Very Fat Guinea Pig!

[Urbanpixie]

Hello everyone!

I'm having a problem with my 3yr old neutered male Guinea pig - he's really fat!

He's always been on the chubby side and a big fan of dinner but things got out of control following his cage mate having dental treatment and having to have a special diet which he helps himself to. Feeding them separately doesn't really work as she picks at food over the course of the day and won't eat all her share at once.

I've also got another cage of 2 females and a neutered male who I could potentially put his female in with and leave him on his own next door while I dieted him. that would be leaving him along and I also feel reluctant to chop and change established groups?

Let me know if you can think of a good way to get him a bit trimmer! (he's not going to like it!)

 

[Tigermoth]

Might be a totally stupid idea but could you put the special diet in a box with a hole in it that the small pig can fit through but he can't? You'd have to be careful he couldn't get stuck half way though, that would be horrid.

 

[Urbanpixie]

He'd try to eat the box :-D

I could definitely give it a go!

 

[RavenRed]

Is it possible for you to give him extra floor time? Might enjoy running amok with no others around to get in the way?

 

[Urbanpixie]

Is it possible for you to give him extra floor time? Might enjoy running amok with no others around to get in the way?

He has a really large cage and gets allowed once a day but he doesn't run around. He just sits and eats!

 

[Claire W]

Are you sure he is overweight and not just a big Guinea pig? Like humans, guinea pigs come in all shapes and sizes. How much does he weigh? I have heard of piggies weighing as much as 1800g and being perfectly healthy

 

[Eilidh]

I agree with @Claire W , my Tiny is enormous compared to my other two,(ironically) but the vets say she isn't overweight, just very large!

 

[*kate*]

My Hettie is a massive piggy too, very long and probably a bit too wide too!

 

[artcasper]

He has a really large cage and gets allowed once a day but he doesn't run around. He just sits and eats!

Maybe floor time for like half an hour with no food ?

 

[Urbanpixie]

Are you sure he is overweight and not just a big Guinea pig? Like humans, guinea pigs come in all shapes and sizes. How much does he weigh? I have heard of piggies weighing as much as 1800g and being perfectly healthy

No, he's really fat. He's gained about 300-400g since his girlfriend got ill. Its starting to affect how well he can groom himself etc which is not good!