Anyone who has ever owned a pet knows that it can be tricky to get a good weight for them. They’re wiggly, they’re uncooperative, and that’s just for relatively small animals, right?

Now think about being a zoo vet and having to weigh things like hippos and giraffes…it would get pretty complicated, right?

Luckily, people have learned plenty of tricks over the years – here are 20 clever ones you probably never imagined.

20. Just weigh the whole cage.

I mean, you could totally catch him if he got out, though.

19. If you don’t take have to take the koala out of the tree, don’t.

I guess that’s probably a good rule of thumb.

18. Little baby is big mad!

You put him in a bowl!

17. Are you weighing the human or the giraffe?

That takes one confident zookeeper.

16. That is a very large rodent.

But also somehow cute?

This baby bat sitting patiently whilst being weighed
byu/lizardschwartz inmildlyinteresting

15. I know this probably is supposed to keep them calm.

Maybe owls always look panicked.

I work at a bird banding station, and we use burritos to weigh the owls we catch.
byu/birdnerd111 inaww

14. Look at his little face!

Don’t take his blankie!

13. Just like weighing a human baby.

He looks just about as thrilled about it, too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvKV3uSlaRJ/?utm_source=ig_embed

12. A frog in a spoon.

So tiny!!

Forbidden cocoa puff
by inforbiddensnacks

11. I cannot get enough of these owls.

Their faces are priceless.

10. Convince him it’s a trick!

They love tricks, because they’re bored out of their minds.

9. A penguin in a bucket.

A penguin is cute anywhere.

https://twitter.com/EmWritesScience/status/1159575374621290497

8. Who knew they started out so small!

Just keep him in the water!

7. I cannot with this.

The cuteness is way too much.

6. It fits, he sits.

For a few seconds, anyway.

Our new kitten had to be tricked into being weighed
byu/Adamhanley inaww

5. He looks so happy!

He could teach my kids a thing or two.

4. That lion cub doesn’t look like it wants to sit.

There’s a cat for you.

3. Bless his heart.

Baby just wants to stay with his mama.

2. Can we have a whole page of these?

Or more than one?

1. I guess anything with long legs gets held.

It’s probably the safest route.

Here’s how you weigh a baby zebra.

(📸: @virginiazoo) pic.twitter.com/DrBr1ShsWo

— Erin (@erinruberry) September 27, 2018

I love the idea of working at a zoo, but I don’t think I could hack it.

Which one of these surprises you the most? Tell us in the comments!