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Adopted very obese piggy

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kales

kales

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Hi all!
I adopted Josie from my local animal shelter as a buddy for my Dow. So far the introduction is going great.
Josie was found as a stray....yes loose in the streets and someone called the pound.
As you can see we need some tlc and a major major diet. She is going to the vet next week. The vet at the shelter couldn't find anything medically wrong with her as to why she is so obese except that she must have just been given the worse diet. They think her eyes are to blame for this, but will have to see what my vet thinks. She weighted in at 1.30kgs!
I know I didn't pick the healthiest pig and we have a long road ahead but I think I can give her a good chance at a happy healthy life.
Any help with diet would be a great!
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Oh gosh poor baby :...
Is that fatty eye as well? http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html scroll down the page a bit to see the info....
Make sure you don't feed her too much, but be careful altering her diet suddenly may also cause her to become upset.
Give her lots of hay and pellets and not as much veggies :)
I'm sure some of our more experienced peeps will offer advice too :)
She's such a pretty colour x)
 
Just a note....... i have seen and held piggies of that size and they weren't fat, but just a bigger breed than my piggies.
I'm sure your vet will do a full check of her eyes, ears, heart etc... then advise :)
 
She's gorgous though, as is your other piggy. I'm sure she'll have the best chance for a healthy life with you. I commend you for rescuing a piggy that so obviously needed help.
 
Good ways to help lose weight are to scatter the food around and hide it in toilet rolls (cut along the middle to stop the piggy getting stuck) and egg boxes etc so they have to burrow and search for their food. Lots of floor time so they can run around. Avoid sugary veg like carrots and sweetcorn.

TBH 1.3kg isn't necessarily obese. My girl used to be 1.2kg and was fine. She's lost some weight now, but she was never obese. I have read articles that state as long as the guinea pig can lift their tummy off the ground when they walk then they are not obese. Rex/Teddy breeds do tend to be larger than others anyway I think.

Hopefully you can get her to a healthy weight. Have a browse around the forum for some ideas to keep them entertained and mobile. Pigs love to explore :))
 
Great for rescuing the poor girl!

Some people now think that fatty eye can be connected to heart problems, so it may useful to have her checked out for that, just in case. The link is not scientifically proven.

1.3 kg is not an extreme weight, especially not a for a rex breed, which can be larger. I have two girls and two neutered that are as heavy or heavier than that and they are free roaming in the living room all day with a sensible, mainly hay based/low pellet/limited veg diet!

Exercise and a good diet (go lightly on the pellet front and offer plenty of hay instead) should give her the opportunity to get rid of any excess fat. Guinea pigs have a fast metabolism. Sprinkle little veg or grass treats around or call her over for some special treat to get her to move once she's settled in. Please be aware that the regular weights cited for guinea pigs in vet literature tend to be much lower than the real average weight of adult piggies of either gender.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38805
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
 
Shellza said:
Good ways to help lose weight are to scatter the food around and hide it in toilet rolls (cut along the middle to stop the piggy getting stuck) and egg boxes etc so they have to burrow and search for their food. Lots of floor time so they can run around. Avoid sugary veg like carrots and sweetcorn.

TBH 1.3kg isn't necessarily obese. My girl used to be 1.2kg and was fine. She's lost some weight now, but she was never obese. I have read articles that state as long as the guinea pig can lift their tummy off the ground when they walk then they are not obese. Rex/Teddy breeds do tend to be larger than others anyway I think.

Hopefully you can get her to a healthy weight. Have a browse around the forum for some ideas to keep them entertained and mobile. Pigs love to explore :))
Click to expand...

She actually has hair loss on her tummy from her belly dragging.
I will have to se what our vet says, but thank you everyone for your help and tips :)
 
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