Pup weight?

[eednasnaus]

Hi guys! Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place but I'm worried for my babies.

After doing some more research, I found out that our little piggies are underweight.
I read that piggies weight should be at least 250 grams at 3 weeks.
I was searching for more posts in this forum too about a pup's weight.
I also saw a post from Guinea Lynx comparing their pup's weights. (Referring to this one)

They were born on January 18. The previous owner did not weigh them so we do not have any record of that.
We got them last February 12, though I was not able to weigh them then, they were fairly small.
We weighed them last February 18, Oreo's and Teddy's weight were both 165 grams. They've already gotten a wee bit bigger compared to the day we got them.
They are now in their fifth week, and we weighed them yesterday and Oreo's weight was 209 grams and Teddy's weight was 199 grams.

Although they've been gaining weight, I'm still worried. Should I feed them more?
I tried to cut out fewer pellets so they'd be able to eat their hay more since they rarely eat them. But now that I realized that they're underweight, I feel guilty because I felt like I was depriving them of food. I feel like such a bad parent. What should I do?

 

[Patch89]

Hello, below is a picture of my bumble when she was born and a year on. She has always been on the small size. For me personally I let them have an unlimited amount of hay and nuggets until about 8 weeks old when i reduced it. My advice would be to weigh about every 5 days. You could try some dry porridge oats as they are good for piggie weight gain. The fact they are gaining weight is a good sign. I wouldn't pile in the veggies because they are only little and you don't want to give them an upset tummy. Just stick to a normal amount. Thest important thing is hay. This is what keeps their gut going. Hope this helps a little bit.

 

[eednasnaus]

Hello, below is a picture of my bumble when she was born and a year on. She has always been on the small size. For me personally I let them have an unlimited amount of hay and nuggets until about 8 weeks old when i reduced it. My advice would be to weigh about every 5 days. You could try some dry porridge oats as they are good for piggie weight gain. The fact they are gaining weight is a good sign. I wouldn't pile in the veggies because they are only little and you don't want to give them an upset tummy. Just stick to a normal amount. Thest important thing is hay. This is what keeps their gut going. Hope this helps a little bit.

Oh Bumble is gorgeous! I guess I'd have to give them unlimited pellets for now. I'm planning to weigh them every Wednesday and Sunday. Will definitely take note on the things you said. Thank you so much! It definitely helped!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys! Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place but I'm worried for my babies.

After doing some more research, I found out that our little piggies are underweight.
I read that piggies weight should be at least 250 grams at 3 weeks.
I was searching for more posts in this forum too about a pup's weight.
I also saw a post from Guinea Lynx comparing their pup's weights. (Referring to this one)

They were born on January 18. The previous owner did not weigh them so we do not have any record of that.
We got them last February 12, though I was not able to weigh them then, they were fairly small.
We weighed them last February 18, Oreo's and Teddy's weight were both 165 grams. They've already gotten a wee bit bigger compared to the day we got them.
They are now in their fifth week, and we weighed them yesterday and Oreo's weight was 209 grams and Teddy's weight was 199 grams.

Although they've been gaining weight, I'm still worried. Should I feed them more?
I tried to cut out fewer pellets so they'd be able to eat their hay more since they rarely eat them. But now that I realized that they're underweight, I feel guilty because I felt like I was depriving them of food. I feel like such a bad parent. What should I do?

Hi!

Please take a deep breath and forget any weight charts. Birth weight can range between 40-120g - that is three times the weight between the largest and the smallest, and that gap will likely carry through life and usually get larger. If you have babies that were on the small side when born and their mother was not in the best of states/overbred/feed was not great, then they will be slower putting on weight. So what?

