There are
many signs that your guinea pig may be experience health problems, such as lethargy and loss of appetite. Guinea pigs instinctively hide their illnesses, however, so by the time we begin showing these signs, the health of your piggy may already be in dire condition. We do this because we are prey animals, and in the wild, appearing to be healthy even when we're not is a survival strategy. This is also why we instinctively run if we hear a loud sound or a human hand reaches into our cage. It is better to detect health problems as early as possible, and one of the best ways you can monitor the health of your guinea pig is weigh us weekly.
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| Buffy only weighs 839 grams. That makes her easy to push around! |
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| I weigh 1,102 grams. I'm a strong, healthy weight! |
How should you interpret the numbers after you weigh them? According to
Guinea Lynx, female guinea pigs kept as pets have a weight range of 1,000-1,600 grams. (If you own a
cuy, your piggy should weigh quite a bit more.) It's not quite as important that your guinea pig's weight falls within a certain range; what really matters is how much their weight fluctuates from week to week. Your guinea pig should not gain or lose more than an ounce (about 28 grams) grams in a week. The loss or gain of 2-3 ounces (56-85 grams) is cause for alarm, and the loss or gain of 4 ounces (113 grams) means you should get your piggy to the vet as soon as possible!
If your guinea has trouble fitting on your scale, or just won't sit still long enough for you to get a reading, you can put them in a container such as a loaf pan and use the tare feature of your scale to cancel out the weight of the container before placing your piggy in it.
My boys, especially the one who had recently been sick, LOVE to be weighed. I think he thinks he's sitting on a pedestal and that he is special. Of course he's special!
ReplyDeleteAll piggies are special :)
ReplyDeletehi booboo here as you read my owner was worried about me not coming out when she was refilling my hay thing the problem is it's quite lonely with just me even though she lets me look at movies with her. last time I didn't come out because I'm lonely right now she is sick and so is her sister so she can't spend much time with me anymore. and two of her aunts think I'm the reson why they got sick and I really want a friend but all tree of us(me,her,and her dad) don't thing it's going to go very well. plus I don't want to waste money buying a new cage, another water bottle,and the guinea pig it's self please I want a new friend but I don't want to waste a lot of money either please help me make a good chosse.
ReplyDeleteHi Booboo,
ReplyDeleteRead this to help you decide if you should get a second guinea pig: http://www.cavysavvy.blogspot.com/2012/08/should-i-get-another-guinea-pig.html
Also, please keep in mind that humans cannot get sick from their guinea pigs. Guinea pigs can only get other guinea pigs sick.
Good luck! If you decide not to get a second pig, you should consider giving booboo extra floor time.
booboo again how do you stick together just like that? haven't you fought before besides lola biting broccoli? ohh got to go veggie time leh go
ReplyDelete