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Exercise Advice For My Not So Little Piggie

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Pippa&Millie

Pippa&Millie

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Hello all,
I am in desperate need of some advice. For a while now we have noticed my darling guinea, Pippa, has been getting fatter.

She is a greedy minx, constantly screaming for food, eating more than her share and swiping food from her companion, Millie. Every time the bowl runs out she tips it over and lies on top of it squeaking until we come to her rescue.

We went to the vet today for some grooming and she weighed in at 1.6kg! So, now i am on a mission to get her to lose some weight as I'm worried it may impact on her health, the vet said she had the biggest belly she had felt :(

We don't over feed her, but the problem is that she eats the majority of the food leaving poor millie with the scraps. For that reason we can't just decrease the portions as Millie is quite small and doesn't need to lose weight. We have stopped all treats as Pippa just eats her own and steals Mille's.

So my question is in regards to exercise. I have tried again and again to take her out to give her a run around but she is just not interested. She takes a little snoop around then just takes a nap on the floor.
The only way we can get her to really move is if we dangle food in front of her.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to get this lovable lazy lump up and moving?

Thank you!
 
Hi and welcome!

I would strongly recommend to feed veg and pellets several times a day in smaller quantities that can be eaten in one sitting and in well separated bowls to give your companion a chance at eating her own portion. Don't leave anything out for Pippa to gobble down except hay (which should make 80% of the daily food intake), so she isn't missing out on anything. if necessary, separate your girls during meal times, but make always sure that they get the same foods. Pippa is going to be very upset if she can sniff extra treats she is missing out on.

You may find these threads here helpful, which contain a number of tips:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ng-ideal-weight-overweight-underweight.38805/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
 
Thank you for the tips. We do actually have separate bowls for them for that exact reason but Pippa eats twice as fast as Millie then rushes over, pushes Millie aside and eats her portion.

I think smaller portions more frequently may be a good idea! May just have to take her out for cuddles if she tries to eat Millie's portion.

I will also increase the hay they have, we invested in a metal cage that hangs the hay higher up so they at least have to make some effort to get to it.

haha indeed, she would not be impressed at all. She has quite the personality and isn't shy in portreying her demand.
 
Your threads were extremely useful!
In regards to treats, should we just cut them out completely?

We don't even give them every month just when someone picks them up randomly. In may they have had two.

Its one of those seed sticks you hang up which they absolutely love and is usually demolished in a few hours.
 
Hi, I think the main problem might be the treat sticks! They say they're suitable for guinea pigs when in actual fact they're very fattening for them and not suitable at all. I would stop feeding the treat sticks entirely. The only treats that are piggy-safe are dried forage mixes, hay-based treats without any honey or seeds, and smalls amounts of fresh fruit very occasionally (e.g. apple, pear, kiwi, melon, strawberry. You can also feed a tiny slice of banana once or twice a month). Although I wouldn't feed fruit at all until Pippa, Harley, and Romeo are at normal weights. You can still give Millie fruit though, just remember to feed it in moderation. I would suggest twice a week at the very most.
 
I think the treat sticks do contribute but they are honestly a rare appearance. We stopped fruit as we read that it was very sugary and fattening.

I tried taking her out for a run about but as usual it was to no avail. She has a little sniff but shows no interest in running about. She will just find a spot to get cosy or crawl and sit on your lap/foot....cute i must admit! There are times when she is in an adventerous mood but its not often enough to get the exercise she desperately needs.

Ironically the only way we can get her to run is by dangling veg in front of her face :hmm:.
I wonder if i just keep on taking her out she will start to explore more? If anyone has any tips for a lazy guinea please share!
 
What sort of set-up do you have? Can you add an extra level? If you have, for example, a hay loft up a gentle ramp and have the water and pellets at the furthest reaches of the cage she would be forced to go from one end to the other, and up and down the ramp quite regularly. Try finding a pellet food that's low on starch too :)
Some piggies are really too laid-back for their own good, but another thing may be to offer their hay in a paper bag (one each), she may start playing around with it.
Another suggestion could be to hide their nuggets around the cage and make them forrage ;)
 
The cage has two levels, so to get to their water and food bowl so they have to jump up there. The hay is in a metal cage hanging from the ceiling on the other side, so they have to get up on their legs to get to it.

Hay in a paper bag sounds like a fun idea. Ive seen people on here use stuffed toilet rolls and i was thinking maybe they would encourage her to move more as they would roll away from her.
 
Pippa&Millie said:
Your threads were extremely useful!
In regards to treats, should we just cut them out completely?

We don't even give them every month just when someone picks them up randomly. In may they have had two.

Its one of those seed sticks you hang up which they absolutely love and is usually demolished in a few hours.
Click to expand...

Please stop the seed sticks; they rate as junk food as seed are too fatty. if you want to use treats, please rather switch to a pinch of dried forage.
 
Hmm, what is the run's setup like? If it's just one or two hideys, that might not interest her much. Add lots of tunnels, piles/paper bags of hay, piles of dried forages, etc.; you could even give her her daily veg in the run, with the veg dotted all around the run in small pieces so she has to move around in order to get to the veg.

Do you happen to have a back lawn? As long as the lawn is not regularly visited by foxes, cats, or dogs, and has not been fertilised or sprayed with pesticides, you could give her exercise on the lawn but it would have to be about the same temperature outside as it is inside, because if she lives indoors she won't be used to much temperature change. Add tunnels and hideys to make her feel safer to move around while she munches. And if the grass is fairly short, it won't take her long to eat all of the grass in one area, which means she will be encouraged to move to another spot where she hasn't munched it all, if that makes sense.

Or if you grow grass in a tray, you can pick the grass and sprinkle it all over the run so she is further encouraged to move around and eat it.

Edit: Oh and if you do give her exercise on the lawn, the run will need a roof to protect her from predators. If not, you would have to sit by her at all times. Although even if it does have a sturdy roof, you should still keep an eye on her. :)
 
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Yes we will stop the treat sticks. We didn't realise they were so bad for them :( will stick to the natural stuff in the future!

We have a patio which I have made piggie friendly, I plan to sit outside when I'm working and watch over then. But it hasn't been good enough weather to have them out yet :(


I will try scattering the veg over the cage to encourage movement.

I also have a question in regards to grass, how can I introduce this to them? In the summer we all go to my parents which has a lovely garden which will be perfect for roaming in a run but I heard that it can upset their tummy if they arnt used to it?

Thank you everyone for the advice so far.
 
Haha amazing! If you see in my profile picture, Pippa let that baby hedgehog take a nap on her, thats how little she cares/moves sometimes. She is very chilled!
 
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