Weight Fluctuation

[Claire K]

Hi, Hope someone can help me !

I have finally managed to find a range of fresh veg (thanks to lauras help) that my piggies will actually eat and have compiled a weekly menu for them so that they have a variety of veg each day comprising of high and low calcium content foods. I have manged to work it out so that they dont have the same combination of foods each day in order to prevent them getting bored!

The problem that I have is that each of my piggies have their favourites so some days, depending on whats on offer, one will eat more than the other and vice versa - since I have been feeding them according to the menu, their weight quite often flutuates each week.

For example, trixie may put on weight one week while truffles may lose and then the following week, it may have reversed. I have been weighing them daily this week and their weight even fluctuautes daily too!

I am so worried that their weight fluctuations may harm them and dont know what to do?

Do i continue with the varied menu which on some days, one piggy may eat more than the other or do i stick to only giving them the same foods each day that i know they both really like and would both eat although this would be limited to kale(not every day), spring greens, celery, carrot, parsley, green beans and cauli leaves.

Can anyone help me please as i dont know what to do?

Many Thanks
Claire x

 

[Wiebke]

Just how big are the weight fluctuations? 30-50g are tolerable while anything more I would worry about.

 

[Claire K]

The piggy that has fluctuated most this week is trixie. I have been weighing her daily this week and these are her weights:

Fri: 1020g
Sat: 992g
Sun:1005g
Mon: 994g
Tue:1003g
Wed:1022g
Thu: 965g

Hope this helps. She is eating, drinking, pooing, popcorning all the time and appears to be fine.

Hope this helps:
Clairex

 

[Claire K]

The only other thing that I have just picked up on having read my own post is that I weigh them each morning as soon as i get up and go downstairs.

The mornings that she weighs more are the mornings following the evening when she has had either spring greens, kale or parsley (all 3 of her favourites)......could this have anything to do with it?

The mornings where she has lost weight are the mornings following the evenings where she has not been so fussed about whats on offer!

I didnt have these weight fluctuation problems when i was giving them the same foods day in and day out but since i have tried to be a bit more varied, it seems to be causing the issues

x

 

[Wiebke]

Apart from your last weight, the weights are well within the bounds of daily variation, so you do not need to worry if your piggies are weighing that bit less or more. Mainly, what you are looking for is either sudden big weight loss or a slow creeping loss of weight; a trend that develops over several weeks.
Just a full/empty bladder can make a difference of 30g/1oz!

You might find this link to the best medical website we have for guinea pigs helpful in terms of when you need to be worried about weight loss: http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

I would recommend that you continue with the full diet.

 

[Claire K]

Thanks Wiebke, the acceptable weight loss of 30-50g that you mentioned - would that even be feasible within a day or would that be over the course of the week?

I'm guessing that if having a full bladder can make the diff of 30g then 30-50g difference from one day to the next would be ok but thought i would check.

Claire xx

 

[Gems]

From my understanding a guinea pigs weight can fluctuate by 30 - 50g each day. However, it obviously shouldn't be say 970g one day, 940g the next, 910g the next, 880g the next etc as that would be alot of weight lost as a whole over a short period of time.