Weight loss?

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Rumblestiltskin

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Ive had my guinea pigs nearly 3 weeks but they had a vet visit 3 days in as they were scratching. The vet felt the boy, Duncan, was overweight. On the vet scales he was just over 1.3kgs. I weighed him today at home and he came in at just over 1.2kgs. The girl, Daphne's, weight is pretty stable across the vet and my weigh in.

I'm due back at the vet on Wednesday anyway for follow up mite treatment but in the meantime am wondering what a healthy weight loss for a pig is? (assumimg he wasnt breathing in or cheating 🤣). I'm not worried because hes getting lots of hay a tablespoon of pellets and a handful of largely green veg a day. Of course I dont know what he was fed in his previous home but if high in sugary stuff or even veg and/or a smaller cage I guess he could be losing weight. Daphne wont touch any higher in sugar veg (including red pepper, she likes leafy stuff) at all so he could have been having more than his fair share!
 
Duncan is the ginger brown white pig
 

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What method did the vet use to determine he was overweight?
Was it by actually checking his heft or was it just the number on the scales?

The fact he has been weighed on two different scales could be a bit problematic, but if the female piggy is pretty stable then . I would monitor him on your own scales for a few days (in the morning) so you can see what is happening with him

If he is genuinely overweight by heft checking, then he would need to lose as much as is necessary to get him back into a healthy heft.
If he was not fed correctly in a previous home then his weight will come off by you having him on a good diet, but monitoring his heft is also going to help you know whether he is just losing his unhealthy weight

A piggy with a good heft should not lose weight.
Any weight loss over 50g or above 10% of body weight would need to be monitored and action taken if it is as a result of illness.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
 
I guess I can see how we weighs in Wednesday and ask these questions. The vet was definitely oh my before she put him on the scales. Ill weigh him for the next few days as you suggest so I can hopefully have a sensible conversation at the vets.

If necessary I can maybe ask my long term pig owning friend and vet nurse to look at his body score for a second opinion

Its very tricky when you are looking after an unfamiliar species to get a handle on such things at first! Maybe he had one paw off the scales...(I popped him in a box)
 
Piggies&buns said:
What method did the vet use to determine he was overweight?
Was it by actually checking his heft or was it just the number on the scales?

The fact he has been weighed on two different scales could be a bit problematic, but if the female piggy is pretty stable then . I would monitor him on your own scales for a few days (in the morning) so you can see what is happening with him

If he is genuinely overweight by heft checking, then he would need to lose as much as is necessary to get him back into a healthy heft.
If he was not fed correctly in a previous home then his weight will come off by you having him on a good diet, but monitoring his heft is also going to help you know whether he is just losing his unhealthy weight

A piggy with a good heft should not lose weight.
Any weight loss over 50g or above 10% of body weight would need to be monitored and action taken if it is as a result of illness.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Level
Click to expand...
 
May I also ask the vet gave them a quick check at my request and his willy shaft (for want of a better explanation) was crusty. Ive cleaned this once to get the worst off and it absolutely stank. I had another look today and I think I need another go. What is this stuff and why does it accumulate? It smells terrible!
 
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