Weight Is 1129g considered overweight?

emma591 · May 24, 2016

So today, my youngest pig Periwinkle (1 1/2 yrs. old) was taken in for a routine health check. I had taken the first available appt., so he wasn't seen by his regular physician. He's perfectly healthy, but the vet told me that he was overweight at 1129g and needed to be put on a diet.

I'm no expert, but I found it kind of weird that he would say that. Their regular doctor has always said that they were at a healthy weight—even with my older one averaging around 1200g weekly. I also recall reading online that 900-1200g is considered a normal weight for boars. Nevertheless, I'm a little upset hearing this. They have a big cage that they can run around in, get floor time (though they're more interested in just...sitting and staring off into the distance), and I try to be very careful in what I feed them.

What do you all think? Here he was today at the vet:

lisa325 · May 24, 2016

From what I've read he's not overweight at all. Guinea Lynx says 900-1200 grams for an adult male, and of course you have to take into account that just like humans we all come in different shapes and sizes, so long as we don't veer too far from the so called "norm". He certainly is handsome and has a very healthy looking coat.

sallyvh · May 24, 2016

He is definitely not overweight.

It's incredibly difficult for guinea pigs to even become overweight. Unless they are fed an exorbitant amount of pellets and live in a tiny cage, they are fine.

I wouldn't worry about it, especially if they are fed a proper diet (unlimited hay, 1/8th cup of Timothy pellets, 1 cup of fresh veggies) and they have an appropriately sized cage.

Personally, one of my sows is 1390 grams and is perfectly healthy!

Fay · May 24, 2016

He's not overweight. I would recommend not taking your pig to this particular vet again. Make sure that the vet you see is an EXOTIC vet not a regular 'small animal' cat/dog vet who aren't trained to treat exotic animals (guinea pigs are considered exotic pets). It's likely the vet you saw was a regular small animal vet and not an exotic vet and if they were exotic trained they clearly need brushing up on their information. Regardless, I wouldn't bring your pig to them again unless it's for something extremely minor or if you really have no other choice in an emergency. I would certainly not trust them for anything more life threatening and would find a better vet.

bpatters · May 24, 2016

The GL numbers are based on lab animals, not pets. All but one of mine weigh (or have weighed) 1200 grams or more as adult sows.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html, and scroll down to "Determining the Correct Weight for Your Guinea Pig."

lunarminx · May 24, 2016

If your normal doctor is fine with his weight, I wouldn't worry about it. I had males that weighed almost 4 pounds.

lunarminx · May 24, 2016

And on another note, if he has a little bit of extra padding and gets sick, he has a better chance of not being all bones when he gets better. Once they get sick and lose weight, its very hard for them to put it back on.

emma591 · May 24, 2016

Fay said:
He's not overweight. I would recommend not taking your pig to this particular vet again. Make sure that the vet you see is an EXOTIC vet not a regular 'small animal' cat/dog vet who aren't trained to treat exotic animals (guinea pigs are considered exotic pets). It's likely the vet you saw was a regular small animal vet and not an exotic vet and if they were exotic trained they clearly need brushing up on their information. Regardless, I wouldn't bring your pig to them again unless it's for something extremely minor or if you really have no other choice in an emergency. I would certainly not trust them for anything more life threatening and would find a better vet.

This was in fact an exotic vet, but I've found he specializes in reptiles upon looking through the clinic's webpage.

That's what I get for assuming they'd schedule me with their regular vet. I won't be going back to him if I can help it, lol.

Thank you all, though! This is great to hear.

barbaramudge · May 26, 2016

My skinniest boar is 1139g as of an hour ago. My girls are 1250 & 1320 and my big boar was 1420 tonight. They are all on strict pellet rations. They run and jump and do all the normal happy piggie stuff. Our vet has never said they weigh to much. Their bellies don't drag.

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Weight Is 1129g considered overweight?

emma591

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lisa325

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sallyvh

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bpatters

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lunarminx

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emma591

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