5 month old baby boar still small

[Angela99]

Hello quick question… I have a 5 month old baby boar, Comet.. and he is still so small… he’s an American Guinea …pig see picture … Petsmart said he was 2.5 to 3 months when I got him
his brother is 6. I’m new to babies as Truffle s brother, Buttercup very sadly passed away a couple months ago
and I adopted them at about a year old. When will Comet be almost full size? I give him unlimited young piggie pellets from oxbow right now as well. I separate it from his brother of course

 

[Piggies&buns]

Is he gaining weight at each weekly weight check? If so then that is the main thing. He will get to his full size in his own time.
I have two five year old piggies and two five month old piggies and my five month old boys do seem small compared to my older boys but they are gaining weight at each weekly check and are perfectly healthy.

Please don’t feed unlimited pellets to Comet, not even young piggy pellets. This will result in too much calcium and potential health issues. No piggy should ever have unlimited pellets, they do nor need them. You don’t want a piggy gaining weight on pellets because that won’t be healthy weight gain. He needs to gain weight well on hay And a balanced diet.
Please only feed unlimited hay, one full of veg per day and one tablespoon of pellets per day.

 

[Angela99]

Is he gaining weight at each weekly weight check? If so then that is the main thing. He will get to his full size in his own time.
I have two five year old piggies and two five month old piggies and my five month old boys do seem small compared to my older boys but they are gaining weight at each weekly check and are perfectly healthy.

Please don’t feed unlimited pellets to Comet, not even young piggy pellets. This will result in too much calcium and potential health issues. No piggy should ever have unlimited pellets, they do nor need them. You don’t want a piggy gaining weight on pellets because that won’t be healthy weight gain. He needs to gain weight well on hay And a balanced diet.
Please only feed unlimited hay, one full of veg per day and one tablespoon of pellets per day.

Ok thanks… I read under 6 months should get unlimited pellets, but I can stop. Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok thanks… I read under 6 months should get unlimited pellets, but I can stop. Thank you

Yes, definitely stop, it’s not the case at all. All piggies need just one tablespoon, particularly if you are giving young piggy pellets as those already have slightly higher nutrient levels.
You don’t actually need to give young piggy pellets at all and they can have normal pellets straight away (actually from birth) with no need to ever separate them for feeding. You will want to stop giving the young piggy pellets in any event due to the fact they tend to contain slightly higher levels of alfalfa which isn’t recommended now he is past weaning age (three weeks of age).

How much does he weigh? Does he gain weight at each weekly weight check? If so, then there is no concern, just ensure you provide an unlimited hay based diet.

 

[Swissgreys]

Sadly what is written on the bag is not always in the best interests of the piggy, and always in the best interest of the manufacturer!
You will often be recommended to feed larger amounts than necessary as the manufacturers are allowed to assume that pellets are the main source of nutrition for your pet.
Sadly in many cases this is actually true, but the optimal diet includes a very small amount of pellets and unlimited hay.
Can you confirm that your boy is gaining weight weekly?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

I agree with all the posts in this thread. Please concentrate on a good and healthy hay based diet.

It is a good diet that will allow your piggies realise the optimum of their genetic inheritance and can ultimately add 1-2 years to their life that they won't have on less good diet. Keep in mind that a carefully balanced veg diet, 1 tablespoon of pellets per day and unlimited hay only replace the ca. 20% of the diet that used to be covered by supplementary forage - any treats also have to come out of the same limited category. Over three quarters of what piggies eat in a day needs to be hay. High sugar veg and fruit, high calorie pellets and any treats are ultimately life shortening.
Here is our diet guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

The good news is that it doesn't matter whether a piggy is large or small in terms of having a good chance for a long life. I have had several piggies that you would class as 'too small' live to celebrate their 8th birthday nevertheless. In fact, I have had more 'small' piggies live beyond the average life expectancy than large ones.
Please take the time to read our weight management guide and learn about the importance of checking the BMI to ensure that your piggies are at all times the right weight for their individual size when you monitor their weight weekly during their whole life on your normal kitchen scales. Weighing is your best ally to help spot developing problems early on and to support your piggies during illness at the correct level.
Here are the links:
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Please also keep in mind that guinea pigs won't reach adulthood until around 15 months, so please do not panic.
Your little one has still got several months to reach their own genetically determined weight and adult size. Right now they have not long started teenage!
But they are now coming up to the age whether an overabundance of pellets will move from going into their stop and go growth pattern that is characteristic for teenage and where too rich/much food will instead increasingly contribute to the growth of yellow fat around the inner organs, which is life shortening and also a major operation risk factor.
We have a chapter in the weight guide that explains how weight in guinea pigs develops over the course of a life time, which you may find interesting.

