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New Piggie - Ferb

Rywen

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Hi Everyone, This forum has been so helpful! In October I adopted Ferb from a co-worker's family because they are away a lot and didn't have time to hold and pet him anymore. Ferb is a boar, approximately 8 months old. He arrived with mites and a URI. Thanks to reading this forum I got him to my local exotics vet ASAP so now he is over the URI and being treated for mites. I'm planning to build a c&c cage and adopt a piggie girl for him because he is lonely (after he's neutered, of course). Ferb is a little fellow for an adult male guinea pig, only about 700 grams. Here are some pigtures of Ferb in his playpen!

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1386439913.782281.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1386439953.806481.jpg
 

GuineaPigster

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Welcome!
Ferb is just darling looking!! Any ideas on cage size?
 

Rywen

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Thank you! I think he's a handsome little guy. I'm trying to figure out if I can fit a 2x5 in my dining room and still keep the dining room table, lol. At the very least it will be 2x4.
 

GuineaPigster

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LOL
Some people have ditched their dining room table for the pigs!!
I'm a huge fan of the 3x3 cage size. Have you considered that one?
 

Mama2piggies

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Ferb is absolutely adorable and is very lucky to have you! Hopefully you can find a way to make a 2x5 fit in your dining room. If not, who really needs a dining room table? (I'm just kidding)
 

Princess_Piggie

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700 for an adult male sounds a little underweight if I'm not mistaken. It's probably due to the URI that he had, not your fault obviously.

An adult male according to the site guinealynx (which we all worship for it's excellent medical content and advice) should weigh 900-1200 grams give or take a little.

Of course I'm a little fuzzy on whether or not 8 months is adult, I think they become adults at one year but I may be wrong. Either way he sounds little on the light side to me as my 5 month old girls weigh over 700 and aren't even fully grown yet.
 

GuineaPigster

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700 for an adult male sounds a little underweight if I'm not mistaken. It's probably due to the URI that he had, not your fault obviously.

An adult male according to the site guinealynx (which we all worship for it's excellent medical content and advice) should weigh 900-1200 grams give or take a little.

Of course I'm a little fuzzy on whether or not 8 months is adult, I think they become adults at one year but I may be wrong. Either way he sounds little on the light side to me as my 5 month old girls weigh over 700 and aren't even fully grown yet.
He's on the young side. :)
 

Princess_Piggie

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Still, 700 sounds a little 'slender' considering my sows are younger and still weigh more than him. Granted not by alot as they recently suffered a large weight loss (not to worry, they're being monitored and taken to a vet on monday), but still, when younger females are weighing in higher than your older boar, it doesn't seem like he's weighing enough.

Here is a chart displaying the weight progression of male guinea pigs over one year. Hopefully you can read it because with my poor eyesight I can barely make it out! https://www.guinealynx.info/images/Ferraretto_m.png
 

GuineaPigster

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700 is smaller, so it is probably also from medical issues.
 

Rywen

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I've thought about the 3x3. There's a natural alcove type space at the back of my dining room and a 3x3 would stick out too much (I could keep the table but wouldn't be able to fit chairs around one side of the table). If I can figure out somewhere to move the buffet that's currently in the alcove (instead of just sliding it to one side of the room as I plan to do) then I can easily fit a 2x5 instead of a 2x4, or probably even a 2x6!

Ferb was just at the exotics vet again yesterday. Apparently he has a very small frame and 750 grams would be just right for his small size. So you are right, he is underweight right now. I'm buying a scale later today so I can weigh him and keep track of it. The vet said to bring him in right away if he loses more than 10% of his bodyweight from when she first weighed him (he was 735g then). The Baytril was definitely suppressing his appetite (to the point where he wouldn't eat some of the veggies he normally likes) so he went on a probiotic halfway through the medication cycle and his appetite picked up. The family who had him were still feeding him baby alfalfa pellets, and the vet had me switch him to adult pellets, and she said that may also be contributing to his weight loss. I don't think he likes the adult pellets (Oxbow adult guinea pig food). Last night he peed all over them to show his disdain, he doesn't usually go potty in his food bowl.
 

GuineaPigster

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Yeah, Baytril can really mess with their tummies.
I don't think he peed in them to show his likes of dislikes...probably an accident. What was he on before?
 

Princess_Piggie

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You're vets correct in that all breeds etc have different frames and therefore different weight ideals. I'd say getting him up to anywhere between 750-800 grams would be your main goal at the minute.

Did you do a gradual switch to adult pellets, or just straight up switch them? That could also contribute to weight loss because a sudden switch of pellets can really mess up a piggles digestive system, and as you can see, it discourages them eating the new pellets also. Give him a mix of the baby pellets and the adult pellets and see if that encourages him a little.

Such a shame that the previous family didn't know how to feed the little guy correctly, but you're clearly taking great care of him. Hopefully tomorrow you'll see the scales go up a bit!

Sadly one of my girls dropped 44g over one week and went down to 719g, so I'm hoping to see some weight gain over the weekend. She went up to 722g on todays weighing, which isn't major progress, but any progress is good! She's seeing a vet on monday like I said though, so is her sister who lost 25g and is still gradually losing.

Feels good to know I'm not the only pig owner going through a weight loss worry though! (Even though it makes me sad to know your poor Ferb's a little under as well)
 

Rywen

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Ferb also might be younger than I'm guesstimating, all the family I adopted him from could tell me was they got him in the spring from PetSmart (hence the mites, I'm assuming). They said he was a baby. I thought baby piggies stayed with their mom's for 8 weeks but from reading this forum I now know that's not the case. Spring could mean anytime from March to May here. So he might be as young as 6 months. The vet said he might grow more, since we're uncertain about his age.
 

Princess_Piggie

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Excellent point, my girls are pets shop pigs too so I don't know their exact age, I'm going on my vets advice also. I do think your Ferb will grow quite a bit more because some pictures of male guineas show them as really huge haha!
 

Rywen

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I was mixing the baby and adult pellets 50/50. Yesterday the vet said not to give him the baby pellets at all anymore b/c it's too much calcium. He's certainly back to liking all veggies. The antibiotics had him dissing cherry tomatoes, carrots and red leaf lettuce. He still ate the green leaf lettuce and bell peppers though.
 

Rywen

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Thanks for the weight chart Princess_Piggie. I can read it! Not sure what the different colors mean though, is the key in a different language from English?
 

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Thanks for the weight chart Princess_Piggie. I can read it! Not sure what the different colors mean though, is the key in a different language from English?
I think its charting different pigs. :) The names are at the bottom.
 

Rywen

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Lol, I thought it was different breeds or something. Thanks for clearing that up!
 

agirlwithink

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Ferb is adorable! Welcome!
My only comment would be that neutering can be dangerous so you may want to consider adopting a little brother for him :]
 

Princess_Piggie

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@agirlwithink has a point, neutering isn't highly recommended unless it's absolutely necessary, it has it's risks. Deifnitely wait for the neutering until he's at a decent weight if you're absolutely set on him being neutered as well.

You're welcome as well! Obviously that isn't a 'set in stone' weight guide, just a ball park of how much some males weigh, how they progress in weight etc. Nothing wrong with a boar being bigger or a bit smaller than the ones on that chart. Glad he's back to eating all his veggies too :D
 
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