As long as your babies are growing nicely on a normal general diet and are putting on weight every week until they are about 4-6 months old and the initial fast growth phase is over, then there is nothing to worry about. Don't be tempted to stuff your babies with empty fatty/sugary calories for the sake of a weight chart and opt of a healthy sustainable grass hay (NOT alfalfa hay) based diet instead. This will allow your babies to realise their own genetically determined optimal weight and size and be as healthy and long lived as their genes allow them. Health is so much more important than fitting into a narrow box in the middle of the road that only fits about 50% of all babies anyway and which doesn't mean that the other 50% won't have a long, happy and healthy life!
Please take the time to read these guides here:
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

If it is any consolation to you, I have last month adopted an unwanted baby boar that was dumped into rescue; turns out that a) 'he' was a girl and b) the supposedly 8 weeks old baby weighed only 220g, which is about the weight of a 3 week old.
Begw came here to live with a fallen-out neutered boar of mine and is perfectly thriving. she has doubled her body weight within a month and is now working up to 500g - all on a normal adult diet with restricted pellets. She has still got nearly a year to go before she reaches adulthood. She'll likely never be a whopper, but like other adoptees of mine on the dainty side have proven, has every change to live the full average life span of 5-7 years.

Begw and Dillan 3 weeks ago, having nearly doubled the weight she arrived with in rescue on a normal healthy diet and with plenty of exercise.


Here is a video of the two of them during roaming/cage cleaning time while still in quarantine three weeks earlier, a week after Begw's arrival in rescue.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=484316332095197

PS: Here is my smallest piggy, Helygen, who is just aroung 700g as an adult with her bonded husboar Pioden, who is my largest piggy at double her weight (and he is not at all overweight for his large size)! Helygen is 4 years and Pioden is 5 years old; just to show you that average size and weight is not what matters; it is much more important that your piggies are a good size/weight ratio and healthy in themselves.

 

[Wiebke]

Oh Bumble is gorgeous! I guess I'd have to give them unlimited pellets for now. I'm planning to weigh them every Wednesday and Sunday. Will definitely take note on the things you said. Thank you so much! It definitely helped!

PLEASE DO NOT give unlimited pellets just to fill your piggies up and distract them from eating as much hay as they should!
This advice is no longer in line with new insights/research into nutrition! The empty junk fillers in pellets will take away from the real nutrition that is in the hay. Unlimited good quality hay is key to good healthy and longevity. The more piggies eat of it any stage of their lives, the better.

If you are REALLY desperate and do not trust that a good diet will get to the same place more slowly but more surely, then add a handful of alfalfa hay to their normal hay daily; that at least cuts out the fillers in pellets.

 

[eednasnaus]

Thank you so much for your insights and for taking the time to respond, @Wiebke! They are definitely very helpful. I guess I was just obsessed with the numbers and panicked a little when I realized they were indeed smaller than the photos I see around. I just want my babies to be healthy and normal. This definitely made me feel better.

PLEASE DO NOT give unlimited pellets just fill your piggies up and distract them from eating as much hay as they should.
This advice is no longer in line with new insights/research into nutrition! The empty junk fillers in pellets will take away from the real nutrition that is in the hay. Unlimited good quality hay is key to good healthy and longevity. The more piggies eat any stage of their lives, the better.

If you are REALLY desperate and do not trust that a good diet will get to the same place more slowly but more surely, then add a handful of alfalfa hay to their normal hay daily; that at least cuts out the fillers in pellets.

Thank you for this! I guess I'll just have to continue with cutting down their pellets.

If they do not each as much hay (since our hay here is dry and not fresh and they are only packed and imported from somewhere else), would giving grass be okay to add to their diet aside from the unlimited hay and regular veggies? Like side by side with their hay? Because grass is the easiest medium for us here to get as hay is very expensive.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for your insights and for taking the time to respond, @Wiebke! They are definitely very helpful. I guess I was just obsessed with the numbers and panicked a little when I realized they were indeed smaller than the photos I see around. I just want my babies to be healthy and normal. This definitely made me feel better.




Thank you for this! I guess I'll just have to continue with cutting down their pellets.

If they do not each as much hay (since our hay here is dry and not fresh and they are only packed and imported from somewhere else), would giving grass be okay to add to their diet aside from the unlimited hay and regular veggies? Like side by side with their hay? Because grass is the easiest medium for us here to get as hay is very expensive.

Your piggies still need as much hay as they can eat since too much greenery can cause fermentation and digestive problems, but you can make grass part of their regular diet, especially as you live in a part of the world where there is a plentiful supply.
Keep in mind that the South American grasslands where guinea pigs have mainly evolved have dried grass for most of the year.

