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Your piggy is very special, but you already knew that!
So let’s discover something you may not know:
Small changes in the weight of your guinea pig can indicate some very serious health problems. Early detection of fluctuations in your guinea pig’s weight can help you get your fuzzy friend the care it needs to stay healthy and strong.
Health concerns like bloat, malocclusion, anorexia, and digestive problems can come on very quickly, and are all potentially fatal if not caught early. The most reliable tool you have to keep track of your guinea pig’s health its weight, using 1) a digital scale, 2) a once-a-week weight check, and 3) a weight chart.
If you suspect your guinea pig might be dealing with an illness, it is important to weigh your cavy at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Whichever times you choose to weigh, be sure to follow the same weigh-in times each day.
Multiple weight checks each day is especially important if your cavy is not eating or is eating very little, or if you have to hand feed. Of course, if you notice dramatic weight gain or loss, you should schedule your piggy for a checkup with the vet.
A good rule of thumb for an adult guinea pig is:
One ounce weight fluctuation is OK.
Two ounces – Go on alert.
Three ounces – Extreme red alert.
Four ounces – Get the pig to a vet!
AVERAGE WEIGHT FOR A Male Guinea Pig:
900-1200 grams (1.98 lbs – 2.65 lbs)
AVERAGE WEIGHT FOR A Female Guinea Pig:
700-900 grams (1.54 lbs – 1.98 lbs)
Source: Guinea Lynx
The HappyCavy Herd is weighed every Monday. We have found that the HappyCavy female piggies weigh slightly more than the average weight. But so do the humans, so that’s OK. 🙂 But seriously, your adult guinea pig’s weight should remain stable over time.
The Humans use an inexpensive kitchen scale that they purchased for about $15 to check out weight each Monday. The scale is a bit small for guinea pigs, so they just set a book on the scale platform and cover it with a piece of paper. As long as you re-set the scale after placing the book and paper covering on top, the weight reading will remain accurate.
You can purchase a new professional kitchen scale from Amazon.com for under $20 here or here.
The HappyCavy weigh routine has twice been able to show the humans an abnormal change in Bitsy’s weight. The humans monitored her for a day and found that the size of her poo changed from normal to smaller and drier. She also began eating less, too. After 2 doses of a pro-biotic and a lot of TLC and handfeeding her Oxbow Critical Care, she was back to her old stuff within just a few days.
Get The HappyCavy Weight Chart
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You should be weighing and tracking your guinea pig’s weight each week.
You can use our free weight chart to help you record the weight of your guinea pig friend. Just download the version you want and edit the details for your pigs! DOWNLOAD LINKS: |
Thanks for the charts I like how it has average weight over time
its really important to keep a track of weight it saved my pigs life by telling me something was wrong
I just got a piggy from a pet store and I do not know how old he is…he is currently weighing 380grms and looks healthy. Any indication how old he might be?
We aren’t familiar with male weights, but the Guinea Lynx male guinea pig weight chart in grams should help.
According to the chart, and being that he’s a healthy cavy, he is probably between 4 to 6 years of age.
I can’t download the file… so I was wondering what information is on it so I can make my own copy on Google Drive.
Hi, email us at happycavy@gmail.com and we’ll email it to you 🙂