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What to do with a FAT piggy.

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ghostbusterbunny

ghostbusterbunny

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I know, in all of the threads I reply in regarding overweight piggies I state that it is rare to get one so fat that it might be really bad for them. However, I believe I have one such piggy. Munchie is the boss of my 9 strong herd and she has been slowly gaining weight over the last few months. I have been in Holland for the last 2 weeks and to say that she has put some more on is an understatement. This guinea pig is fat. She is about 15/16 months old now and must weigh (I shall weigh tomorrow for an accurate reading) 1.4kilos at least; possibly even 1.5 now. She weighed 1kilo in May/June when she went to the vets for her abscesses, 1.3 before I left for Holland a few weeks ago and now she is just huge. She's not struggling to move yet, but she's one seriously chunky lady!

I am going to cut the pellets down now as the only reason I had not done so earlier is because I had a severely underweight piggy in the herd, but she looks 100% better now than she did before I left. I was wondering if there's anything else I can do apart from that. They don't get many pellets between them anyway (2 bowls for 9 pigs) so whether she's just munching through them all or not I have no idea. They will have their new shed too soon with tons more exercise space so hopefully she'll slim down a bit then.

Is there anything else you can suggest that I do? Veggies to cut out or other alternatives? :)
 
No, cutting down on pellets is the best way. The next step would be to feed her separately, cut out her pellets completely and make sure that she only eats her veg portion. I would recommend giving her extra vitamin C during that time, however.

Weigh both piggies at least once weekly.

PS: Some piggies are huger, especially rexes; and they can grow a lot during their second year.
 
Why dont you just let her have extra floor time? Some piggies are big and I do not think that is a problem. :)
 
Wiebke said:
No, cutting down on pellets is the best way. The next step would be to feed her separately, cut out her pellets completely and make sure that she only eats her veg portion. I would recommend giving her extra vitamin C during that time, however.

Weigh both piggies at least once weekly.
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I will weigh them both tomorrow, need to find my scales again. Munchie is definitely near 1.4 kilos now though just from feeling her, it's pretty scary. She was weighed when she had her abscess problem (which unfortunately appears to have come back with another one under her chin) and she was 975g the first time and 1.05kg the second. She was already fully grown by this point. But no, she's getting bigger!

I can easily separate her off for veggie time so she just gets her own portion, we can use the run when the shed is up and put her in there. If that doesn't work then we'll have to do pellet feeding controlled too? I'm not sure how to work that with a herd though...

She needs to eat less and move more. I definitely think getting them in the shed with more space and things to explore will do her the world of good. I might be over-worrying too much seeing as how I've just spent the last few days with two super small piggies; she may not have put on as much as I think' but she has definitely put some weight on.
 
My Pippa is just over 1.4kg too and she is in charge of my little group.

I was worried about her being too fat too, but she's solid and isn't flabby and can shift when she wants too! She can be greedy, but no more than my other lot (especially Pixel! rolleyes )

My problem is I have a youngster in with her, Hettie is only about four months old or so, so I don't want to cut out pellets is I can help it :{
 
Could you scatter the pellets round the cage instead of using bowls? That way she will have to move around and search for them rather than just sitting and munching.

Good luck :)
 
Gee! And I thought I'd seen my share of abscesses! Humbug has had one (under chin) Liquorice is on her third (one under chin at 8 weeks, 2 on her bum at 2 years)! Beginning to think it's an immune issue?
 
BonBon2010 said:
Gee! And I thought I'd seen my share of abscesses! Humbug has had one (under chin) Liquorice is on her third (one under chin at 8 weeks, 2 on her bum at 2 years)! Beginning to think it's an immune issue?
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I have a feeling that abscesses and Munchie are going to become a lifelong issue. We got rid of 6 a few months back and now the one under her chin (which was the biggest then) is back now. I don't mind though; I'm getting rather used to cleaning her up and making them better for her! Luckily we don't have them on the side of her neck and in her armpits this time and *touch wood* we won't see them! They don't tend to bother her though, which is odd. She does have a habit of opening them up herself though :...

Shellza, I can do that! Another option would be to scatter them in the hay trays; that way she might not just go for pellets and she'd be more tempted to eat hay instead and leave the hard work to the other piggies!
 
My piggie girls both weigh around 1.4kg and they are actually very slim. They are not rounded at all. I think some piggies are just bigger and more rounded. If you are worried about health issues then the suggestions above should help :)
 
I wonder about this, my Sophie is a little bit tubby and so is Henry:red . They live on hay, have dried food in the morning and veggies at night.

When i put them in the run they don't move much. I scatter their vegetables sometimes just to get them to move a bit!

xx
 
sorry to hijack but I also have little 'tubbies' and wonder if fatty lumps are more prevalent in overweight piggies?
 
Hi just thinking....... maybe she needs some extra exercise?:{
sometimes.........erm.. well whee know this can happen :))........... piggies do need extra floor time?
Maybe also look at her food........ is there any additives........ ?
But then if she's a lay back pigglie maybe that's her........if so like me with our girl who's a diabetic i have to make sure she does some exercise for her good :)
 
Deb H said:
sorry to hijack but I also have little 'tubbies' and wonder if fatty lumps are more prevalent in overweight piggies?
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Hi love i think it might be best to start off your own thread :)........... then you can give full history

fatty lumps.......... have these been diagnosed by a vet? best to do this.........for an accurate decision.
 
I you remember Yoshi and Moonpig's weight went up quite a bit last week - I subsequently reduced their chunks ( only by a small amount ) and they've already lost weight this week. I've ordered two indoor runs that I'm going to fit together to make one large one and a large crinkly cat play tunnel ( why does no-one make crinkly piggie tunnels? They love stomping around on them making a noise! ) with multiple exits - hoping all of this will encourage a bit more mobility in my podgies! :)
 
I would reduce the pellets and feed them in small portions over the day, so that no one piggy can hog the majority of them. That is what I am doing with the Tribe. they get just enough in the mornings and evenings that everything get eaten up - 1 bowl per piggy. Otherwise, Nerys, Taffy and Hywel would be even heavier!

I only give about 1/2- 3/4 of handful per piggy per day.
 
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