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Shifting the Heft

PembsGP

PembsGP

Junior Guinea Pig
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Seven days into Isabelle's diet and the latest weighing shows she has gained 0.45g. She tells me it is muscle weight gained from her new exercise regime! I think it is more a case of doing what humans do after a stint at the gym and hitting the post-gym snacks. Anyway, any advice on how I can reduce her weight will be gratefully received. She is 3 years old and now weighs 1118g and is triangular shaped where she is carrying her excess weight around her hips, and she has chubby cheeks. Her cage partner is her half sister and is the same age and weighs a decent 997g. This is what I have done for Isabelle for the past 7 days (bearing in mind her favourite past time is being as sedentary as possible and eat, and she isn't inquisitive. Floor and run time she just sits there disinterested). They have a handful of fresh grass every morning and rather than just plonk it in the cage or in hay balls etc, I make Isabelle follow a strands of it a bit like a donkey following a carrot. This is to get her moving. She will follow but only for a short while before giving up. Then I place some around the cage so she has to walk around to eat it. Her sister enjoys taking part but Isabelle doesn't follow her example. Their dried food has been reduced and placed in 2 small dishes at either end of the cage. Daily I rearrange their cage, something I have always done, or did twice a week to mix things up. I have reduced their fresh green veg and again scatter that around the cage to make Isabelle walk, and they always have fresh hay which they both love. I stuff that into a log as well as give them a pile of it to rummage around in. And I have increased their floor time although Isabelle just sits there. She doesn't even run around when I try to catch her. She is otherwise healthy. Any advice on anything else I can do to get her to shift some weight will be gratefully received. Many thanks.
 
1118g is a reasonable weight and middle aged lady piggies should really have an impressive bottom and carry weight around the hips, did the vet suggest she was overweight? Excess fat would be more noticable over the ribs and with a belly dragging on the floor, but a big bottom is pretty normal. I dont think restricting green veg is the way to go, restricting carrots and fruit and pellets maybe but not salad. If she is otherwise healthy, why the weight loss plan? We adopted 2 obese piggies but they had been kept in a hamster cage for 2 years with unlimited carrots and muesli, its very rare for a piggy to become unhealthily overweight with a big enough cage and a balaced diet... ours slimmed down and/or toned up quite naturally with healthier veg options, more hay, less pellets, and more exercise opportunities, but if you already have a healthy diet and are scatter feeding and providing cage enrichment, and she's a healthy shape, I'm not sure why the weight is a problem?
 
PembsGP said:
Seven days into Isabelle's diet and the latest weighing shows she has gained 0.45g. She tells me it is muscle weight gained from her new exercise regime! I think it is more a case of doing what humans do after a stint at the gym and hitting the post-gym snacks. Anyway, any advice on how I can reduce her weight will be gratefully received. She is 3 years old and now weighs 1118g and is triangular shaped where she is carrying her excess weight around her hips, and she has chubby cheeks. Her cage partner is her half sister and is the same age and weighs a decent 997g. This is what I have done for Isabelle for the past 7 days (bearing in mind her favourite past time is being as sedentary as possible and eat, and she isn't inquisitive. Floor and run time she just sits there disinterested). They have a handful of fresh grass every morning and rather than just plonk it in the cage or in hay balls etc, I make Isabelle follow a strands of it a bit like a donkey following a carrot. This is to get her moving. She will follow but only for a short while before giving up. Then I place some around the cage so she has to walk around to eat it. Her sister enjoys taking part but Isabelle doesn't follow her example. Their dried food has been reduced and placed in 2 small dishes at either end of the cage. Daily I rearrange their cage, something I have always done, or did twice a week to mix things up. I have reduced their fresh green veg and again scatter that around the cage to make Isabelle walk, and they always have fresh hay which they both love. I stuff that into a log as well as give them a pile of it to rummage around in. And I have increased their floor time although Isabelle just sits there. She doesn't even run around when I try to catch her. She is otherwise healthy. Any advice on anything else I can do to get her to shift some weight will be gratefully received. Many thanks.
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Hi!

Isabelle is at the peak of her life when she is no longer quite as active as she was as a youngster, but she is also at the age when a piggy is naturally at their heaviest. To be honest, that is a good normal weight and nothing to worry about in a normal sized piggy.

The body shape, especially the bum is genetically determined, and has nothing to do with overweight.
Just stay off giving treats and too many pellets.

