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Bloated Looking... But Not Sure Its Bloat?

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LB14

LB14

Junior Guinea Pig
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Evening all,

Just been doing my rounds of feeding, topping up hay etc and taking my piggies out for a cuddle.

Big bum Duke as I call him ran and hid so I made it my business to find him and catch him - as I do every day lol!

Anyway, I call him big bum because he's my largest and has got a rather round look to him.

I brought him into living room and sat on couch with him and realised his tummy looked really fat! I weighed him, he was 1172g on the 20th of Jan, and 1179g today so not a big weight gain that could explain it. His tummy is not hard or obviously bloated, but feels fat. I massaged gently as he had stretched himself right out and could clearly feel his guts moving so no worries about that side of things.

Would there be any explanation for this fat belly look yet no other than 7grams of weight gain in nearly 3 weeks if bloat was not the cause?

He is acting as normal as he does usually, looking suspiciously guilty of nothing as always and aside from a small complaint when I was touching his tummy (he doesnt like that anyway as it seems to tickle) he SEEMS fine.

Surely nothing to worry about then? But I'm just wary of how fat his stomach suddenly looks.
 
Just an add on, been reading through the forums and came across a thread about weight loss and gain. I don't think he is overweight as such as he is VERY active. More so with the weather not being as bitter and the piggies being allowed out in the garden to run around more ontop of their normal indoor running around
 
A guinea pig's weight can vary around 30g every day depending on whether it has a full or empty tummy and bladder, so a weight gain of 7g in three weeks simply means that his weight is stable! 1200g is a good average weight for an adult boar. The shape of the bum is genetically determined, not much you can do about it.

Bloat is firstly noticeable by a very taut, hard belly that sounds hollow when you gently knock on it. It then balloons up. if it happens, it needs to be seen by a vet as an emergency at any time of the day or night if that is at all possible.
 
Thanks for the reassurance :)

I'll definitely keep an eye.

All the herd do have a stable diet, and it's very consistent so I've never felt like I overfeed that could cause fatness if you know what I mean?
 
LB14 said:
Thanks for the reassurance :)

I'll definitely keep an eye.

All the herd do have a stable diet, and it's very consistent so I've never felt like I overfeed that could cause fatness if you know what I mean?
Click to expand...

I don't think you have to worry in any way.
 
Could it be that he just needs a wee and is holding on? Some piggies don't like too wee in front of people or outside their houses :) I know Honor would hold on when she needed a wee bless her.
 
Keep an eye on him. Has he just eaten? Sometimes guinea pigs stomachs look swollen/bloated when they have eaten to much. As long as he eats and drinks as normal and dosent seem I be in any pain he should be fine but if he starts showing any other signs of bloat you should take home to the vet straight away. Chances are if he does end up having bloat you have caught it early and he will make a full recovery ☺️ Good luck!
 
He's just fat :D And GREEDY!
I've been catching him shoving the other piggies out the way with his big bum when I put veggies in so I've changed the amount of veg that goes in and also take him out just before I feed. So what I do is take him out for cuddles, put the veg into the pen, give it a few minutes for the others to eat some, then put him back.
Seems to be working and he's not as pudgy looking as he was although his weight has not dropped :)
 
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