Weight

[rializa_2026]

Hey everyone,
It's been a minute since my fiance' @Chubbywolf and I have posted about our two adult males Reese n Chunk, whom we adopted almost a month ago from a rescue.

We always try to give Reese food first, because Reese is dominant and loves to steal food from Chunk, resulting in Reese being bigger and Chunk struggling to gain weight. We weighed them tonight, Reese being 40.8 OZ and Chunk being 29.6 OZ.

I'm hoping to get some insight and encouragement on how to help Chunk gain weight successfully and safely without over feeding him. My idea is to separate the two during feeding, but my fiancé wants to spread the food through out the cage.
If anyone has any advice, it would be much appreciated, TIA!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Guinea pigs gain weight through adequate hay intake.
Hay making around 75% of daily food intake, grazing throughout the day.
Veg is not a main food, making only around 15%, and pellets the other 5%. (Veg and pellets together make the wild plant element of the diet wild piggies would eat naturally; grass being the main part which we replace with hay).
Therefore, separating once a twice a day for veg/pellets would have little impact on his weight gain. (You would not use veg as a way to make a diagnosed underweight piggy gain weight anyway).
But you should never separate a well bonded pair of boars for anything.
Spreading veg/pellets around the cage or hand feeding each of them their portion while they are both still in the cage together is the best course of action here - it’s not about weight gain, it would simply be about ensuring each get their portion (to be clear, I highly doubt any bonded pairs have ever eaten exactly their own portions, the dominant has always got more and that is almost always ok, in healthy piggies with stable weights).
Spreading veg and pellets is recommended anyway due to the mental stimulation it provides (we don’t recommend the use of food bowls for those items). foraging is something they spend a lot of time doing and helps them use their natural abilities as well as food hogging.
While Hand feeding gives you bonding time with them.
Perhaps do a bit of both - handfeed half a portion each then throw the other half portion each around the cage for forage time

However, as long as he is gaining weight each week (if still growing) or is stable each week (if fully grown), then you don’t actually have a problem with his weight anyway. It means he is eating enough hay and that is key, and as long as he is getting some veg then he is getting what he needs.

I have (google) converted their weights (we use grams) and it came to (very) roughly 1100g and 800g.
They may never be the same weight - my previous pair had a big difference between them, one being 1550g and the other 1200g all their adult lives. The two I have left are smaller at around 900 and 1000g at 3.5 years old.
You do need to check their hefts to know whether they are a good size for themselves though.
It is entirely normal for one to be bigger than the other.

There is only a problem if he is being chased away from food (which is bullying, along with other signs) particularly hay so is not gaining weight each week, or is indeed losing weight. Or feels underweight on a heft check.
(After a health issue has been ruled out) That would have the potential to mean their bond isn’t working and permanent separation could be needed.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels

I hope that helps