Is My Guinea Overweight?

[Angela99]

I'm thinking my little Buttercup is overweight! He can't stop eating! I know I'm in charge but he throws his food bowl upside down when all the pellets are gone. He eats 1/8 cup twice a day. I feed them low calorie and low calcium veggies. Cilantro, celery, celwry leaves, Wheat grass... lots of red peppers and Belgium endive. Apple as a treat. They won't eat any leaf lettuce.

He looks chubby. I want to prevent any health issues. Pellets are from my hay guy... so maybe switch to Oxbow pellets without the alfalfa... they hate it.... which is why I tried these pellets.

I want them to be happy But I'm concerned.

 

[DM030819]

@Angela99 How much does he weigh?

 

[Lady Kelly]

Hi, please do not judge him on his look of chubbiness alone. Weighing and checking his heft is much more important to check whether he is a healthy weight or not. I have had a range of adult pigs weighing between 800g and 1200g all of which have been healthy weights. This guide will be useful for answering your questions The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

 

[Reenie]

I'm thinking my little Buttercup is overweight! He can't stop eating! I know I'm in charge but he throws his food bowl upside down when all the pellets are gone. He eats 1/8 cup twice a day. I feed them low calorie and low calcium veggies. Cilantro, celery, celwry leaves, Wheat grass... lots of red peppers and Belgium endive. Apple as a treat. They won't eat any leaf lettuce.

He looks chubby. I want to prevent any health issues. Pellets are from my hay guy... so maybe switch to Oxbow pellets without the alfalfa... they hate it.... which is why I tried these pellets.

I want them to be happy But I'm concerned.

Just to add to what @Lady Kelly has said. His diet sounds OK, although you didn't mention how much of the veg he gets, but the stuff you're giving him is fine. Does he get plenty if floor time? A good diet and plenty of exercise is important.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm thinking my little Buttercup is overweight! He can't stop eating! I know I'm in charge but he throws his food bowl upside down when all the pellets are gone. He eats 1/8 cup twice a day. I feed them low calorie and low calcium veggies. Cilantro, celery, celwry leaves, Wheat grass... lots of red peppers and Belgium endive. Apple as a treat. They won't eat any leaf lettuce.

He looks chubby. I want to prevent any health issues. Pellets are from my hay guy... so maybe switch to Oxbow pellets without the alfalfa... they hate it.... which is why I tried these pellets.

I want them to be happy But I'm concerned.

Hi!

Please do not overfeed veg and do not put fruit/tomato on the menu more than twice in a week. Veg should only make 10% of the daily food intake and a tablespoon of pellets a day about 5%. The rest should unlimited hay hay hay - for overall gut health (no fermentation, diabetes or overweight issues from too much veg and pellets), healthy teeth and a significantly improved life span.

Take the time to read these two guides.
They give you an illustrated sample diet and a detailed list of what you can feed how often. They also look at the calcium input from water and pellets, which can often be higher than that of veg but gets completely overlooked.
The other tells you how you can judge whether a guinea pig is overweight or not at any size, age and stage of its life by judging its 'heft' since individual weight and size can vary so widely that any weight charts are not worth it.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

 

[Angela99]

Just to add to what @Lady Kelly has said. His diet sounds OK, although you didn't mention how much of the veg he gets, but the stuff you're giving him is fine. Does he get plenty if floor time? A good diet and plenty of exercise is important.

Yes they have a 15 square foot open cage and I let them run out of it too every night. I feed them 1 cup veg a day. I also feed them carrots... I think it's the amount of pellets bc veg are practically no calories

 

[Angela99]

Hi, please do not judge him on his look of chubbiness alone. Weighing and checking his heft is much more important to check whether he is a healthy weight or not. I have had a range of adult pigs weighing between 800g and 1200g all of which have been healthy weights. This guide will be useful for answering your questions The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

Thanks so much! That helps!

 

[Julie M]

Believe it or not carrots for piggies are the equivalent of us eating sweets. They’re quite high in sugars for them.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Yes carrots are high in sugar and should not be fed too often. It's also worth noting that some breeds tend to look more rounded or chubby than others.

 

[Angela99]

Believe it or not carrots for piggies are the equivalent of us eating sweets. They’re quite high in sugars for them.

I give them a tiny piece a day. Half moon of a thin round.