How much should they weigh

[Guinea pigs late' and bumbble]

Goodmorning, so this morning i weigh my guinea pig and bumbble weighs 773 grams at the age of 4 months is that normal and ok
His usuall diet is always hay a cup of pellets a day and night because theres 2 guinea pigs in the cage and daily veggies twice a day in the morning a bunch of parsley and afternoon kale and different salads (no iceberg lettuce included)

 

[Deleted member 145237]

My first question is, how big is the cup you're using for the pellets? I'm a newbie here on the forum and things have changed a lot since I had piggies 40 years ago but there are a couple of things I notice about their diet from reading the other posts here. One is the amount of pellets they're getting. They should only be having about a tablespoonful a day (hence my question about the size of the cup). I gather that parsley should only be fed sparingly and not daily (correct me if I'm wrong fellow piggy slaves). Salads/veggies should form just a small portion of their diet. Their diet should be about 80% hay and should be available 24 hours a day (you say they always have hay). Guinea pigs today are fed so much better than they were 40 years ago and there's so much to learn. Have you also checked out the nutrition guides here on the forum?

 

[Claire W]

I agree with the above. Your piggies should only be getting a tablespoon of pellets a day per pig. Parsley and kale should only be fed once a week as they’re both high in calcium.

As for the weight, it’s hard to say as like humans, piggies come in all different shapes and sizes but I’d say that his weight is fine. My 11 month old sow is weighing in at 1080g and is still growing

You may find the following thread helpful on what to feed Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Piggies&buns]

One cup of pellets is far far too much. They are not healthy for them and need to be kept limited to just one tablespoon per pig per day (depending on brand its usually around 6-10 grams worth of pellets per day). Pellets should only make 5% of the daily food intake.

Kale, parsley and spinach should not be a daily food. They are too high calcium which can lead to bladder problems (stone formation). One tiny amount once per week only.
They do still need calcium but letting the balance get out of kilter can cause health problems. It’s A very complicated issue and all we, as owners can do to keep calcium intake in check is to keep pellets limited, ensuring they don’t eat a lot of high calcium veg and ensuring the water they drink is filtered.

Hay is the main part of their diet -80% of their of their intake needs to be hay. Veg and particularly pellets are no more than snacks.

There is no set weights for ages - they all vary. You are looking for weight gain, rather than what their weight is at any given point. What is important is that they gain weight healthily - through good hay intake - and that their heft is healthy for the individual piggy. The individual number on the scales doesn’t entirely tell you the full picture of how healthy it is for that piggy. For example - my two boars, one weighs 1500-1550g, the other 1250-1300g and that is fine for them, both are fine in heft but if my 1250g piggy weighed 1550g he would be overweight as he has a smaller frame

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[weepweeps]

Weights vary from piggy to piggy. My Percy was 765g when he was 17 weeks old and then we got Pepper who weighed 940g at 17 weeks. They are both healthy.

 

[Guinea pigs late' and bumbble]

My first question is, how big is the cup you're using for the pellets? I'm a newbie here on the forum and things have changed a lot since I had piggies 40 years ago but there are a couple of things I notice about their diet from reading the other posts here. One is the amount of pellets they're getting. They should only be having about a tablespoonful a day (hence my question about the size of the cup). I gather that parsley should only be fed sparingly and not daily (correct me if I'm wrong fellow piggy slaves). Salads/veggies should form just a small portion of their diet. Their diet should be about 80% hay and should be available 24 hours a day (you say they always have hay). Guinea pigs today are fed so much better than they were 40 years ago and there's so much to learn. Have you also checked out the nutrition guides here on the forum?

Hi on my post i did say half a cup and by that i mean bearly a handfull also thats for both piggies not just one

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hi on my post i did say half a cup and by that i mean bearly a handfull also thats for both piggies not just one

Just for clarity, because your first post says you give 'a cup of pellets a day and night' - so you mean you give them half a cup each per day? If so, then that is still too much. They only need one tablespoon each per day. So if you give them pellets in the morning and in the evening, then they need half a tablespoon each in the morning and another half a tablespoon each in the evening.

 

[Guinea pigs late' and bumbble]

Just for clarity, because your first post says you give 'a cup of pellets a day and night' - so you mean you give them half a cup each per day? If so, then that is still too much. They only need one tablespoon each per day. So if you give them pellets in the morning and in the evening, then they need half a tablespoon each in the morning and another half a tablespoon each in the evening.

No i said the half a cup of pellets is for both of them its not half a cup each its half a cup for bith together so technically each guinea is getting 1/4 a cup of pellets

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok, that’s not quite how the first post come across so thanks for the clarification. 1/4 of a cup each is still too much. That amounts to three tablespoons each. They only need one tablespoon each per day. So if you want to feed pellets in the morning and in the evening, then you need to halve it - and give half a tablespoon per pig in the morning and half a tablespoon per pig in the evening.
Use an actual tablespoon measure rather than cup measures. Depending on brand, it will amount to around 10 pellets per pig per day (6-10 grams is around one tablespoon)