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Are My Piggies Eating Enough?

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Dtk

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Hello everyone! I'm new to all of this and this is my very first post so not sure if I'm doing it right?!
Anyways back to the conversation title...
I have two male piggies called Ant and Dec (named this way because I am from Newcastle) and I have brought their cage inside because of the winter weather a couple months back.
Now my piggies have a very big behind and as soon as I put nuggets and veggies into their cage it's demolished within 15 minutes. When I leave for work in the morning I feed them 2 bowls full of veggies and fill the bowl of their nuggets. When I get home for work I usually put a apple in their cage and top their nuggets up. Every time I feed them because the food is gone so quickly and they turn their bowls upside down I feel like they may be really hungry but their also quite large piggies? Someone please give me some kind advise
 
Hello everyone! I'm new to all of this and this is my very first post so not sure if I'm doing it right?!
Anyways back to the conversation title...
I have two male piggies called Ant and Dec (named this way because I am from Newcastle) and I have brought their cage inside because of the winter weather a couple months back.
Now my piggies have a very big behind and as soon as I put nuggets and veggies into their cage it's demolished within 15 minutes. When I leave for work in the morning I feed them 2 bowls full of veggies and fill the bowl of their nuggets. When I get home for work I usually put a apple in their cage and top their nuggets up. Every time I feed them because the food is gone so quickly and they turn their bowls upside down I feel like they may be really hungry but their also quite large piggies? Someone please give me some kind advise

Hi and welcome!

Unlimited hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake, with a mix of veg making about 15% and pellets only 5% of an adult guinea pig's diet. Please feed fruit (including tomatoes) no more than twice weekly in a small quantity. Too much acidity can cause lip infection, which can become incurable and can kill in an advanced stage. A small slice of apple twice a week is all they should get.

You may find our detailed food and weight check guides helpful to arrive at a balanced mixed diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Guinea Lynx :: Cheilitis


Please
 
Hey @Dtk and welcome to the forum- I'm reasonably new I suppose- still discovering new things on here haha. I love the names of your piggies!!
I think all piggies will eat and eat- by the sounds of things your piggies get plenty. What breed are they- or is it possible you could show a picture? My own boar,Mo is reasonably large and he's only just turned 1.

Right onto what you said about your feeding habit. Pellet food should be given once a day (or twice a day if you give a smaller amount)and should be given in a sensible quantity depending on your piggies weights. They should get a cup of veggies in the morning-ones they can have regularly are bell peppers or a lettuce BUT DEFINITELY NOT ICEBERG. Cucumber can also be given a couple of times a week. Fruit should not be given everydat- especially apple because it has high sugar (also the pips are poisonous) however as a treat once a week or twice then it's perfect. Watermelon and grapes are also great- my pig loves banana! At night another cup of veg can be given. Though you aren't doing anything majorly wrong- it's hard to resist a hungry pig right?
You don't mention hay- guinea pigs should have constant access to hay more so then pellets as their jaws were not designed to munch pellets all day. Hay gives them their neccessary nutrients,keeps teeth down and maintains a healthy weight and digestive system. Maybe they just want to munch on that?

:) hope this helps.
 
Hi and welcome!

Unlimited hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake, with a mix of veg making about 15% and pellets only 5% of an adult guinea pig's diet. Please feed fruit (including tomatoes) no more than twice weekly in a small quantity. Too much acidity can cause lip infection, which can become incurable and can kill in an advanced stage. A small slice of apple twice a week is all they should get.

You may find our detailed food and weight check guides helpful to arrive at a balanced mixed diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Guinea Lynx :: Cheilitis


Please
Th
Hi and welcome!

Unlimited hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake, with a mix of veg making about 15% and pellets only 5% of an adult guinea pig's diet. Please feed fruit (including tomatoes) no more than twice weekly in a small quantity. Too much acidity can cause lip infection, which can become incurable and can kill in an advanced stage. A small slice of apple twice a week is all they should get.

You may find our detailed food and weight check guides helpful to arrive at a balanced mixed diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Guinea Lynx :: Cheilitis


Please
Thankyou for your reply! I've had my piggies for almost 4 years now and I am still learning a lot about them almost everyday. This is the first time I've been on a forum like this and all the info has been so helpful already
 
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Hey @Dtk and welcome to the forum- I'm reasonably new I suppose- still discovering new things on here haha. I love the names of your piggies!
I think all piggies will eat and eat- by the sounds of things your piggies get plenty. What breed are they- or is it possible you could show a picture? My own boar,Mo is reasonably large and he's only just turned 1.

