Guinea Pig weighing

[birkeneve]

I didn't do it before but I do now. I started to weigh my guinea pigs. They've all seemed to have lost some weight since the last weigh in but they get plenty of veggies and more hay than a field. When should I worry? Squeaks is a bit harder to weigh because she's enormous in length and girth. She doesn't fit in the bowl.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Weight loss is considered loss when it is 50g or more. Weight loss occurs when hay intake has been reduced. As you can’t know they are eating enough hay nu watching them, this is where the weight checks are so important.

At 50g of loss you should switch to daily weight checks. If the loss continues the next day then step in with syringe feeding to stop any further losses and arrange to see a vet. Syringe feeding daily.

If a significant loss of 100g has happened within a couple of days it is considered urgent. You should step in urgently with syringe feeding and book an urgent vet appointment.

So Squeaks is of concern if her weight is correct, and you should step in with support feeding and see a vet.
Rosie is at 51g of loss so is on the border there - she needs daily weight checks and you should give her some support feed and monitor for another day or so before seeing a vet if loss continues.

The other two are within normal range and are not considered to have lost weight.

The guides below explain further

Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

 

[Tory93]

Hey,

I agree with the above, but would also like to chirp in and say are the scales accurate? We have tried scales before where we way a pig and then weigh them again 30 seconds later and the weight is totally different. Have you tried weighing a whole bag of flour (so you know the exact weight) and seeing if the scales are reading/calibrating properly?

 

[fluffysal]

I use a small storage basket on the scales for my chunky boys.