 

[Angela99]

Hi

I agree with all the posts in this thread. Please concentrate on a good and healthy hay based diet.

It is a good diet that will allow your piggies realise the optimum of their genetic inheritance and can ultimately add 1-2 years to their life that they won't have on less good diet. Keep in mind that a carefully balanced veg diet, 1 tablespoon of pellets per day and unlimited hay only replace the ca. 20% of the diet that used to be covered by supplementary forage - any treats also have to come out of the same limited category. Over three quarters of what piggies eat in a day needs to be hay. High sugar veg and fruit, high calorie pellets and any treats are ultimately life shortening.
Here is our diet guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

The good news is that it doesn't matter whether a piggy is large or small in terms of having a good chance for a long life. I have had several piggies that you would class as 'too small' live to celebrate their 8th birthday nevertheless. In fact, I have had more 'small' piggies live beyond the average life expectancy than large ones.
Please take the time to read our weight management guide and learn about the importance of checking the BMI to ensure that your piggies are at all times the right weight for their individual size when you monitor their weight weekly during their whole life on your normal kitchen scales. Weighing is your best ally to help spot developing problems early on and to support your piggies during illness at the correct level.
Here are the links:
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Please also keep in mind that guinea pigs won't reach adulthood until around 15 months, so please do not panic.
Your little one has still got several months to reach their own genetically determined weight and adult size. Right now they have not long started teenage!
But they are now coming up to the age whether an overabundance of pellets will move from going into their stop and go growth pattern that is characteristic for teenage and where too rich/much food will instead increasingly contribute to the growth of yellow fat around the inner organs, which is life shortening and also a major operation risk factor.
We have a chapter in the weight guide that explains how weight in guinea pigs develops over the course of a life time, which you may find interesting.

Ok thank you so much! Makes more sense. I stopped and just doing as you say. He is growing but I assumed he’d be bigger by now when I see other pigs his age. He is only 5 months… I need to get a scale thought!

 

[Wiebke]

Ok thank you so much! Makes more sense. I stopped and just doing as you say. He is growing but I assumed he’d be bigger by now when I see other pigs his age. He is only 5 months… I need to get a scale thought!

Just cheap digital supermarket or online kitchen scales will do since you are only monitoring weight fluctuations but you do not need exact scales like a vet needs for computing the correct dosages.

We have got loads more very practical information and how-to advice on a wide range of topics via this link here, which you may find helpful and interesting: Comprehensive Owners' Practical and Supportive Information Collection

 

[Freela]

Guinea pigs keep on growing throughout the first year or so of life so he still has a ways to go- that said, healthy guinea pigs can come in a variety of sizes and I've had pigs that were big-boned and weighed 3 pounds and pigs that were petite and never even weighed two pounds at their heaviest. Just focus on giving him a healthy diet, weigh him regularly to make sure he's still gaining or holding even, and he'll grow to his genetic potential in a healthy way.

 

[wheek!guinea]

Depends on the piggy! Every pig can vary in size.

Do weekly weight checks and provide an appropriate diet. At 6 months old they are considered to be adult but they really don’t stop growing until 14-15 months old. Have a wellness exam with an exotic vet and have them confirm it’s a boy. The pet stores, especially Petsmart and Petco don’t always know for certain or may have a mix up with the sexes.

Unlimited pellets and free choice are not healthy. There are pellets tailored to 6 months and older and 6 months and younger as well and I believe Oxbow has those options available . They only need about 1/8 of a cup for pellets and a cup of fresh veggies daily.

 

[Cheekypigs]

My two lads are now a year old and about 9 months, and they are both still growing. The big one in particular is now the size of a typical big pig, but I suspect he's got more growth in him, as he's still lanky and has disproportionately long legs and big feet.

They can keep growing until they're well over a year old and your 5 month old doesn't look small to me, he looks the same sort of size my younger pig was at that age.