Are my guinea pigs too chunky?

[tealguineapeeg]

Hello fellow piggie slaves,
I've got 3 gorgeous guinea girlies called Esme, Betsy and Dash, and 2 out of 3 are definitely carrying some extra podge. My chonky girl Esme, at her last weigh-in, was 1.2 kilos, and she's a 5 year old senior pig. Her sister Betsy, also 5, came close, weighing around 1.130 kilos. Dash, we've established, is a healthy weight, so we're not worried about him. We feed all 3 pigs the recommended amount of food, one plate in the morning and one in the evening, with a variety of food and not too much sugar or fruit. Could Esme and Betsy's weight gain be anything dangerous, or are they just naturally plumptious?
Many thanks for the advice if you can!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

Your piggies are all within perfectly normal adult weight range: however Weight is not the indicator of what is healthy for each piggy weight only tells you that they are eating enough hay to maintain the weight at each weekly check.
The normal weight range for adult piggies is huge at 600-1600g so as you can see weight isn’t a helpful factor! - but it’s also possible for a 1.2kg piggy to be overweight or underweight if it doesn’t match their frame - exactly the same as with humans.

You have to check their heft to determine whether they are a good body size for themselves - the guide I’ve added below explains in more detail but essentially you put your hands around their ribs and determine whether you can feel their ribs with a thin fat layer covering them (that is healthy). If you cannot feels ribs at all or you can feel every single rib then those are unhealthy (overweight and underweight respectively).

Their main food intake needs to be hay, with one cup of veg per pig per day and a maximum of one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day.

Elderly piggies tend to lose weight as they age and can become more bony - not all though!

Weight: Monitoring and Management
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. They sound perfect size to me. Post some pictures if you’d like to share

 

[CTWC]

Oh yes we need pictures

 

[tealguineapeeg]

Hello and welcome to the forum. They sound perfect size to me. Post some pictures if you’d like to share

Pictures definitely coming soon when I have the time!

 

[Wheekallweek]

I very much like the word plumptious

 

[lisamontgom]

Hello fellow piggie slaves,
I've got 3 gorgeous guinea girlies called Esme, Betsy and Dash, and 2 out of 3 are definitely carrying some extra podge. My chonky girl Esme, at her last weigh-in, was 1.2 kilos, and she's a 5 year old senior pig. Her sister Betsy, also 5, came close, weighing around 1.130 kilos. Dash, we've established, is a healthy weight, so we're not worried about him. We feed all 3 pigs the recommended amount of food, one plate in the morning and one in the evening, with a variety of food and not too much sugar or fruit. Could Esme and Betsy's weight gain be anything dangerous, or are they just naturally plumptious?
Many thanks for the advice if you can!

thanks for the information!

 

[lisamontgom]

Hello fellow piggie slaves,
I've got 3 gorgeous guinea girlies called Esme, Betsy and Dash, and 2 out of 3 are definitely carrying some extra podge. My chonky girl Esme, at her last weigh-in, was 1.2 kilos, and she's a 5 year old senior pig. Her sister Betsy, also 5, came close, weighing around 1.130 kilos. Dash, we've established, is a healthy weight, so we're not worried about him. We feed all 3 pigs the recommended amount of food, one plate in the morning and one in the evening, with a variety of food and not too much sugar or fruit. Could Esme and Betsy's weight gain be anything dangerous, or are they just naturally plumptious?
Many thanks for the advice if you can!

thanks for the information!