Please check her heft around the ribcage as to overweight and keep in mind that the weight is going to start coming down again naturally through the onset of old age in a year or two.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Thanks for your replies. Yes her belly does drag on the ground and she has flabby shoulders and really really fat cheeks - she looks like a hamster with full pouches. You can feel the fat. I agree 1118g is an acceptable weight, but I am worried that for her it is too much. She has always been a bit portly and hasn't ever been active even as a youngster. She is a good lap piggie and loves a cuddle and stroke. Sorry, I should have specified - my son had been giving them huge plate fulls of fresh veg and salad. I have reduced it to a proper sized portion, and limited carrots. They both point blank refuse to eat pellets so are on museli and selective feed so I really do make sure they get proper nutrition which I think is behind my son going over kill on their veggies and salad. He'd slip more their way too when I wasn't looking. As they are in his bedroom it's easy for him to do. They very rarely have dried treats and in fact aren't keen on them anyway. They much prefer fresh food and hay. I give them fresh grass every day and throughout the growing season they enjoy dandelions, wild strawberry plant leaves, some clover, coriander herb (I think in the US it's called cillantro) and common cleavers (a sticky climbing plant), all from our garden. It's hard to explain, but since she has really plumped out she seems as if she's uncomfortable. There isn't anything wrong with her and she isn't off colour and hiding it. A vet did say last year when took them both for a check up that she is a bit over weight and palpated her fat just to ensure it wasn't growths. I'll continue scattering food (I also poke it into egg boxes and all sorts so they have to snuffle it out), but maybe stop getting her to follow grass like a donkey and carrot. I always felt mean doing that anyway. She is middle aged after all. And I will continue to ensure their salad and veggies are normal sized portions as opposed to giant ones. They always have hay in their cage and always wheek and popcorn with excitement when it's topped up. Same as when they smell/see their grass and veggies. If anyone thinks that perhaps I'm not right doing any of this please say. I will listen to your experience and wisdom. I just don't want her to feel uncomfortable, that's all. They are both such sweethearts and really lovely natured. And they love grooming my son and I whilst we stroke them, a bit like a mutual grooming session. Sweet 😙.
 
PembsGP said:
Thanks for your replies. Yes her belly does drag on the ground and she has flabby shoulders and really really fat cheeks - she looks like a hamster with full pouches. You can feel the fat. I agree 1118g is an acceptable weight, but I am worried that for her it is too much. She has always been a bit portly and hasn't ever been active even as a youngster. She is a good lap piggie and loves a cuddle and stroke. Sorry, I should have specified - my son had been giving them huge plate fulls of fresh veg and salad. I have reduced it to a proper sized portion, and limited carrots. They both point blank refuse to eat pellets so are on museli and selective feed so I really do make sure they get proper nutrition which I think is behind my son going over kill on their veggies and salad. He'd slip more their way too when I wasn't looking. As they are in his bedroom it's easy for him to do. They very rarely have dried treats and in fact aren't keen on them anyway. They much prefer fresh food and hay. I give them fresh grass every day and throughout the growing season they enjoy dandelions, wild strawberry plant leaves, some clover, coriander herb (I think in the US it's called cillantro) and common cleavers (a sticky climbing plant), all from our garden. It's hard to explain, but since she has really plumped out she seems as if she's uncomfortable. There isn't anything wrong with her and she isn't off colour and hiding it. A vet did say last year when took them both for a check up that she is a bit over weight and palpated her fat just to ensure it wasn't growths. I'll continue scattering food (I also poke it into egg boxes and all sorts so they have to snuffle it out), but maybe stop getting her to follow grass like a donkey and carrot. I always felt mean doing that anyway. She is middle aged after all. And I will continue to ensure their salad and veggies are normal sized portions as opposed to giant ones. They always have hay in their cage and always wheek and popcorn with excitement when it's topped up. Same as when they smell/see their grass and veggies. If anyone thinks that perhaps I'm not right doing any of this please say. I will listen to your experience and wisdom. I just don't want her to feel uncomfortable, that's all. They are both such sweethearts and really lovely natured. And they love grooming my son and I whilst we stroke them, a bit like a mutual grooming session. Sweet 😙.
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I would leave pellets/muesli out completely and have a serious word with your son about shortened life spans due to fermenting guts and overweight and higher risks in operations from the fat around the organs and the belly. You can kill with love. ;)

Just don't expect any quick results and if necessary consider moving the piggies out of his room.
 
Yep, we've had that conversation. He hadn't realised. As you say, killing with kindness. That's a good idea holding off on the museli. Thank you. I will consider it as they selective eat anyway, especially the dried peas
 
PembsGP said:
Yep, we've had that conversation. He hadn't realised. As you say, killing with kindness. That's a good idea holding off on the museli. Thank you. I will consider it as they selective eat anyway, especially the dried peas
Click to expand...

They will always make a beeline for the sugary and fatty bits in a muesli... :(

The more hay she eats, the better...
 
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