Weight

[DougalandDiego]

Hello,
I have had a read of the pages about weighing guinea pigs. Both of my guinea pigs (we were told) should be around 4/5 months. I weighed them today after we’ve had them for a month and a half. One is 880g and the other 913g. They have an unlimited amount of hay and only 50g of veggies each a day. We make sure we don’t feed them sugary fruit and they don’t entertain treats. Why could they be so heavy? I’m wondering whether it could be a problem with my scales so I'm going to check them later on as I’ve heard guinea pigs around that age are normally about 400/500g! is there any chance the pet store we got them from could be wrong about their age? I’ll attach pictures of both incase it helps in anyway...

 

[DougalandDiego]

 

[Deleted member 131797]

Going by weight they could be a bit older - perhaps around the 8-10month mark. They look bigger than 4/5 months to me.

Pellets can make them a bit heavier but your piggies don’t look unhealthy to me.

Lastly you may want to make sure of their sex, and that they aren’t pregnant if female. Pet stores are notorious for getting sexes wrong or selling pregnant piggies (I can’t see evidence of pregnancy on pictures but I’m just saying it could contribute to weight!)

I think they are probably a bit older than stated...

 

[DougalandDiego]

Going by weight they could be a bit older - perhaps around the 8-10month mark. They look bigger than 4/5 months to me.

Pellets can make them a bit heavier but your piggies don’t look unhealthy to me.

Lastly you may want to make sure of their sex, and that they aren’t pregnant if female. Pet stores are notorious for getting sexes wrong or selling pregnant piggies (I can’t see evidence of pregnancy on pictures but I’m just saying it could contribute to weight!)

I think they are probably a bit older than stated...

Yeah I was starting to wonder what on earth we must be feeding them for them to weigh so much! Yes I have checked their sex quite a few times just to be doubly sure that we do have two boars!
I’m thinking of taking them to have a check up at the vets anyway so maybe they’ll be able to shed a bit more light.
Thanks for your quick reply and advice!

 

[DougalandDiego]

Found this picture of them the day we first got them when they were meant to be about 8-10 weeks old...
(The top picture was their temporary cage whilst we were waiting for their 2x5 c and c cage)

 

[Deleted member 131797]

The youngest pigs I’ve had were 8 months old so I don’t have a reference to 8-10 weeks in terms of size (someone else may be able to help) but your pigs look definitely older in your box picture. I would guess they are about 8-10 months old now. They will probably settle within the next 2-4 months around 1000-1300 grams. Give or take (of course there are less and heavier outliers) at which point they will have passed the year old mark.

The above is based on my experience of approx 10 pigs, so by no means a definite answer but a guide!

 

[DougalandDiego]

The youngest pigs I’ve had were 8 months old so I don’t have a reference to 8-10 weeks in terms of size (someone else may be able to help) but your pigs look definitely older in your box picture. I would guess they are about 8-10 months old now. They will probably settle within the next 2-4 months around 1000-1300 grams. Give or take (of course there are less and heavier outliers) at which point they will have passed the year old mark.

The above is based on my experience of approx 10 pigs, so by no means a definite answer but a guide!

Brilliant thank you!

 

[KathT]

I have a four month old boar who is just over 900g - but he’s a big boar and he’s not overweight - I think it’s just his size. He’s as big as his 3.5 year old cagemate!

 

[DougalandDiego]

I have a four month old boar who is just over 900g - but he’s a big boar and he’s not overweight - I think it’s just his size. He’s as big as his 3.5 year old cagemate!

It’s amazing how much they can vary isn’t it! I’m just a big softie and would like to know I’m hopefully going to book an appointment with one of the forum recommended vets near me and hopefully they may know a bit more too!

 

[Merab]

I have a 5 month old boar who is now about 890 / 900g.
He has a very healthy appetite and a diet that is primarily hay and very low in sugary veggies.
He seems to be a good weight for his age and build

Welcome to the forum.
Your boys are gorgeous

 

[DougalandDiego]

I have a 5 month old boar who is now about 890 / 900g.
He has a very healthy appetite and a diet that is primarily hay and very low in sugary veggies.
He seems to be a good weight for his age and build

Welcome to the forum.
Your boys are gorgeous

Ah thank you! Yes we’ve been careful to weigh their veggies out so I’m sure it can’t be that they’re overweight and like I said they’re extremely fussy and won’t eat any shop bought treats or even pea flakes!