My Three Guinea-pigs Need To Go On A Diet...

[Kirstin]

So from what I've previously read in guinea-pig care books, a medium-sized guinea-pig should weigh between 1 - 2 lbs. However, after weighing each of them my three boars each need to loose half a pound for them to be at a healthy weight. I will hold my hands up to the fact that I do overfeed my piggies (because it is tempting when they look at you with those big eyes) and the amount of food they eat has done a number on them, especially when you start to notice their bellies touching the floor as they walk!

I'd love to hear any great tips or ideas anyone may have to help these guys loose weight. I'm going to keep their pellets a weekly treat rather than on a daily basis, and they'll also be getting much less carrot and romaine lettuce as I understand these are quite sugary.

Thanks, guys! x

 

[Wiebke]

So from what I've previously read in guinea-pig care books, a medium-sized guinea-pig should weigh between 1 - 2 lbs. However, after weighing each of them my three boars each need to loose half a pound for them to be at a healthy weight. I will hold my hands up to the fact that I do overfeed my piggies (because it is tempting when they look at you with those big eyes) and the amount of food they eat has done a number on them, especially when you start to notice their bellies touching the floor as they walk!

I'd love to hear any great tips or ideas anyone may have to help these guys loose weight. I'm going to keep their pellets a weekly treat rather than on a daily basis, and they'll also be getting much less carrot and romaine lettuce as I understand these are quite sugary.

Thanks, guys! x

Hiya! You may find this thread here helpful in determining whether your piggies are really overweight for their size or not. The old guinea pig books cite breeder weights, not pet piggy weights, which tend to be a bit higher.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet

 

[my4piggies]

a female guinea pig should weigh 600g to 800g(1.3lbs to 1.7lbs) and a male should weigh 1100g to 1400g(2.4lbs to 3lbs)

 

[my4piggies]

a bigger cuy pig could be up to almost double this.. x

 

[Wiebke]

a female guinea pig should weigh 600g to 800g(1.3lbs to 1.7lbs) and a male should weigh 1100g to 1400g(2.4lbs to 3lbs)

My vet (one of the best guinea pig vets in the country) is always happy to see an adult piggy between 1000-1200g.

600g is VERY low for a healthy adult sow.

 

[my4piggies]

I think it depends on the guinea pig as I have a guinea pig currently in my rescue who isn't under weight or anything, shes lovely and round but shes only 580g.. shes tiny though so I think she may have just been born small.. most of mine are around 950g+ my biggest being 1350g(ill admit shes a fav of mine so shes a little spoiled!)

 

[Poppy'sMum]

a female guinea pig should weigh 600g to 800g(1.3lbs to 1.7lbs) and a male should weigh 1100g to 1400g(2.4lbs to 3lbs)

Sorry I can't agree, my Rex piggies were about 1200g each & were not overweight. Different piggies weigh differently, some breeds (Teddy/Rex) are naturally bigger than smooth haired one

 

[MerryPip]

If you are in any doubt then see a good vet for a check. Guinea pigs can vary a lot in weight but adults are usually around the 900g -1500g mark somewhere.
Some breeds do tend to be larger than others too. I've had piggies from 850-900g right up to 1500g over the years and none were overweight, just different body shapes. Sometimes you do get the odd smaller piggy if there has been a poor start in life or health problems but 600g for a 'normal' piggy ie. one with no known poor history or health problems is on the low side and probably isn't ideal. @my4piggies your girl must just have very small genes!

 

[Wiebke]

If you please read the link I have provided; it explains all about weight ranges and how to judge whether your piggy has got a good individual weight/size ratio.

We all know that guinea pigs come with a wide range and they also don't grow necessarily at the same rate. Runts can be as low as 600g and be healthy - but rather the exception - right up to cuys, which can be over 2 kg.

Personally I just think that an average weight for sows between 600-800g is too low in my experience; it is in breeding circles more common because of all the pregnancies, which are a heavy burden on the body. Generally, the average weights cited in the literature are now being deemed as too low.

 

[Freela]

The sow range between 600 and 800 g has always seemed really low to me... my smallest sow was in the upper 900s and even she looked much smaller to me than my other guinea pigs. All of my sows have been about 1200 to 1300 g, give or take. I know depending on the bone structure and general build of the pig, those weights would be low enough to be unhealthy for many pigs. Sundae was down around 1000 g when she was having severe dental issues and she was definitely looking underweight at that weight (protruding ribs and hips, etc) and it clearly was not a healthy weight for her frame.

 

[VickiA]

One of my sows (now no longer with us) was 1.4- 1.5 kgs and our vet was always happy with her weight. When she was poorly at the end of her life she dropped to about 1.2kg and felt underweight but she was a large piggy all over. My smallest piggy is our sow Violet and she's about 1.1kg. Mr Ted is our muscle man who looks lean but weighs between 1.3 and 1.4kg. I think the weights quoted must be somewhat out of date.

 

[Wiebke]

This is my smallest and my largest girl having a nap together:


Little Nimue has sadly passed away last weekend after a series of strokes after she miraculously sruvived the first big one, but she rarely got over 600g and suffered from up and down weight issues all the time; her case is not normal, as she was clearly suffering from underlying issues and had been adopted from a pet shop because she needed expert care.
During the time with Nimue, Iola went from 1300g to 1500g because I had to feed extra to make sure that Nimue got her fair share. Iola is now back on her normal diet with reduced pellets again and will hopefully lose her extra weight over the next few weeks.