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The Fat Guinea Pig Problem

Does your guinea pig overeat?

  • No

    Votes: 2 18.2%

  • Sometimes

    Votes: 2 18.2%

  • To gluttony!

    Votes: 7 63.6%
  • Total voters
    11
  • Poll closed .
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3yearoldpig

3yearoldpig

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hey! My guinea pig is over 3 years old, but the only thing she does is eat, eat, eat! Her favorite part of her cage is the hayrick, and if I put rosie( my piggy!) on the floor to run around, she just stays there. Please help! #notcool:ple: she doesn't exercise and I don't know why
 
I'm going to try this: an exercise cage for 30 minutes. Toys, bedding, water but no food so she can't pass her time by eating and she will get used to not eating every single moment of the day; also, I will give her healthy food in smaller portions but please give advice and tell me if this is a good idea or not
 
Honestly some piggies just don't seem as active as others. My boy, Ginny, was a lazy old thing until I gave him a whole room and the cage (shut in cage overnight though) and now he sometimes does laps around his cage, but it can depend on how much time they get out of the cage and how big the cage actually is. I would weigh your guinea pig and see how many grams she weighs just to make sure she's ok :) I'd also make sure you don't give her to much pellets or veg/fruit, but hay at all times is necessary and shouldn't make her so overweight. Some piggies are fine at 1400+ grams sometimes as well if it supports their frames. And guinea pigs do appear to eat nearly all the time, they're big greedy guts like me :))

Also, guinea pigs are sociable animals that usually needs at least one cagemate/friend, and it may make her seem more active with someone to play with. Females are easier to introduce than males, so it should be easy to get her a friend. I'd read up a lot on introducing them online before you do though.
 
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I don't have much money, so I will save up $30 to get another female. Thanks for the advice. But is the exercise cage still a good idea?
 
Alright. It sounds like a good idea, but I'd put a small pile of hay in as long as she doesn't actually spend her whole time there. It might be worth leading her round with her favourite fruit or veg, or putting long tunnels in for her to go through. I'd leave making smaller portions until you know her weight, but you should be able to use normal kitchen scales that you may have on hand :)
 
Also... What are some healthy guinea pig sized dinners that I can make easily?
 
Information on rosie:

Favorite fruit: strawberries
Favorite veggie: carrots
Pelt color: joker like with orange butt
Gender: female
Favorite toy: red solo cup
 
You can mix a variety of vegetables and fruits (though fruits being a treat so not too often) together for a creative dinner, but of you haven't given something to Rosie before, introduce it slowly (a bit at a time) after confirming it's safe by looking online etc. I'll link a list of safe vegetables and fruits so you can find things to give her in a minute. I really don't advise giving her pet store treats like nut things as they make them choke easily sometimes. I'd also keep an eye out for the ingredients (avoid cereals listed in the ingredients) being safe, so you might want to look online about some pet store treats you give her if you're worried. I only give my guinea pigs hay, selective veg and fruit and odd treats like hay cubes. Muesli is something they shouldn't have as it isn't full of good nutrients and can cause selective feeding. I'm using Excel pellets right now.

Also, feel free to post her weight on here so we can get an idea of how overweight she may be :)
 
2 1/2 pounds is that overweight because her waist line is off the charts
 
Would that be around 1133 grams? I did that in a quick Google. If so, that sounds fine! Females (also knows as sows while boys are boars) generally are 900g to 1200g + in general I think, but I might need to check that first. My girl Minja is around 1200g as well as my other girl Teddy, and they're fine. She doesn't sound overweight, but would you mind posting a picture of her full body? Sometimes weight won't go well with body frames that are too small or too big (my boy Ginny is around 900g, and he looks odd with anything over a 1000 or 1100g).
 
You may find these two links here helpful; they should help you to judge whether your piggy is overweight or not and how to keep it on a good healthy diet on which it cannot overeat. If you can find a companion for your girl, the better. Boredom can lead to overeating. Please be aware that the shape of sows determines their bum. You always have to look at the area around the ribcage to judge whether a guinea pig is fine for its individual size.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet

Here are our rescue links to help you find a healthy, properly sexed and guaranteed not pregnant companion if you have a good rescue within your reach. Many rescues have other adult piggies looking for homes:
Good standard UK rescues Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator
Recommended rescues in other countries: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations
Companionship
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?
 
Hi there! Its really hard to tell without having a feel at them! If this is normal for her, then i wouldnt worry too much. I have a girl at 1100g that looks overweight and like a barrel, yet i have a girl at 1020g that looks like a rake. They have floor time every night as theyre cage space isnt as big as id like it to be, so i do this to make sure theres adequate excercise and feeling "free". I place 2 puppy pads on the floor with hay on top and then hidey houses on top of that. I scatter veg evenly accross the whole room- this means they have to walk the length of the room to pick out their faves before they then go back and eat their lesser favourites but essentials (like red/green pepper). They probably do at least 5/6 laps of the room at floor time each. Good, easy and fun way to get excercise in.
 
I also have this book for information, but I still like having others confirm the information.image.webp
 
Guinea pigs are grazing animals so it's normal for them to spend most of their day eating. But the majority of what they're eating should be hay.

I think giving her floor time rather than an exercise cage would be better. For my piggies I give them a section of the room and place hay on different areas (it encourages some exploration). Like someone before me said that can also be done with veggies :lol:

I would also agree with getting her a friend. One of mine used to be lazy too until he saw how curious his cage mate was about everything. Now they both spend a lot of time exploring and running around!

My last tip would be to get lots of toys, hideys, and TUNNELS! Piggies loooove running through tunnels. I have a pretty long tunnel that they just run in back and forth several times. The longer the tunnel, the better :) they also like jumping between hidey holes, and toys would give them the curiosity they need to explore

I'm sure your sow is fine. You can check her heft by feeling around the rib cage.. If you can feel her rib bones then she should be fine, but if you can't, then she could be overweight!

Anyways best of luck to you :D
 
I also let her run around outside. But I live in the usa in a cold winter state, so I can't always take her out. That's why I have an exercise cage for her .
 
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