Guinea Pig's Weight over a year

[Piggywheekers]

Hello!

We've had our two boys for a year now and kept track of their weight as often as we can.
Here is the chart:

The yellow line is Squash, who has always been bigger, and the pink is Pickle.
As you can see, over the year they have trended down in weight, but never had a super dramatic loss

They are brothers from the same litter and are roughly 3 years old. I wonder if this is just what happens as they age or if it's something to be concerned about.
You can see that they usually gain and lose an equivalent amount to each other, it's really quite consistent.

They obviously always have plenty of hay and a regular diet of nugs and veg every day, and we weigh them at the same time of day every time

I'm booking them in for a general vets check-up, but I'd love to hear your thoughts

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
Your two boys are currently at the peak of their lives. I would however not worry about the weight going down a little because it is in parallel and it is well within the parameters of consistency. Some of the spikes and troughs are clearly weather related and coincide with the summer heat and the unusually cold early winter.

To put things into context: the difference between a full and an empty bladder is 10g and that between a full and an empty belly is 30-40g. Losing that amount over the course of a year is nothing dramatic; especially with reduced heating during one of the cold winters we tend to get every few years, which will impact on a higher calorie burn.
Running around with a dinner or two less on their hips is however nothing to worry about. The weight will probably pick up again in spring with the warmer temperatures and rich fresh grass.

What I would recommend is to feel around the ribcage whether each boy is a healthy weight or overweight/underweight in himself. That is going to put the individual weight range into the correct context and helps you to judge whether each boy is playing in the right ballpark. Only then can you put your graph into perspective.

It does however never hurt to have your boys given a yearly MOT.
Weight - Monitoring and Management (for checking the heft/BMI see chapter 3).

 

[Piggywheekers]

Hi
Your two boys are currently at the peak of their lives. I would however not worry about the weight going down a little because it is in parallel and it is well within the parameters of consistency. Some of the spikes and troughs are clearly weather related and coincide with the summer heat and the unusually cold early winter.

To put things into context: the difference between a full and an empty bladder is 10g and that between a full and an empty belly is 30-40g. Losing that amount over the course of a year is nothing dramatic; especially with reduced heating during one of the cold winters we tend to get every few years, which will impact on a higher calorie burn.
Running around with a dinner or two less on their hips is however nothing to worry about. The weight will probably pick up again in spring with the warmer temperatures and rich fresh grass.

What I would recommend is to feel around the ribcage whether each boy is a healthy weight or overweight/underweight in himself. That is going to put the individual weight range into the correct context and helps you to judge whether each boy is playing in the right ballpark. Only then can you put your graph into perspective.

It does however never hurt to have your boys given a yearly MOT.
Weight - Monitoring and Management (for checking the heft/BMI see chapter 3).

Hi Wiebke,

Thanks so much for your insight and your dedication to this forum!

That has definitely put it into perspective, I hadn't realised their bladder/stomach contents could make such a difference

I will definitely check their rib-cages tonight and book them in for a check-up. I think Squash can afford a little bit of weight-loss, but Pickle is so small we need to be vigilant!

Thanks again

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Wiebke,

Thanks so much for your insight and your dedication to this forum!

That has definitely put it into perspective, I hadn't realised their bladder/stomach contents could make such a difference

I will definitely check their rib-cages tonight and book them in for a check-up. I think Squash can afford a little bit of weight-loss, but Pickle is so small we need to be vigilant!

Thanks again

Pickle is on the smaller but side for a boar but still well within normal parameters. It that doesn't say anything about his health or overall life expectancy. I have had several sows that were just climbing over 800g at the peak of their lives live to 8 years and my smaller boys have (with only one exception who did come with a compromised breeding background) have all lived a perfectly normal life span of 5-7 years.
Just because only about 50% of all piggies fall into the arbitrary human definition of 'average' doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the other 50%; it is a common trap that far too many owners fall into, sadly.

You may want to discuss whether upping your pellet amount or your veg portion a little during the winter months would stabilise the weight more; especially if you have reduced your heating. Your piggies will have a higher calorie burn if the environment is colder. Since the weight graph is parallel it is clearly not down to illness but dietary and environmental factors which you should be able to work out and manage.
I am currently feeding more rich sweet meadow hay to account for the colder nights but will have to go back to use a bit more lower grade hay in the trays with those groups where I now have piggies that are looking a bit too chunky and rather top up any thinner piggies that still need extra separately while the others can loose what they do not need on their hips...

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

The graphs are interesting to see and as the ups and downs match for both piggies there is nothing to worry about. I agree with @Wiebke about the weather playing a role.
Overall it looks like over the 12 months they have both gradually lost about 100g each. It maybe that when you took them on they were both slightly overweight and that through being fed a correct diet they have slowly shed those extra grams.