral wiggly jumper! (Why are you not surprised to hear that although Tani still doesn't like to be picked up and handled, she is much better to have?)

Please, do not feed alfalfa - it should only be given to heavily pregnant and nursing sows. Too much calcium can cause bladder stones.

Do not overfeed your boys, either. They will be much healthier with a normal diet that consists of ideally mainly unlimited good quality hay, like timothy. However, you can include a bit more starchy sweetcorn in their diet than you would normally, but make sure that they still get exercise - a tiny fat boy is not what you are aiming for! The most important point is not weight, but "condition", i.e. that they are healthy and well proportioned for their size, not too fat and not too thin, with a healthy coat and interest in life. With a good diet, the weight will hopefully creep up anyway. Fitz has been in rescue for only just over a month, so there is still hope.

You might find this thread from our reference section informative:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38805
 
Your piggies are so gorgeous. I wish mine would sit still like that when being weighed!
 
Wiebke said:
Fitz is still young enough that he may have another growth spurt once he settles down, even though he is now officially a mature adult (but only just!). He will never be a big piggy due to the conditions he sadly has grown up in. Fitz and Roy are both from the same lot as Jasper. Thankfully, Tani was in that place for only a week before the owner grew tired of trying to deal with a feral wiggly jumper! (Why are you not surprised to hear that although Tani still doesn't like to be picked up and handled, she is much better to have?)

Please, do not feed alfalfa - it should only be given to heavily pregnant and nursing sows. Too much calcium can cause bladder stones.

Do not overfeed your boys, either. They will be much healthier with a normal diet that consists of ideally mainly unlimited good quality hay, like timothy. However, you can include a bit more starchy sweetcorn in their diet than you would normally, but make sure that they still get exercise - a tiny fat boy is not what you are aiming for! The most important point is not weight, but "condition", i.e. that they are healthy and well proportioned for their size, not too fat and not too thin, with a healthy coat and interest in life. With a good diet, the weight will hopefully creep up anyway. Fitz has been in rescue for only just over a month, so there is still hope.

You might find this thread from our reference section informative:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38805
Click to expand...

Thanks Wiekbe, they're bedded on hay at the moment and eat loads, I use the basic stuff for them on the floor, then a forage hay in the hayrack and hanging hay ball, the cubes I bought were these http://www.petsathome.com/shop/woodlands-mini-alfalfa-bales-treats-500gm-15748 and were advertised as a guinea pig snack! The boys don't like them anyway but surely they shouldn't be sold if they're not safe?

They have a fair amount of opportunity for exercise, they spend the day in an indoor pen, but then have an hour or so "free range" time at a time I can keep an eye on them (ie in the kitchen or hallway while I'm cooking), but a lot of the time they don't run about much, and will just come out for food then lurk under the table, in the run they still spend a large chunk of time sleeping but sometimes play under the newspaper/fleece etc.

Roy hates being picked up too, but is improving slowly, I use a blanket for cuddles and he tolerates me, yet is fine when running round and the more confident of the two, Fitz is soppy though and would sit on my chest all day snuggling.

I actually think I've been giving them a bit too much veg so am cutting down, but Fitz feels noticeably thinner than Roy which is why I was a little worried, my last piggies were big boys, but Roy has a much better covering of fat on his back, shoulders etc than Fitz.

So far they haven't been interested in sweetcorn, they're quite picky with veg, so although I think I've been giving a bit too much it's because a lot of it they don't eat, the only things they really seem to love are green beans, lettuce (various) and treats like parsley and coriander, they won't touch peppers/tomatoes/cucumber etc and will just eat bits of cabbage, carrots etc, but I just keep trying them, they eat plenty of pellets but not an excessive amount (in fact I'm going to weigh the scoop I use later to see how much they're having)
 
I am sure that Fitz will start to put on weight, but as he is older, it is slower than with the younger boars from that group who are still in the midst of the growing period. Give Fitz time and make sure that he IS putting on weight, even if it is not as quickly as with younger boars.

You'd be amazed to see what shops sell - not to the best of the animals! Have you tried broccoli and other cabbages, like sweetheart, savoy or greens? I would introduce them slowly (so they won't cause tummy upsets), but they are nice and green, which is what your boys seem to go for! The rest is a matter of getting used to. Spinach and kale are OK very occasionally.
 
Wiebke said:
I am sure that Fitz will start to put on weight, but as he is older, it is slower than with the younger boars from that group who are still in the midst of the growing period. Give Fitz time and make sure that he IS putting on weight, even if it is not as quickly as with younger boars.

You'd be amazed to see what shops sell - not to the best of the animals! Have you tried broccoli and other cabbages, like sweetheart, savoy or greens? I would introduce them slowly (so they won't cause tummy upsets), but they are nice and green, which is what your boys seem to go for! The rest is a matter of getting used to. Spinach and kale are OK very occasionally.
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They've had broccoli but haven't been over keen, spinach they like but have only had a couple of times, they have had some different cabbages and like spring greens- sprouts were met with disgust! They ate bean sprouts the other day but not today!

I'll just keep an eye on Fitz, Roy is fast over taking him and is turning out to be the boss now, I spent all last year back and forth to hospital as my baby son failed to gain weight well so am used to regular weighing and weight charts!
 
Just keep persevering. You are doing well and the the tlc they feel from you will help as well. Veg are often very hit and miss with piggies who have grown up without or only with an very limited selection. It's like getting children used to the new tastes!
 
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