Guinea pig how old is my

With cats and dogs, it is common for a vet to estimate age by looking at teeth. They grow continuously, essentially replacing themselves over time and ensuring her secret is always safe. A newborn guinea pig may weight anywhere for 60 to grams and be 3 to 4 inches long, depending on genetics and size of the litter. If your New Guinea Pig is gaining weight steadily and quickly, they are probably a few weeks to a few months old.

In a matter of weeks, the little ones can double in size! Weight gain becomes more gradual around 5 -7 months of age. They reach their true skeletal size before one year old, but may continue to put on weight slowly until they are about 18 months old.

After this point in adulthood, it can be nearly impossible to guess their true age until they approach the senior years. While she may never let her true age slip, she may give you a few clues throughout the years. Young adult guinea pigs will have straight nails. Seniors often have crooked and thicker nails.

As guinea pigs age, white nails may start to turn yellow. This is one indication that your adult guinea pig may be closer to 4 or 5 than 2 or 3. As guinea pigs age, they lose muscle tone. A loss of muscle may lead to saggy bellies and necks, but bony backs. This loss of muscle can also affect the jaw, causing the back molars to wear unevenly and cause problems.

As the guinea pig ages, teeth will yellow, develop ridges and sometimes break. The animal needs the abrasive silicates found in grass hay to help wear down the teeth throughout his life. Healthy young guinea pigs will weigh around 18 ounces by the time they are 3 months old and will grow to between 24 and 42 ounces by 1 year. The hind ends of guinea pigs spread as they age, particularly in females who have given birth.

Testicles will become visible on males by 6 weeks old. Indulging her passion for vacation vagary through the written word on a full-time basis since , travel funster Jodi Thornton-O'Connell guides readers to the unexpected, quirky, and awe-inspiring. So what is considered a 'typical' or 'normal' size for a guinea pig? The following figures should give you a rough idea of how long your cavy should be at various stages in its life. At birth, a guinea pig will generally measure around cm inches.

You should expect some natural variation in size between the animals in a litter, with some bigger than others.

The number of pups in the litter also has an effect on how big each baby is - a larger litter will tend to produce smaller offspring. This makes sense because the more babies there are, the less room they have to grow when inside the sow. Litter sizes tend to vary from 1 to 6 pups, with a typical birth producing 3 babies.

A baby guinea pig measures just cm and easily fits into the palm of your hand. Image by Patrick Haney. Guinea pigs grow very rapidly, and will double in size to around cm inches after just 8 weeks. After this point their growth will slow somewhat, but they will still get significantly larger in a fairly short period of time, reaching around cm inches after 16 weeks. In fact, your cavies will continue to grow until they are about 14 months old, by which time they will have reached around cm inches long.

At this point they are considered to be fully grown, and will not get any bigger. A fully grown guinea pig can be up to 30 cm long.