Guinea Pig Weight

[oliveandmabel]

I have just weighed my two piggies for the first time (they are almost 6 months old and yes I am aware it should've been done sooner but time just slipped away!). They are both the same age and one of my pigs (Olive) is 770g, while my other pig (Mabel) is 586g. Should this be a cause for concern and if it is, is there anything I can do to help Mabel gain weight? I've read on here that Olive is a healthy weight but I'm just starting to worry about Mabel.

 

[Lady Kelly]

You don't need to worry or force Mabel to gain weight. Like humans they come in all shapes and sizes. Checking the heft is better than going on weight alone. Feel the heft and you should feel the ribs under a thin layer of fat

 

[Wiebke]

I have just weighed my two piggies for the first time (they are almost 6 months old and yes I am aware it should've been done sooner but time just slipped away!). They are both the same age and one of my pigs (Olive) is 770g, while my other pig (Mabel) is 586g. Should this be a cause for concern and if it is, is there anything I can do to help Mabel gain weight? I've read on here that Olive is a healthy weight but I'm just starting to worry about Mabel.

Hi!

Guinea pigs - like humans - come in all shapes and sizes.

Please read our weight guide so you can work out your piggies BMI (whether they are a good weight for their size by feeling around the ribcage). This gives you the individual ball park in which each piggy is playing. The life-long weekly weigh-in is there to monitor changes in weight that could point to sudden or developing health issues. On a good normal grass hay based diet with only a modicum of veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day max your piggies will have every chance of optimising their genetically determined optimal weight and size until they reach adulthood at around 15 months. Not need to stuff a young piggy with the equivalent of chocolate and shorten their life span just so they fit your idea of weight.

Please take the time to read the weight guide. You should find it very interesting, from how weight changes over the course of a life, how to work out the BMI in detail, what to look out for in your weekly weigh-in; under- and overweight and what you can do in either case right down to treats and fattening veg. I bet you haven't thought of carrots as feeding a bar of chocolate to guinea pigs! You can find some more unexpected baddies at the end of the weight guide.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets