Fat piggy!

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stevie-and-smudge

stevie-and-smudge

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My piggy smudge is starting to put alot of weight on, I'm pretty sure I'm probably feed him way too much so am looking for advice, he has a bulgy belly now and seems to spent more time asleep and am putting it down to been over weight, how can i help him? x
 
I'm not sure what he weighs as i dont have anyhting that will register him, how much should he weigh? i give him a bowl full and just fill it up when its empty, say every 2 days? pluss his hay every day x
 
Does he not have fresh vegetables? It would be a good idea to get some scales as weighing guinea pigs helps you to know if they are not eating as they should be and have lost weight.
 
yeah sorry he has a few nits of veg aswell, hes roughly 1.2 kg, how much should he weigh? x
 
That sounds a normal weight for an adult boar. Some are heavier then others. He needs unlimited hay and two portions of fresh vegetables a day. You sound like you are giving him the right diet.
 
okay, just when we first got him the vet told me he was a little over weight and he has put weight on since then so was just a little worried but if hes good I'm happy :) x
 
Vets annoy me as the guidelines they have for weight are not accurate for guinea pigs of today. My sow weighs 1200g and she just eats like my others. Some piggies do weigh more.
 
okay well thanks for your advice, was worried i was gonna have to put him on a diet x
 
Guineas can tend to look a bit pear-shaped even though they may not be overweight. The important think is to know what your guinea's normal weight is & to weigh weekly to see if there is any much change. A sudden weight change or a long-term gradual increase or decline in a mature guinea can indicate that there is something going on & this is a useful health check to be doing weekly. I use my flat kitchen scales placed on a flat board on the floor with a box on top for the guineas to sit safely in & keep a record of all their weights.

If you are free-feeding pellets then he could be getting overweight. I aim for a diet of 75% hay, 20% veggies & just 5% mix or pellets. Which food are you using? Have you weighed it out & followed the feeding directions on the pack? Some mueslis are rather high in sugar so your guinea may be getting too much sugar intake. The right % of hay in the diet is required for proper gut function & help to keeps teeth worn down too, pellets or muesli will not do this.

Does your guinea get any time out of the hutch or cage for exercise? How old is Smudge? When you hold him can you feel anything like lumps? Can you feel his ribs at the sides? If his behaviour has changed dramatically & he is sleeping much more than normal then that could also indicate there might be something not quite right but also he might just be a bit lazy!

If you are worried about his health then I would see a vet that knows about guineas, normally an exotics vet.
 
i only worried because the vet already said he was over weight and he has put more on, hes happy enough when awake, i do try to get him to come out his cage, i have him out with me every day but he only comes out of his own accord on a night when everyones asleep, i leave his cage open at all times x
 
1.2kg doesn't sound heavy to be fair as males weigh more anyway and piggies vary in size with breed. I agree you need to weigh him properly and keep a check on his weight. Regards food i feed mine once in the morning and the dried food doesn't get topped up till evening time. I'm with Shiny on diet mine get mainly hay and veggies and then pellets make up a small percent of the diet :)
 
so what should i be giving him the? i give him a bowl full of pellets as he doesnt seem to like the musli x
 
stevie-and-smudge said:
so what should i be giving him the? i give him a bowl full of pellets as he doesnt seem to like the musli x
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You are doing the right thing. Museli is not healthy for guinea pigs. Pellets is the right thing and you give him a bowl a day which sounds fine.
 
stevie-and-smudge said:
so what should i be giving him the? i give him a bowl full of pellets as he doesnt seem to like the musli x
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Pellets is best food, muesli they tend to pick at and only eat the best bits whereas a pellet they get all the nutrients from it. A bowl a day is sufficient for a single guinea pig :)
 
Have a look on your bag of pellets & see how much it advises per day for a 1.2kg guinea. I would then weigh out this amount in a cup, mark it & feed just that amount of pellets each day. You may find your guinea doesn't eat it all in which case you can reduce it slightly. I split pellets for my guineas between 2 feeds am & pm. What veggies do you give? Hay should be freely available at all times.

Was it an exotics vet with experience in guineas who told you he is overweight? Some standard small animals vets don't see guineas very often & are not really the best judges of a guinea's condition! Was there anything else you were worried about to make you take Smudge to the vets?
 
My girl has had big problems with her weight since she had a various assortment of medical issues but this is the diet that has kept her at 1.1kgs since December..

1. A bowl of water fresh 2 times a day (she kicks stuff in it and doesnt use it anyway but t's better than having none. I hate bottles because they leak).
2. Once handful of nuggets. I use excel burgess with mint. They're C shaped and she goes through one handful for the whole day, maybe 2 days. I don't use meusli anymore. She ate all of it anyway but they had a terrible sugar:fibre ratio!
3. Breakfast veggies - a leaf of romaine lettuce, a cherry tomato, an inch of celery (sliced into bits), an inch of carrot, a single grape/blueberry/strawb top in exchange for a piggy kiss on the nose!
Dinner veggies - a leaf of romaine lettuce, a pinch of mixed salad leaves (the ruby type, watch for chives (a no-no), spinach (give rarely) and herby ones. You're best with just a simple mixed small leaf). Inch of carrot, inch of pepper, an 1/8th of an apple.

Cabbages aggravate her bloat and her chalky pee so she doesnt get it anymore unless I'm eating it for dinner so she might get an end once a month or something! Bananas aggravate her oral yeast infection so I dont give those anymore either.

4. Unlimited hay in a fat wodge on the floor of her cage. She will eat it, poop in it, lay in it, snooze in it, flatten it out.. and then I change it. I have meadow hay (she gets a handful once a week), she has the pets at home timmothy hay (which she doesnt mind) and I also mix it with the pets at home normal hay (much finer and sweeter smelling - she prefers this). I try to give timmothy hay as much as possible. The meadow hay is actually quite calcium rich so I dont give it to her much. I also have a stupid amount of it left. When I whittle it down I will be buying timmothy hay from the hay experts. Much better than pets at home!

Edit: I just thought, if he is looking bigger without actually weighing more, it could be gas making his tummy puff up! If his tummy is firm or sounds hollow when tapped (you need to get right in there and get you ear on the other side on his tummy).. then watch how much farty veggies you give him, brocolli/sprouts and cabbage are the culprits in my house! You dont need to cut them out, but maybe once a week if you suspect anything.
 
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Just a question - how old is your boy?

1200g is definitely a normal weight for a healthy adult boar. Adult piggies can weigh anything between 800-1800g and still be considered healthy depending on their size and breed. But most adult pet piggies weigh between 900-1300g.

If you are really worried about overweight, see whether he loses some by reducing the amount of pellets you give. Adult piggies need less than still growing youngsters. I only give my own piggies about 20g per piggy per day (about half a handful) and only after they've eaten their veg. Otherwise, my regular scroungers would hog it all!

Please get some cheap kitchen scales and a suitable bowl from a supermarket; they don't cost much. It is important to weigh your piggies once weekly (daily when ill) - a problem often shows up as a weight loss first. the sooner you react the greater the chances of a good recovery; piggies can go downhill very quickly.
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html You will notice that even the Guinea Lynx website (the best medical website for guinea pigs) cites vet book weights as being too low.

PS: You may find this thread from our reference section helpful: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...-of-Weight-Checks-and-Overfeeding-Guinea-Pigs
 
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