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Boar Has to go on a Diet

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Priestess

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Hi.

I take my 2 male piggies every 2 - 3 months for a check up & to get their nails clipped.

On my last visit the vet (i had never seen before) commented that one of my piggies was the biggest & heaviest piggy he had ever seen.

My Sid is 1600 grams & said he had put 100 grams on since his last visit.

Vet said that a average pig should be approx 1000 & 1200 grams but would except that Sid would be more like 1200 grams as he has a very long body.

Vet has now advised that he has to go on a diet because he could become a diabetic. I did not think that a guinea pig could get diabetes.

I am finding it very difficult to reduce his food. The vet said he can have as much hay as he likes & was not too fussed about his fresh food but was more concerned about his dried food & treats.

I have always made sure that their bowls (rabbit bowl / medium ) are full everyday & the vet said it is far too much.

The problem i am now having is that i am giving him half a bowl & its gone by the night time & he is constantly looking for food. I am piling the hay in constantly but he never stops chewing lol

Any suggestions on how much dried food he should have?
 
off the top of my head the recommended amount of pellets (Pets at home) is 40g each pig per day. maybe more exercise? I've heard putting food bowls and water at opposite ends encourage them to move more. What about hand feeding his veg? One piece at one end of the cage then the other at the other end? You could also reduce his food a little everyday and give it in two sittings.
 
I have a female piggy who weighs nearly 1.5 kg :) I wouldn't worry too much about his weight to be honest.

As a guide I only give my 3 a tablespoon of pellets each once in the morning, after hay & vegges, then in the evening again after hay & veggies. On top of that they get unlimited hay 24/7. To me pellets/dried food aren't natural food & may contain stuff that isn't good for them (eg Gertie has colourants in etc) I am sure the packets give recommended daily amounts on the side, but it is a bit too much I think. I would gradually decrease his pellets over time. Mine always clear the bowl & there is never any left over, so if you have leftover pellets at the end of the day then he is getting too many lol :))
 
Thank you both for suggestions.

I will try both of them.

I think i am a bit too soft with my boys to be honest. You think they have never been fed. The noise & the constant running up & down when the hear a bag rustle or the fridge door open is unbelievable.
I do think most of the problem is their treats. If the treats run out they are given more straight away. I think really i will be killing them with kindness if i continue to feed them the same as the last 3 yrs.
That's it Mom is getting tough with them lol

Thanks for your advice.
Much appreciated
 
What food are you feeding? If you're feeding a museli type food then gradually switching over to pellets such as Burgess excel or harringtons may be a good idea as they tend to be less fattening. Then read the guidelines on the packets (usually suggests 35-50g per pig per day), find something you can use as a scoop (tablespoon, small yoghurt pot) and weigh out the reccommended amount so you know how much it is. Feed half in the morning and half in the evening, you can mix it in with herb/hay type forage or chopped veggies to make it more challenging/interesting. So long as you're feeding a constant supply of hay and he's getting his half cup of veggies he's not going to go hungry.

Other things you can do is put pellets and hay in something like a large paper bag so he has to forage for them, or you can use a split toilet roll tube, cardboard box, treat ball etc.

This link may be of interest - http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
 
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Thank you for reply.

I will try all these suggestions.

They are on pellet food
 
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