Underweight Or Just Younger Than I Was Told?

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Chukkin

Chukkin

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Hi everyone,

So, today I weighed my piggies for the first time. I hadn't realised that this was an important feature of keeping piggies (my first time having them), but have built it in to cage-changing day :) Anyway, Ivory weighed in at 550g and Ebony 525g. I expected Ebony to be lighter than her sister as she does look slightly smaller. I was told that they were 12 weeks old from the place I got them, which would make them just over 15 weeks now. Does this seem small for 15 week old piggies? They don't look skinny, have unlimited hay and pellets, and get a cup of veggies each a day. I know they aren't starving as there is always hay in the cage and they don't go at it like they have never seen food before! Are they maybe just younger than I was told? Any ideas?
 
That sounds like an ok weight to me. My boys were 618g and 699g at that age - I think you expect boys to be bigger. I could be wrong though so have tagged @Wiebke because she will know best!
 
they ar all different. I have a tiny that is about 3 to 4 month old but is smaller than one of my 8 week old babies. As long as they arent losing weight and are happy and active they are fine
 
They seem healthy enough. I handle them daily and whilst cuddling, I check their hair, noses, and ears. I will weigh them weekly when I'm cleaning the cage and keep an eye on things that way. Thanks all x
 
my boys are around the same age as your girls and they're about 650g (can't remember the exact weight) but males do weight more than females so yours are the right weight, they gain weight fast anyway as my boys gained quite a bit over 10 days just can't remember how much the vet said they weighed, I'll have to ask when I go next week!
 
I had a similar problem yesterday got Bea and Bess together when they were 9 weeks old however Bess weighed 372g and Bea weighed 364g (tiny I know) last week they were kinda the same Bea 425g and Bess 428g but this week Bess 497g and Bea only 466g, what am I doing wrong?
 
Firstly you shouldnt become too fixated on piggy weights as all piggies are different. A fully grown piggy can weigh anything between 800 gms and 1.6 kgs. Even piggies from the same litter can vary vastly. The most important thing about weighing weekly is you start to get a feel for your piggies weight. What you are looking for are drastic changes in weight. For example a difference in piggy weight of between 30-40 gms can be the difference in a full or empty bladder. This is why it is important to weigh your piggies at the same time of day every week.

This is not an exact science for the reasons explained above but for young pigs in the early stages of growth you should expect to see a gradual increase in weight. As stated above weighing is all about trends which helps you understand what is the correct weight for your piggies. Any weight loss greater than 60 gms a week should sound alarm bells with you and it would be advisable to keep a close eye on your piggy and take the appropriate action by contacting your vet in the first instance as piggies are very good at hiding illness.

Lisa & Ali...x
 
Thanks to all who have replied - I am now not so worried about them as they seem to be healthy enough. I will weight them at the same time every week and just make sure that they keep gaining!
 
Weights can range a lot and there is frankly no ideal weight chart for piggies (unless you want to stress yourself out needlessly!). Smaller piggies will often keep growing steadily for that bit longer than youngsters form optimum conditions who grow very quickly at first but then pretty much stop when they come closer to their ideal adult weight. Yours still have nearly a year to go until they are fully grown adults from about 12-15 months old! Adult piggies can weigh anything from 800-1800g and still be considered normal; 900g-1300g is the average pet weight. They can also still grow and make up lost ground until they are about 2 years old if they have had a bad start into life.
 
When I got my last baby pigs I was told they were 8-12 weeks and they were 380-400gms so your weights don't sound abnormal. X
 
That sounds normal. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Use that weight as a baseline. As they are young and growing their weight should gradually increase each week. If they start losing weight, then you should worry.

I recently took on a foster guinea pig and her previous owner said that she was 16 weeks old. But when I brought her home I found that she weighed less than 200g. Now that is underweight. She has since put on a lot of weight and is happy and healthy :)
 
PiggieLove - wow, that is massively small! Bless her little heart! And bless you for taking her on and showing her what a good life is. The piggy in your picture is almost identical to my Ivory! She has little black and brown patches covering her ears and spreading to her eyes. Other than that, she is totally white.
 
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