'Fattening up' guinea pig

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yenivs13

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Hi everyone!

My boar Garf lost a considerable amount of weight (from around 1300g to 950g) over a few months due to various health issues, one most recently being a UTI. He was on antibiotics and pain med for 2 weeks and the vet is happy the infection has gone. However, she did say that his weight is still concerning (she can't find any other issues) so I will need to try and 'fatten him up', but avoid dark leafy greens due to their calcium content. He's also quite old (nearly 5 years) and potentially has lost weight through stress of frequent handling when giving the medicines.

Unfortunately my piggies' favourite food is kale! They're quite fussy pigs so I tend to feed them the same few veggies (kale, spinach, carrot, cucumber). I've tried them with fruit before but they seemed disinterested. My other worry is that I don't want to indirectly have Garf's cagemate Ted gain weight. I usually scatter the veg so they can eat together and forage, but I'm worried if I do that with sugary/carb rich foods, Ted will end up eating more sugar than normal (he's already a pretty chunky pig at around 1200g).

TL;DR -
1. What are good nutritious foods (veggies or treats) for weight gain (no dark leafy greens)?
2. Tips for feeding pigs separately but in the same cage, without hand feeding (Garf can get stressed when held, so ideally want to avoid handling to avoid stress related weight loss!).

Thank you

☺
 
It's good that Garf appears to be well again after all his problems. Kale and spinach are both high in calcium so should be really be an occasional treat. Plain porridge oats with a bit of grated apple, carrot or sweet potato go down well and they are good for weight gain. Is it possible to bring Garf out of the cage for this? You would only need to handle him to lift him in and out of the cage.
 
Putting the weight back on does take longer than losing it. It’s best you give him a balanced diet rather than giving him too much that’s not good for him. I would cut back on the kale, spinach and carrots. Given you’re avoiding dark leafy greens due to calcium content, you can’t then feed high calcium veg daily - kale and spinach. Carrot is high in sugar so should be an occasional treat.

Coriander is a good thing to feed. But hay should still be the largest part of her diet. I think lettuce is okay to feed, it shouldn’t be too high in calcium. Unfiltered water and too many pellets (they should only have a tablespoon each per day) actually contain more calcium than high calcium veg.

You could also try giving him some oats or perhaps a probiotic with mashed banana or grated sweet potato. That’s what some on here use to give more calories.
 
Lots of hay is the best way to put weight back on them. As Betsy has said you can offer porridge oats to help gain weight, but he needs to be eating lots of hay regardless. Veg is merely a snack and its not going to put the weight back on him. Gaining weight will take much longer than losing it for piggies.

Kale and spinach are high in calcium and should only be fed once a week, carrot should also only be fed once a week due to the sugars.
 
Thanks everyone for your quick replies! They get a lot of hay (a very big handful each, twice a day, or more if they run out), about a tablespoon of pellets each every morning and then veggies in the evening (usually a mix of kale/spinach with carrot or cucumber), about a handful each. They sometimes get herbs and they love coriander! Have loads of that in at the moment, so will definitely try that :) I'll omit the dark leafy stuff for now and only feed occasionally in future. The vet suggested 'hay cookies' which they've had before and loved, so will give those a go but maybe for Garf only.
 
Siikibam said:
Putting the weight back on does take longer than losing it. It’s best you give him a balanced diet rather than giving him too much that’s not good for him. I would cut back on the kale, spinach and carrots. Given you’re avoiding dark leafy greens due to calcium content, you can’t then feed high calcium veg daily - kale and spinach. Carrot is high in sugar so should be an occasional treat.

Coriander is a good thing to feed. But hay should still be the largest part of her diet. I think lettuce is okay to feed, it shouldn’t be too high in calcium. Unfiltered water and too many pellets (they should only have a tablespoon each per day) actually contain more calcium than high calcium veg.

You could also try giving him some oats or perhaps a probiotic with mashed banana or grated sweet potato. That’s what some on here use to give more calories.
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Thank you for your suggestions! They love coriander so will feed him some more of that. The vet also suggested banana, he's never had it before so I'll test a little bit see how he finds it. For the oats, do you give them 'raw' or soaked in water or anything like that?
 
Hay cookies are just compressed hay. Mine have had them but very quickly lose interest as they are much harder work than just sitting chewing long strands of hay (hay cookies also dont work nearly as well on wearing their teeth down).

Coriander and bell pepper can be given daily as they are high in vitamin c. As mentioned though, veg isnt the main factor for regaining lost weight but offering variety is a good thing!

Banana is a once a week treat due to the sugars.
There is no benefit on allowing him to fill up on fruit (which does not need to be in the diet), carrots or pellets as that will then be unhealthy and sugary weight gain which isnt sustainable.

Oats are just a handful plain, dry, raw straight from the box
 
Mine love banana mashed into Critical Care which is what I do if I have a post-op piggy.
They won’t touch it otherwise.
Maybe just increase the amount of hay you put in the cage.
Hope Garf does put some weight on for you.
 
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