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What's The Best Way To Help My Guineas Lose Weight?

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kylie_Everrett

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I have two female guinea pigs (Hattie and Babs) both around 1 1/2 years old. They are active, they can jump pretty high, and are very strong (some times it is hard to keep hold of them when they wriggle) . They go outside most days in the garden to play chase and eat grass. Hattie is 1185gms and Babs is 1238gms. I weigh them regularly and this is a new high, at times it plateaus but usually when it changes it goes up. The weight doesn't look too bad on Hattie she is slightly longer in the body and legs but Babs has a big dulap (although not big enough to get in her way) and when seen from above has no body shape apart from round. I am taking them to the vets this Friday for a check-up but wondered if you guys had any ideas.
Their regimen is:

I give them around 80gms of dry food (Burgess nuggets) a day to share.
I fill their hay rack whenever it is empty (I was told they should always have access to hay).
I usually put them outside as long as it is not cold or wet between 11am- 6pm.
I change their water bottle daily and put it outside with them.
They eat grass when their out and I forage for them in the garden (e.g. dandelions, goose grass, brambles, coarse grass, bindweed).
When they're inside we give them herbs (e.g. parsley, lemon balm, mint) and salad leaves ( e.g. celery, rodaccio, gem lettuce) whenever they beg or wheek.
Every morning they have some cucumber and carrot which they nibble over time
And every other day an apple between them (Those little ones for kids packed lunches)

Their weight is not a problem for them now but even it rises no further I don't want it to cause health problems overtime. Should I be cutting certain things out or just reduce overall amounts? I don't want them to miss out on anything that is important nutritionally or for teeth maintenance.
 
Cutting out nuggets would be a good starting point, as the rest of their diet, as it stands, contains enough vitamin c for their needs. If this doesn't reduce weight enough, lessen the amount of carrot and apple, as these are both culprits for weight gain. :)

Grass is the most abrasive thing they can have for their teeth, so they are fine on that front!
 
Don't say such things, my piggies would cut me if I told them they couldn't have carrots as it makes them fat :no:
Another trick when they get veggies is to spread them out throughout the run or cage so that they have to move in order to keep eating
 
Those weights could be in the normal range. Its great that you feed such a varied diet but overweight or not l would definitely cut back on the pellets and ditch the apple, that is a lot of fruit, and carrots are not very nutritious. Just give small pieces of carrot or apple as treats and not as a regular part of their diet.
 
I'd always been told to cut back on pellets before anything else but you feel like you should follow the advice on the packet. But talking to you I have the confidence to give it a go, I guess the packet information is only a guide. I won't stop giving them carrot or app, but I'll only give it to them weekly. It would make sense if carrots are partially to blame since the fatter of the two usually eats the majority of it, the other is less bothered. Their check-up is booked so she can tell me if their weights are acceptable on them, it can be hard to know. If you have them from babies it can seem like that sweet little fluff ball that fit in the palm of your hand has turned into a monster!
 
The weights are perfectly normal for adult guinea pigs. However, please cut back on the pellets now that they are no longer growing. 10-20g per piggy per day, which is about 1/2 to 1 handful, is perfectly enough.

With a good balanced diet you need not worry.
You will find the information (including how you can check whether your girls are a good weight for their size) in these two threads here helpful:
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
 
:D dontcha just hate it when that happens

I shouldnt, but I'm chuckling:hug:
 
Thanks Wiebke the vet pretty much said the same. She suggested putting their food in for a limited amount of time so they can eat it if they're really hungry but not pick all day.

I don't know what to do about names, they were named after the carry on girls Hattie (Jacques) and Babs (Windsor), but Ken (Williams) and Sid (James) don't seem the same. I'm stuck between just calling them Harry and Bob or thinking up something completely new.

I had my suspicions about Hattie because she seemed to be displaying some male behaviours but my guineas are from different places and were both sold as girls, and I thought if Hattie was a boy surely Babs would be pregnant by now, both couldn't be wrong. Feel a little stupid and was a bit hysterical at the vets. I'm just glad they're the same sex otherwise things would be more difficult.
 
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