In itself the number on the scales is not indicative of whether they are underweight. There is a large range of healthy adult weights. That range covers around 600-1600g (and sometimes a bit over that) so you can see why the number on the scales itself doesn’t mean anything.
You can have one pig underweight at 1200g and another overweight at 800g. It all comes down to their body type and their heft, which is determined by genetics.
We refer to weight in grams on the forum (and myself having never been taught lbs and oz anyway have no idea what that converts to in grams) so I have done a google conversion but I have no idea if it is accurate.
Their weights seem to convert to:
2.02lbs to 916 grams
1.15lbs to 521g
You need to check their heft to know if they are underweight. You put your hands around their rights and determine the fat level over the ribs. If you can feel every single rib with no fat layer than they are underweight.
If you can feel the ribs but there is a level but there is some fat then they are ok.
What you don’t want to do is try to make a piggy gain weight who is actually small but perfectly healthy with good heft. There’s simply no need to do anything other than continue with a normal hay based diet.
What the weight ie number on the scales tells you about is their food intake on a weekly or daily basis. They should be weighed every week as routine but switch to daily when you have health concerns.
Your unwell piggy is needing you to step in with helping him. When unwell they can stop eating enough hay and it is essential you replace his hay intake with regular critical care feeds. Antibiotics can knock his system.
If a piggy loses more than 50g in weight then that is because they are not eating enough hay (usually due to an illness) and you must step in with syringe feeding critical care aiming for a minimum of 60ml per day to stop further weight loss - the amount needed may be higher if weight loss continues after you start syringe feeding.
When syringing a sick piggy, they can need feeding every 2-3 hours. It all depends on the quantity that they are taking at each feed to get to the amount need to keep weight stable each day. Ie if he takes 10ml at each feed then he needs a minimum of six feeds a day etc.
Regaining lost weight post illness takes quite a bit longer and is done primarily through eating a lot of hay.
If your other piggy is small but has good heft and maintains his weight well then he won’t need critical care or any other measures.
If he does not have good heft then he does need measures to help him including giving him a couple of critical care booster feeds a day.
Please do not give a vitamin c supplement long term. Only ever give a two week booster where there is an illness.
Long term supplementation can actually make your piggies ill. Their bodies become used to more vitamin c than they actually need and they can then respond with scurvy if the level drops from that high level they have become used to.
Over supplementation can do more harm than good.
If you do determine they (and as I say as it currently stands your ill piggy absolutely does need support critical care feeding through his illness) are definitely underweight via the heft checks then there are things you can do.
(For your ill piggy, the priority at the moment is getting him through the illness and stopping any further weight loss until he is well again. You can look to getting him to good heft once he is better).
Pellets are only ever one tablespoon per pig per day. Please don’t overfeed pellets, they are not what they need in quantity in their diet. Doing so can mean they eat less hay as they’re filling up on other things which in turns will affect longer term gut and dental health as well as their ability to maintain a healthy weight.
If you over feed pellets then they will gain weight rather artificially. It won’t be healthy weight gain and as soon as you cut pellets down any weight they gained will be lost.
Please do not feed fruit. It’s not something which they ever need in their diet at all in fact and certainly never frequently or routinely. It’s not good for them, is not a healthy way to gain weight, too sugary and will cause gut and health issues, and potential risk of a lip infection if acidic fruits are given.
The main thing is lots and lots of hay in loose piles all around their cage. That is the most important part and nothing else should become a priority over hay intake.
One cup of veg per pig per day - safe daily veggies are lettuce, cilantro, bell pepper and cucumber.
You can give a small amount of plain porridge oats as a calorie booster.
Oat hay is fine for them to have a treat hay.
Lastly, are they in compatible pairs? Have you seen any behaviour which would indicate their bondings aren’t happy? Ie signs of bullying and being chased away from food?
It would be quite unfortunate to have a piggy in two separate pairs and both being bullied but it’s something which crops up.
I have added some guides in below to help you further
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...
Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
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)...
1 Health monitoring: BMI, weighing, poo out and body changes
- The importance of the weekly health and grooming body check
- Different feedback from BMI, weight, poos and body changes
2 Regular weight monitoring
- How often should I weigh?
- Weighing tips
3 Guidelines for changes in weight
- Weight loss guidelines
- Sudden weight gain and fluctuations...
1 List of available types of hay (with description and pros/cons)
2 Hay comparison chart (with nutritional values explained)
3 Assessing the quality of hay
4 Storage
5 Suppliers (UK - USA - Aus)
6 Further information, hay racks and hay treats
This guide has been written by @G&C in 2019 and updated for UK sources by @Lorcan in 2023.
The forum would like to thank them for all their hard work in researching and producing this very helpful and thorough guide!
Hay is...