Right onto what you said about your feeding habit. Pellet food should be given once a day (or twice a day if you give a smaller amount)and should be given in a sensible quantity depending on your piggies weights. They should get a cup of veggies in the morning-ones they can have regularly are bell peppers or a lettuce BUT DEFINITELY NOT ICEBERG. Cucumber can also be given a couple of times a week. Fruit should not be given everydat- especially apple because it has high sugar (also the pips are poisonous) however as a treat once a week or twice then it's perfect. Watermelon and grapes are also great- my pig loves banana! At night another cup of veg can be given. Though you aren't doing anything majorly wrong- it's hard to resist a hungry pig right?
You don't mention hay- guinea pigs should have constant access to hay more so then pellets as their jaws were not designed to munch pellets all day. Hay gives them their neccessary nutrients,keeps teeth down and maintains a healthy weight and digestive system. Maybe they just want to munch on that?

:) hope this helps.
Thankyou for your advise. I love the name Mo, sounds really cute haha! My piggies are almost 4 years old and I'll post a photo of them onto my reply. Yes I do give them hay, every morning I put a load of it in which 9/10 lasts until the next morning when it gets topped back up again!
 
Th

Thankyou for your reply! I've had my piggies for almost 4 years now and I am still learning a lot about them almost everyday. This is the first time I've been on a forum like this and all the info has been so helpful already

Please do not hesitate to ask any questions in our Care sections. You can find lots of guides and information at the top of our various sections if you'd like to browse. A lot has changed in the last few years. We are all still learning, no matter how long we have had guinea pigs - and we are a friendly place, as we haven't forgotten that we have all started out as newbies at some point, too... ;)

You also may find some of the links in our fairly comprehensive new owners information bundle interesting: New Owners' " How To" Starter Kit
 
Sorry I guessed that you would have - don't think guinea pigs would let us get away with no hay. Thank you the name is based off his mohawk haha. I only asked for pictures because some breeds are naturally bigger in size then others. Rexes,agoutis,Teddy's and some Americans can be quite big. Mo is an agouti cross. Hopefully pic will show just how big he is- though not fat as said by the vet. :)

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Sorry I guessed that you would have - don't think guinea pigs would let us get away with no hay. Thank you the name is based off his mohawk haha. I only asked for pictures because some breeds are naturally bigger in size then others. Rexes,agoutis,Teddy's and some Americans can be quite big. Mo is an agouti cross. Hopefully pic will show just how big he is- though not fat as said by the vet. :)

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Awwww! How overly and cute he looks! Yes my piggies go crazy when I put new hay in haha. Until tonight when I've registered on this site I didn't even know you could get different breeds of piggies, it's blew my mind Almost 4 years and I'm still learning something new all the time, just wish I found this forum sooner! In the pic you've posted, is that a hay rack or just another cage next to Mo's? Because in currently just put mine into the cage in a pile and was thinking of getting the rack but they love lying underneath it too much I think
 
I've kept piggies for almost 20 years and I still learn something new most days on the forum. But breeds and colours beat me each time.
 
Awwww! How overly and cute he looks! Yes my piggies go crazy when I put new hay in haha. Until tonight when I've registered on this site I didn't even know you could get different breeds of piggies, it's blew my mind Almost 4 years and I'm still learning something new all the time, just wish I found this forum sooner! In the pic you've posted, is that a hay rack or just another cage next to Mo's? Because in currently just put mine into the cage in a pile and was thinking of getting the rack but they love lying underneath it too much I think



It's a hay rack though sometimes I do stuff his hay in a tube. It's believed he actually has a hay allergy though since changing hay he's been much better ( just had the sneezes- I was worried it was a URI but vet ceased my worrying). I do advise a hay rack only because it keeps the bulk up off the floor for when they skid their bums along the ground. Though hay on the floor isn't a problem either. And yes the amount of breeds and colour variety surprised me- the ones I listed isnt even a handful! Haha
 
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In the pic you've posted, is that a hay rack or just another cage next to Mo's? Because in currently just put mine into the cage in a pile and was thinking of getting the rack but they love lying underneath it too much I think

I feed hay only from the floor - I tried from a rack as well but they wouldnt eat it from there and they love hiding in it so much I couldn't bear to see if taking the hay away from the floor made them eat it from the rack. It is messier though and more gets pee'd on!
 
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