Guinea on a diet?

[Hypnopig]

Does anyone have any experience of putting guineas on a diet?

I weighed our year-old boar today and he came in at 1300 g. He definitely looks overweight compared to our other pigs despite being the smallest of all of them in overall size.

He's a real glutton and eats anything as well as stealing from his cage mate as often as he can get away with. I'm concerned that he's getting too big for his own good and was wondering if anyone had experience with the problem.

Thanks

 

[pompypigs]

I don't have any diet tips but just wanted to say that my piggy George is a food monster & weighs 1480g - he is a very big piggy :a19:

 

[Laura-CCC4]

It is normal for some pigs to weigh in as large as 1800g. I have a few who are 1300g, and one who is over 1500g! The body condition is as important as actual weight in determining if a pig is underweight or overweight. Does he feel chubby/flabby?

The two key tips for encouraging weight loss in genuinely overweight guineas are:

- fewer pellets - no more than a handful a day - of a high quality (no muesli mixes);
- more exercise.

A good way to encourage exercise, especially in pigs who are not particularly interested in being active, is to spread the fresh veggies around a large room. The pig has to move to his food, instead of being served it. Such bribery can go a long way!