Guinea pigs hide illness well, and weight is often the first honest signal that something is wrong. A pig that loses fifty grams may look exactly the same, yet that is a real loss for an animal that weighs under a kilogram. This free weight tracker lets you log weights in grams, draw the trend as a chart, and see the change from the first to the latest reading, so small shifts stop hiding.
Weekly weighing is the habit that makes this tool useful. Weigh each pig at the same time of day, on the same scale, before breakfast if you can. Kitchen scales that measure in one gram steps are fine for guinea pigs, since pigs are much bigger than mice or birds. Put the pig in a light bowl on the scale, subtract the bowl weight, and record the result for that pig alone.
Using the tracker takes seconds. Pick the date, enter the weight in grams, and press Add weight. Each entry appears on the chart in order, so the line shows the trend at a glance. Press Clear all only if you want to start a fresh record, for example with a new pig. Your entries are saved in your browser, so they are still there next week, but they belong to one pig, so track each pig separately.
The numbers matter because the change matters more than any single reading. A steady line is reassuring, even if it sits a little above or below a book average. A slow fall over three weeks, or a sudden drop of fifty grams or more, is worth a vet call even when the pig still eats and plays. Weight gain matters too, since overweight pigs face heart and joint problems and struggle to groom.
A worked example shows what to look for. A pig weighs nine hundred fifty grams in week one, nine hundred thirty in week two, and nine hundred in week three. No single reading looks alarming, but the chart line falls steadily and the total change is minus fifty grams. That pattern is the moment to check food, droppings, teeth, and behaviour, and to book a vet visit rather than waiting for a fourth fall.
Do not weigh a pig that is stressed, ill, or newly arrived more often than needed, and keep handling calm and short. If the pig will not sit in the bowl, weigh the bowl first, then weigh pig plus bowl and subtract. Note moulting, illness, and diet changes beside your readings in your own notes, since all three move weight for healthy reasons and explain wobbles in the chart.
This tracker is a record, not a diagnosis. It shows trends, and trends help your vet, but only a vet can say why a weight changed. Bring the chart to appointments, since a vet who sees six weeks of readings can judge far better than one who sees a single number. It is free, it needs no sign up, and your data stays in your browser.
One more habit makes the chart far more useful: weigh at the same time and note the context. A pig weighs more after a large meal and less after a long floor session, so a few grams of daily noise is normal. What matters is the weekly trend, not the daily wobble. If you weigh on Sunday mornings before breakfast, week to week comparisons stay fair. Also note illness, new cage mates, and diet changes beside your readings in your own notes, since all three move weight for healthy reasons. If weight does not recover within two weeks after a dip, that is the point to call the vet, and the chart is exactly the evidence the vet will want to see.
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