Are these Weights ok?

Storm1974

Storm1974

Junior Guinea Pig
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I am really worried that our two 5 month old boys are overweight 🫤 and just wondered if you think these weights are ok for their age? I know that you can't really go by those charts you see online, but I think the average weight for their ages is around 540 grams and they are much, much heavier than this!
Guinea Pig Growth Chart & Weight Chart - Guinea Pig Site

Anyway, here are the weights they have been, since we started weighing them... Actually, as you can see, by todays weigh in, Bracken has actually lost a bit.

18th Oct:
Bracken: 923
Bramble: 850

25th Oct
Bracken: 944
Bramble: 888

2nd November
Bracken: 984
Bramble: 921

9th November
Bracken: 974
Bramble: 938
 
:agr:

There is no average weight to age. The charts that exist are wholly inaccurate.
There is a huge difference between birth weights which can carry throughout life, some piggies gain quickly and stop growing earlier etc, so this is why the charts can’t be relied upon.

Weigh them weekly so you can monitor they are eating enough, and check their heft to tell you they they are good size for themselves.

Piggies who are fed a good balanced diet with little to no fruit and carrots and with pellets fed very sparingly and get plenty of exercise are not likely to become overweight
 
Storm1974 said:
I am really worried that our two 5 month old boys are overweight 🫤 and just wondered if you think these weights are ok for their age? I know that you can't really go by those charts you see online, but I think the average weight for their ages is around 540 grams and they are much, much heavier than this!
Guinea Pig Growth Chart & Weight Chart - Guinea Pig Site

Anyway, here are the weights they have been, since we started weighing them... Actually, as you can see, by todays weigh in, Bracken has actually lost a bit.

18th Oct:
Bracken: 923
Bramble: 850

25th Oct
Bracken: 944
Bramble: 888

2nd November
Bracken: 984
Bramble: 921

9th November
Bracken: 974
Bramble: 938
Click to expand...

Hi

Since guinea pigs come in lots of different sizes, you cannot go by average weight since that by definition leaves out half off all piggies (or whatever group you are looking at) with nothing wrong with them; it's a very arbitrary and misleading concept.

The best way to check your boys is by feeling around the ribcage for the 'heft' or BMI whether they are the right weight for their size, overweight or underweight. This method works for all sizes and ages to see whether they are individually punching in the right ballpark. This then puts the weekly health monitoring weigh-in into the correct perspective without any artificial right or wrongs.
Weight - Monitoring and Management (see chapter 3 but you may find the whole guide interesting)

You regulate weight via your diet. Please be aware that hay/fresh grass should make over three quarters of the daily food intake and that veg, pellets and any treats all together only replace the supplementary role of wild forage. Your boys are now old enough to go down to 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day since they have reached the point where they have most of their adult weight and will increasingly only grow in spots and spurts from now on.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
This is one of the most frequent questions asked by clients or friends.
I always get my hands on first before passing comment as it’s never just a question of weight, like anything it’s multiple factors. :hip:
 
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