Slightly Over Weight Guinea Pig

[Briony_S]

I'm posting this on behalf of @Andrew Sirmulis,

We have 5 female guinea pigs all under a year old,we feed them on Burgess pellets,a portion of fresh veg and fruit,grass,hay and all the usual things you can give them.Former Guinea pigs we have had instead of the Burgess pellets we used to feed them on Gertie guinea pig food and had no problem with weight with them,but one of our girls is more slightly overweight than the others,we have a suspicion that it could be the Burgess pellets,but as they are designed to discourage selective eating and give them a balanced diet we would like to keep with them.Does anybody have any ideas please? Andrew Sirmulis.

 

[Briony_S]

Hi not sure if you meant to but your have private messaged me. It would be better if you start a thread in health and illness section to get a variety of answers and advice.

How much do you feed them per day? Once they are fully grown they only need 30gms of nuggets each per day. they should get a cupful of veggies each per day and unlimited hay.

Guineas come in all shapes and sizes so just because one is bigger it doesn't necessarily mean they are fat.

How much does she weigh? Any thing from around 800gms-1400gms can be normal, dependant on the build of the guinea pig.

Are you certain you have all girls? Have you checked the sexes yourself? Could it be possible she is pregnant?

 

[Andrew Sirmulis]

Thanks very much for creating the thread Briony,take care Andrew.

 

[Stewybus]

You could try halving the amount of pellets you give your piggies as these should only account for about 5% of their diet. As long as they're getting veggies including some high in vitamin c such as peppers twice a day plus some fresh grass & unlimited hay they should be getting enough nourishment

 

[Abi_nurse]

I'd cut out most of the pellets. They only need around 12g of excel pellets a day to get all there vitamins in. Up the hay and roughage.

x.