Weight gain?

[Mollybx]

Hello,

For context my piggie is 5 years old (6 this December) and female.

Back in in November 2025 I had a very poorly piggie, she had a urine infection and arthiritis flare up so therefore was off her food for a little while.
She has always been a smaller guinea pig however her weight always sat at around 960g, when ill she lost quite a bit of weight and dropped down to 820g.
She is now better than ever, eats veggies twice a day, grazes on pellets and eats lots. I was hoping she would put weight back on whoever is now stuck at about 845g in the morning and 870g by the end of the day.

In an ideal world I would love her to put more weight on. What is the best thing to give her for this? She eats really well now however is still not putting on much weight. Am I just being inpatient and it takes much longer than this to gain weight back or is there anything I can do!

Also, on the topic of diet. She used to be on Harringtons guinea pig pellets however with them becoming discontinued I purchased piggies parcels Guinea Pig Pellet - Joint and Urinary Support Formula, does anyone have any opinions on these pellets? I have left them out, mixed with her old food for about a week however I’m not convinced she’s actually eaten any of them? Do I need to persist or try something else or do I go cold turkey and just take away her old food and leave the new?

Thankyou in advance

 

[Piggies&buns]

Weight gain takes a lot longer than weight loss. It is best done via good hay intake.
However, older piggies find it much harder to regain weight and most don’t usually go back to pre-illness weight and instead they just maintain at a new lower normal.
You can give a small amount of plain porridge oats as a calorie boost but if she is eating well and maintaining then it may not be necessary.

Pellets are the least important part of the diet so ordinarily if they don’t eat pellets at all then it doesn’t matter (I don’t ever give mine pellets). You can just go cold turkey (if you have previously been attempting a gradual changeover) but if she doesn’t like them then she isn’t going to eat them.
If you are using them for the glucosamine element then you may prefer to give a glucosamine supplement instead of the pellets (you cannot give both a supplement and the pellets if she suddenly decides to eat the pellets though - the pellets already contain the recommended amount of glucosamine)

 

[Roselina]

My Vet recommended Readigrass to help my skinny pig maintain his weight in the Winter
It’s is very rich so get her used to it gradually
I don’t give it everyday usually a couple of times a week
But both my piggies love it