Weight and weighing

[Gemma McD]

Just wondering what a healthy weight for a sow should be? Should I be doing regular weight checks, if so how often and how do I go about weighing the girls?! If I discovered they were over or under weight how would I go about decreasing or increasong weight? This has all come about from hubby commenting their bellies are on the floor and no wonder when I'm always giving them fruit and veg! Want to make sure I'm not making them fat little piggies |)

 

[rachelsharp]

i'm not too sure on the best weight for piggies, but my two fully grown girls seem to hover around the 1kg mark.

i didn't ever weigh my pigs unless they were at the vets. recently though i was suspicious that there was something wrong with one of my pigs (it turns out she has cysts on her ovaries). i knew she looked bigger, and weighed her, but because i didn't weigh her regularly i was clueless whether it was more or less. long story short i've been advised to weigh all my pigs once a week to keep a record, then you're more likely to notice if the weight changes dramatically and can indicate something could be wrong. i just use little electronic kitchen scales and pop them in a plastic box of some sort.

sometimes i get the fat comment for my piggies, but they seem to be slightly chubby naturally! mine have lovely round tummys and chubby chins but are happy and healthy

 

[flintstones]

Fred is wonderful at demonstrating how you weigh a Guinea Pig.

There is no 'average' weight for a Guinea Pig, I have one Guinea Pig that weighs 864 grams, but another Guinea Pig on the same diet weighs 1130 grams both are healthy Guinea Pig's and to be fair they range from 800 grams or less to 1500 grams.

I weigh my Guinea Pig's weekly - must be at the same time before food I generally weigh first thing in the morning. The reason you weigh your Guinea Pig is to spot illness, I have spotted 3 illnesses very early on due to the fact they have lost weight. A weight loss of 30 grams could be the difference of a full or empty bladder what you are looking for is a pattern.

For Instance, For 3 consecutive weeks Patrick has lost 20 grams that to me requires a vet visit.

 

[PiggyLove]

900-1200 grams for males
700-900 grams for females

taken from
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

my Piggy was nearly 3 year old male and he was 1400g

I would advise you use digital scales as the spring ones are not so accurate in my experience

 

[flintstones]

900-1200 grams for males
700-900 grams for females

taken from
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

my Piggy was nearly 3 year old male and he was 1400g

There is no accurate weight for a Guinea Pig they all vary and as long they get a balanced diet, exercise and hay they will maintain there correct body weight.

When weighing you are looking for illness - not obese pigs granted some pigs go into rescue that live in a shoe box and all they can do is eat these pigs are overweight due to poor living conditions and neglect. These pigs when introduced to the correct environment, food and exercise loose the excess baggage quickly, please do not put your pigs on unnecessary diets. GuineaLynx is a fabulous resource but some of the information is out dated and you will find most people's pigs are not within that weight range.

Weigh Weekly!

http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

 

[flintstones]

I can't amend my above post what GuineaLynx states:

Every guinea pig is different. Veterinary reference books frequently cite adult weights of:

900-1200 grams for males
700-900 grams for females

These weights do not seem typical nor representative of pet guinea pig. Male and female weights are often similar and overall weight is generally higher.

 

[Wiebke]

There is no "right" weight for guinea pigs - those Guinea Lynx numbers provided are cited as the ones most widely given in vet texts, but as NOT being appropriate for most pet piggies.

Adult guinea pig weight can actually vary as widely as 800g-1800g; the average seems to be about 900g-1400g (my piggies, for instance, cover the whole range from 900-1400g, and they are all OK as piggies go).

When weighing regularly, you are not looking for an absolute weight, you are mainly looking for changes in weight that indicate a possible illness/health problem. Guinea pigs can lose weight even though you think you have seen them eating - they may have just nibbled or not eaten enough!

Always weigh your piggies daily when you are suspecting/treating for an illness.

 

[Amanda1801]

Fred is wonderful at demonstrating how you weigh a Guinea Pig.

There is no 'average' weight for a Guinea Pig, I have one Guinea Pig that weighs 864 grams, but another Guinea Pig on the same diet weighs 1130 grams both are healthy Guinea Pig's and to be fair they range from 800 grams or less to 1500 grams.

I weigh my Guinea Pig's weekly - must be at the same time before food I generally weigh first thing in the morning. The reason you weigh your Guinea Pig is to spot illness, I have spotted 3 illnesses very early on due to the fact they have lost weight. A weight loss of 30 grams could be the difference of a full or empty bladder what you are looking for is a pattern.

For Instance, For 3 consecutive weeks Patrick has lost 20 grams that to me requires a vet visit.

I had no idea Fred was so gorgeous! x) More Fred photos please! drool

 

[Gemma McD]

OK I've weighed them and we did have fun! Trying to weigh piggies on my bathroom scales as I have no kitchen ones |) I tried to make it easy and just plop them on it, Ginny sat still but Saffy wouldn't and only got agitated, so cue some weighing of pigloo then getting just one piggy at a time in it! Got there in the end and marked the weights on my calendar so I'll know when I did it and what they weighed. Ginny is 907g and Saffy 680g, she is much smaller and a few months younger but the big difference is concerning me. Ginny is about a year and Saffy around 8 months, they are mother and daughter. Is Saffy's weight OK in relation to Ginny's, or is it something I must monitor incase of problems? Not used to all this weighing, I don't even weigh myself and stopped weighing my son when he reached 18months

 

[Forbes]

I want to make you guys know that people want to confirm their fitness level
should check their fitness level with the help of BMI test.
I hope this would be an easy and reliable way for you guys.

 

[Connie]

?

I have two boys, the same age, from the same litter, and they have always had a 50g weight difference, like people say even full grown adult piggies can vary by up too 500g! So no, the weight difference would not be worrying to me. Just keep weighing them and monitoring the patterns.