• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Sudden weight drop then back to normal?

Claire W

Claire W

Forum Donator 2024/25
Joined
Mar 23, 2008
Messages
37,150
Reaction score
29,764
Points
2,915
Location
Lancashire (Originally from Nottingham)
I weighed the piggies yesterday and almost had a heart attack to discover that Edward was 900g when he usually hovers around 965g - 980g

I weighed him today at the same time today and he’s 950g. Still lighter than normal but I’m not worried about 15g

Could he have just had an off day where he didn’t eat much or should I be concerned? Should I carry on weighing him daily or is weekly sufficient?
 
Claire W said:
I weighed the piggies yesterday and almost had a heart attack to discover that Edward was 900g when he usually hovers around 965g - 980g

I weighed him today at the same time today and he’s 950g. Still lighter than normal but I’m not worried about 15g

Could he have just had an off day where he didn’t eat much or should I be concerned? Should I carry on weighing him daily or is weekly sufficient?
Click to expand...

It is always difficult to work out whether it is a blip on the scales or not.

However, you have to be aware that the more often you weigh a piggy, the more the weight is jumping around. I would keep an eye on him over the weekend but if his weight stabilises again, I would go back to weekly weigh-ins.
 
Wiebke said:
It is always difficult to work out whether it is a blip on the scales or not.

However, you have to be aware that the more often you weigh a piggy, the more the weight is jumping around. I would keep an eye on him over the weekend but if his weight stabilises again, I would go back to weekly weigh-ins.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I don’t think it was the scales as the girls were all a normal weight. But I shall keep an eye on his weight over the weekend and hope that his weight stabilises again. It was just a worry to see such a big jump :(
 
Fingers crossed Edward just had an off day! Buttons did the same a couple of weeks ago. She went from 1150g to 1090g then back to 1138g the next day. To this day it’s a mystery what‘s caused her weight to jump up and down like this. She‘s since stabilised at 1110g which is a little lighter than she was but she seems happy. I hope your Edward will stabilise soon too! x
 
I’ve had “rogue” results like that, too. I’ve taken them as an indicator to weigh daily for a week to see what happens. It’s always worked itself out in the end. As Wiebke says, the more frequently you weigh, the more results you get that are different from what you’d be expecting.
 
I spoke too soon, he’s back down to 910g today 😞 He usually loses a bit of weight during summertime so I’m hoping it’s just a combination on that and his age but as the guinea pigs are at the vets on Tuesday for nail trims, I may ask the vet to give him a once over for peace of mind x
 
I’ve had Edward checked out by my vet this morning as all 4 of them were there for nail trims and check ups. Due to the fact he’s eating and drinking as normal and his poos are normal, she’s put his weight loss down to his age as he turns 6 in November x
 
Glad you got him checked out. It sounds like you take really good care of him.
 
I'm pleased to hear Edward is okay.
Peanut lost a fair bit of weight approaching his 6th birthday. He's happy and well and will be 7 at end of Sept. begining Oct. Wishing Edward many more happy days
 
Glad the vet gave Edward the all clear, try not to worry too much- I usually weigh weekly but if the piggies seem healthy I dont compare the weekly weights until the end of the month when I look for a general trend, it saves a lot of worry over the minor ups and downs, and you are such an experienced and devoted piggy mummy Claire you would know if anything was wrong without needing to rely on just the weight! One month Theo lost 60g one week then gained 80g the next week but I think that was down to herd dinner thievery patterns and not health related at all! Often if I calculate total herd weight, just for fun, the whole lot weigh exactly the same every week and if somebody loses a bit the piggy who stole their carrot has gained the same amount :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Glad the vet gave Edward the all clear, try not to worry too much- I usually weigh weekly but if the piggies seem healthy I dont compare the weekly weights until the end of the month when I look for a general trend, it saves a lot of worry over the minor ups and downs, and you are such an experienced and devoted piggy mummy Claire you would know if anything was wrong without needing to rely on just the weight! One month Theo lost 60g one week then gained 80g the next week but I think that was down to herd dinner thievery patterns and not health related at all! Often if I calculate total herd weight, just for fun, the whole lot weigh exactly the same every week and if somebody loses a bit the piggy who stole their carrot has gained the same amount :)
Click to expand...

Thank you and I will try doing that :) x
 
The more frequently you weigh them, the greater the degree of fluctuation you can see. If your vet has given him a clean Bill of health and he’s eating, pooping and happy then I would go back to weekly weighing.
 
I too wouldn't worry too much if the vet's given the ok. I find mine go up and down a bit on their weekly weigh ins, just look at the trends in his weight.

They do worry us, don't they.
 
My vet weighed him and said he had lost weight since he was last weighed but couldn’t find anything wrong and not to worry if he’s still eating, drinking and pooing normally and his weight loss is probably due to his age x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top