Do not feed too much else to compensate for the hay as that means that they will eat less and less. It can become somewhat of a vicious circle.
Here are our tips on how you can get your babies used to grass without causing a tummy upset:
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

All these guides I have linked into your thread are part of our New Owners guide collection. You might want to have a read through it since we have done our best to put the most helpful guides together to help you to a smooth start; learn to understand your guinea pigs and also learn what is normal and what not and how to avoid some of the most common mistakes. The guide collection also contains tips for hot weather care, safe and unsafe toys, piggy whispering tips, spotting signs of illness early, a first aid kit, when and how soon to see a vet etc.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Wiebke]

PS: Have you considered researching whether you have equine suppliers within your reach re. nicer and likely a lot cheaper timothy, orchard or meadow hay?

Have some ivermectin at home in case your piggies catch hay mites, but they can come as easily from mass produced import hay as from local farm hay. Then the problem never has to get past nuisance level.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Guinea Lynx :: Parasites

 

[eednasnaus]

Your piggies still need as much hay as they can eat since too much greenery can cause fermentation and digestive problems, but you can make grass part of their regular diet, especially as you live in a part of the world where there is a plentiful supply.
Keep in mind that the South American grasslands where guinea pigs have mainly evolved have dried grass for most of the year.

Thank you! Yes, hay is still available 24/7 aside from the grass.

All these guides I have linked into your thread are part of our New Owners guide collection. You might want to have a read through it since we have done our best to put the most helpful guides together to help you to a smooth start; learn to understand your guinea pigs and also learn what is normal and what not and how to avoid some of the most common mistakes. The guide collection also contains tips for hot weather care, safe and unsafe toys, piggy whispering tips, spotting signs of illness early, a first aid kit, when and how soon to see a vet etc.

I've read most of the threads. I may need to re-read again because I may have mixed up the ideas from other places I've researched, but thank you so much for all your help! I really, really appreciate all of it!

 

[eednasnaus]

PS: Have you considered researching whether you have equine suppliers within your reach re. nicer and likely a lot cheaper timothy, orchard or meadow hay?

Have some ivermectin at home in case your piggies catch hay mites, but they can come as easily from mass produced import hay as from local farm hay. Then the problem never has to get past nuisance level.

What I know is that my country does not grow any timothy, orchard or meadow hay. I think the closes and cheapest one available here (which I think is still imported) is star grass hay, but they're still not that fresh. I get jealous every time I see all of your piggies get fresh hay. I guess we just really do not have that many resources as you guys have.

 

[Wiebke]

What I know is that my country does not grow any timothy, orchard or meadow hay. I think the closes and cheapest one available here (which I think is still imported) is star grass hay, but they're still not that fresh. I get jealous every time I see all of your piggies get fresh hay. I guess we just really do not have that many resources as you guys have.

It is difficult because we have to extrapolate from our European or American varieties, but it may be worth asking around what your horses eat in the Philippines. As long as it is based on grass hay and not legume hay or grain stalks (straw), it should be safe to try? All the best anyway!

You are a caring owner. You will have to read the guides several times over the next few weeks as different parts will make more sense to you once you understand more what is exactly meant as theory and reality collide.

Thank you for adding your country to your details. This will allow us to take climate, non-piggy savvy vet access, citing US brands and limited access to other special products into account when we make any recommendations to help you as best as possible.

 

[eednasnaus]

It is difficult because we have to extrapolate from our European or American varieties, but it may be worth asking around what your horses eat in the Philippines. As long as it is based on grass hay and not legume hay or grain stalks (straw), it should be safe to try? All the best anyway!

You are a caring owner. You will have to read the guides several times over the next few weeks as different parts will make more sense to you once you understand more what is exactly meant as theory and reality collide.

Thank you so much! Yes, I will definitely try and look around more. Hopefully, I can find other alternatives that are grass hay based. And I sure need to read the guides over again in order to get them in my head lol

I found a facebook post regarding star grass hay and other information in case you wanted to know more about it. It said that hay grass and legumes do not grow in our country and that it would die immediately because of the heat. (Link is here)

Thank you for adding your country to your details. This will allow us to take climate, non-piggy savvy vet access, citing US brands and limited access to other special products into account when we make any recommendations to help you as best as possible.

I've read that putting a location into the details is helpful. Now I see the use of it!

Thank you so much again for all your help! I feel so much better after this!

(And I love your avatar btw! So adorable!)