Skinny pig experts please help! - is my skinny pig underweight?

[lotusrod04]

Hi!

About 2 months ago I started caring for a 2yr old neutered male skinny. I already have two young females but this is my first time taking care of a skinny pig so I sometimes feel like I’m a little out of my depth haha.
I’m worried that there may be something wrong with my little guy but I’m unsure if I’m just not used to the way skinny pigs are in themselves. I worry that he’s a little underweight- I weighed him back at the beginning of Dec and he weighed 993g, then I weighed him a week later and he weighed 1023g. I weighed him yesterday and he weighed 945g, I know this is still within a healthy weight range but I’m not sure whether that’s a normal amount of weight to have lost in that amount of time. I plan on weighing him weekly or maybe even daily from here on out to keep an eye on his weight.
In terms of his diet, he has a constant supply of a timothy orchard hay mix, pellets and his serving of veggies daily (lettuce, cilantro or parsley, green pepper and cucumber every other day) - he eats all of this with no problem as far as I’m concerned. His poops are a good size and don’t seem to be soft or weird shapes. He also obviously has constant access to fresh water.
He generally looks skinnier than I’m used to seeing in pigs but I’m not sure whether that’s just because I have two fluffy chunky girls lol. I’ve added some pics of him below so that anyone who knows what a skinny should look like can let me know what they think!
The only other symptoms I’ve caught that could possibly allude to anything is the fact that recently he’s been losing what little hair he has on his nose (I’ll provide pics of him about a month ago and yesterday for comparison). The skin underneath doesn’t seem to be red or dry, he’s not scratching excessively and he doesn’t have an unusual amount of dryness anywhere else on his body. I’ve tried to do some research on this but there’s virtually no talk of skinny pigs losing hair online.
Other info about him that might be useful is that he was surrendered to me because his brother died last year and he’s been lonely, and his previous owner didn’t have the means to get another friend for him. They attempted to introduce him to their two female pigs but didn’t go about it the right way and as a result the girls bit a fair chunk out of his ear ( I took him in with the intention of gradually introducing him to my girls, which I’m currently in the process of doing. But because he’s been living alone for so long I fear that all three of them living together may not be an option. Their enclosures are all in the same room right now but my backup plan is to move the two enclosures closer, so that he can still be near the girls if he can’t live with them.
Also, his previous owner didn’t ever clean his grease gland so when he came to me he had a fair amount of grease and dirt built up all over. I’ve since made an effort to clear it off with coconut oil but he doesn’t enjoy it at all and so as to not stress him out I only do it in parts. So if he looks a little dirty, that’s why! (The marks on his side are not his ribs poking out).
I think that’s all the relevant info that I have, I’d appreciate any advice that anyone has for me! Thank you in advance!

 

[Roselina]

Hello I’ve just recently got a skinny pig Freddy bonded with my guinea pig Geoff.
When Freddy came to the rescue he was on his own ….separated from his sisters and living on his own
He lost weight and was very lonely, he’d been on his own for 2 months when I enquired about him
He was about 945 when he got there and was 880 when I took him home ( November) since then he has put on weight and is now 1010 - the rescue recommended readigrass daily to keep his weight up
I wonder if your skinny pig is lonely ……Freddy perked up straight away just having Geoff nextdoor and his personality came out when they bonded …they hit it off the first few hours …..it’s just my personal experience but hopefully it’ll give you hope

 

[Roselina]

Here’s the rascals
I was advised to only use fleece and vet bed in their cage due to Freddy having redness on the soles of his back feet

 

[lotusrod04]

Hello I’ve just recently got a skinny pig Freddy bonded with my guinea pig Geoff.
When Freddy came to the rescue he was on his own ….separated from his sisters and living on his own
He lost weight and was very lonely, he’d been on his own for 2 months when I enquired about him
He was about 945 when he got there and was 880 when I took him home ( November) since then he has put on weight and is now 1010 - the rescue recommended readigrass daily to keep his weight up
I wonder if your skinny pig is lonely ……Freddy perked up straight away just having Geoff nextdoor and his personality came out when they bonded …they hit it off the first few hours …..it’s just my personal experience but hopefully it’ll give you hope

That’s what I’ve considered too! I’ll bring his enclosure closer to the girls and see if he improves. If not then maybe I’ll search for a buddy for him…but either way thank you for your help! It does give me some hope

 

[YvonneBlue]

Firstly, what a handsome boy you have there

I have 4 skinny pigs, they range in weight from 800g to 1.1kg. I suggest you check his weight weekly (at the same time you of day) and if it is consistently dropping I would get him checked by a vet. From your photos he doesn't look like underweight. You would expect his shoulder blades to be prominent and the bones in his bottom to be showing if he was malnourished. As others have said he may just be a little lonely.

However, the hair loss on his nose is unusual and it would be worth getting this checked out by a vet. Skinnies are prone to skin problems and getting any issues treated promptly is important.

If you are going to bond him with your sows, please read the forum bonding guide. I found it really useful when bonding my piggies.

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

If I can help with any skinny specific questions, do ask. I have had skinnies for around 8 years now.

 

[lotusrod04]

Firstly, what a handsome boy you have there

I have 4 skinny pigs, they range in weight from 800g to 1.1kg. I suggest you check his weight weekly (at the same time you of day) and if it is consistently dropping I would get him checked by a vet. From your photos he doesn't look like underweight. You would expect his shoulder blades to be prominent and the bones in his bottom to be showing if he was malnourished. As others have said he may just be a little lonely.

However, the hair loss on his nose is unusual and it would be worth getting this checked out by a vet. Skinnies are prone to skin problems and getting any issues treated promptly is important.

If you are going to bond him with your sows, please read the forum bonding guide. I found it really useful when bonding my piggies.

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

If I can help with any skinny specific questions, do ask. I have had skinnies for around 8 years now.

Thank you for all of your advice! I really appreciate it He is a very handsome boy and I love him to bits truly.

Okay great, I’m going to weigh him regularly from here on out and keep an eye on how his weight does but I’m glad you think he doesn’t look underweight!
And yes I thought the hair loss was unusual too so I consulted a vet tech and she told me that because the skin doesn’t appear irritated or inflamed that it’s unlikely to be a skin problem. She said it’s more likely that he’s rubbing his nose on something in his enclosure! I’ve been keeping an eye on him to see if I can catch him in the act but I haven’t seen anything unusual yet. I’ll continue to monitor his behaviour and keep an eye on his nose and get it checked out again if it gets worse.

Thank you for linking the info on bonding, very useful! And thank you again for your help!