Badger seems very small

[Zira24]

Badger is my oldest piggie he is a rescue and we reckon his is going to be a year old around October/november. He was getting neutered today (all went well and he’s eating a pooing again) but I was just looking at his history and he hasn’t really grown all that much in weight. The first vet visit was after I found him abandoned in the park in January and he was 450grams and now as an adult he is only 740grams. Is that very small for an adult boar? My other male who is around the same age is 1.2kg!
A photo is badger wheeking for veg included because he’s just so cute

 

[Wiebke]

Badger is my oldest piggie he is a rescue and we reckon his is going to be a year old around October/november. He was getting neutered today (all went well and he’s eating a pooing again) but I was just looking at his history and he hasn’t really grown all that much in weight. The first vet visit was after I found him abandoned in the park in January and he was 450grams and now as an adult he is only 740grams. Is that very small for an adult boar? My other male who is around the same age is 1.2kg!
A photo is badger wheeking for veg included because he’s just so cute

Hi and welcome

The variation in guinea pig weights and sizes is much larger than most owners expect. As long as Badger is a healthy weight/size ratio in himself, then there is nothing to worry about.

Please do not try to overfeed to make him fit an arbitrary human box and concentrate on a good hay based long term diet instead - the latter is much more crucial for longevity than the first. Some of my piggies that touched the 800g only at the peak of their lives nevertheless beat many normal sized companions to live to 8 years even though they were rescued from some really bad places.

You may find these links here helpful.

This guide explains about the BMI and its importance for good health as well as learning how to put weight loss in its proper individual perspective and how to use the various monitoring methods most effectively.

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

Jun 20, 2024

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI
3 The...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Health & Illness

• 

Here is our diet guide. A good diet can add 1-2 years to a normal healthy life span and take it from the lower end to the upper.

Thread 'Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets'

Jul 14, 2014

1 The recommended ratio of food groups
2 Hay and fresh grass
3 Vegetables, fresh herbs and fruit with an illustrated balanced sample diet
4 Special dietary needs
- Urinary tract infections, bladder stones and sterile IC (non-bacterial interstitial cystitis)
- Diabetes and long term digestive problems
- Impaction in boars
- Pregnancy and nursing dietary tweaks (only visible to registered members who have accepted our no intentional breeding policy)...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Food

• 

A piggy won't reach adulthood until about 15 months and won't reach the peak of their lives (and natural weight) until about 2-3 years of age so Badger may crack the 800g but if he doesn't it won't matter as long as you give him a good and healthy life.

 

[Zira24]

Hi and welcome

The variation in guinea pig weights and sizes is much larger than most owners expect. As long as Badger is a healthy weight/size ratio in himself, then there is nothing to worry about.

Please do not try to overfeed to make him fit an arbitrary human box and concentrate on a good hay based long term diet instead - the latter is much more crucial for longevity than the first. Some of my piggies that touched the 800g only at the peak of their lives nevertheless beat many normal sized companions to live to 8 years even though they were rescued from some really bad places.

You may find these links here helpful.

This guide explains about the BMI and its importance for good health as well as learning how to put weight loss in its proper individual perspective and how to use the various monitoring methods most effectively.

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

Jun 20, 2024

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI
3 The...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Health & Illness

• 

Here is our diet guide. A good diet can add 1-2 years to a normal healthy life span and take it from the lower end to the upper.

Thread 'Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets'

Jul 14, 2014

1 The recommended ratio of food groups
2 Hay and fresh grass
3 Vegetables, fresh herbs and fruit with an illustrated balanced sample diet
4 Special dietary needs
- Urinary tract infections, bladder stones and sterile IC (non-bacterial interstitial cystitis)
- Diabetes and long term digestive problems
- Impaction in boars
- Pregnancy and nursing dietary tweaks (only visible to registered members who have accepted our no intentional breeding policy)...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Food

• 

A piggy won't reach adulthood until about 15 months and won't reach the peak of their lives (and natural weight) until about 2-3 years of age so Badger may crack the 800g but if he doesn't it won't matter as long as you give him a good and healthy life.

Thank you so much this makes me feel a whole let less stressed! I’ve had a good read through and looked through the chart and badger definitely looks to be an ideal weight. When he is feeling better in a couple of days I’ll have a gentle feel around his ribs to make sure he doesn’t feel skinny. I’ve been giving him the recommended amount of veg a day, he munches on hay through out the day and I try not to go overboard on his pellets as half of them just end up scattered around the cage anyway because he likes to throw the bowl around when the girls start chirping in the other room he’s going to be very happy to move in with them in 6 weeks time

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much this makes me feel a whole let less stressed! I’ve had a good read through and looked through the chart and badger definitely looks to be an ideal weight. When he is feeling better in a couple of days I’ll have a gentle feel around his ribs to make sure he doesn’t feel skinny. I’ve been giving him the recommended amount of veg a day, he munches on hay through out the day and I try not to go overboard on his pellets as half of them just end up scattered around the cage anyway because he likes to throw the bowl around when the girls start chirping in the other room he’s going to be very happy to move in with them in 6 weeks time

If you could move his cage next to the girls, then they can get to know each other over the coming weeks through the bars. A smaller than recommended cage is temporarily acceptable. Please cable-tie any separating grids and make sure that he cannot jump or climb over - nothing he can climb on the adjoining side and if needed peg a towel or sheet over the dividing grids on Badger's side.

It will boost acceptance - they get to know each other, get over the initial excitement long before they meet and Badger can start earlier to produce a calming compound that boars in company with sows develop. It makes for a smoother bonding and a greater chance of it coming off.

 

[YvonneBlue]

I have a perfectly healthy skinny pig who has never weighed more than 800g (she averages around 750g) and all my other skinny pigs weigh in around 1kg. She is very active and vocal but just a very small stature.

I wouldn't worry too much as long as your piggy is happy and healthy.

 

[Wheekallweek]

Aw, he's just a bit small bless him It's amazing the variation in sizes and weights! We've had everypig from teeny tiny to absolutely huge