Laura M.
Junior Guinea Pig
I have two adult male guinea pigs around two years old; their weights are 1.3kg and 1.57kg. Apparently, this is overweight. How much should I worry about this, and would it be worth a vet visit?
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Healthy weights?
- Thread starter Laura M.
- Start date
Weight is not the whole story. Their weight checks tell you that they are eating enough hay but it doesnt tell you whether they are healthy size for themselves. A weight which is healthy for one piggy could be under or overweight for another.
My two boys, in their prime weighed, 1.3 and 1.5kg and each had a good heft which meant they were both fine.
To check what is healthy for your piggies you need to check their heft - piggy BMI - by feeling around their ribs. If you can feel their ribs with a thin covering of fat, then they are fine. If you cannot feel the ribs at all then they may be overweight.
The guide below explains.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
My two boys, in their prime weighed, 1.3 and 1.5kg and each had a good heft which meant they were both fine.
To check what is healthy for your piggies you need to check their heft - piggy BMI - by feeling around their ribs. If you can feel their ribs with a thin covering of fat, then they are fine. If you cannot feel the ribs at all then they may be overweight.
The guide below explains.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Laura M.
Junior Guinea Pig
I cannot feel the 1.57kg piggie's ribs - what now?
If you cannot feel any ribs at all, then read sections 5 and 6 in particular of the weight management guide I linked in. It explains what to do - namely checking the diet (ensure diet is hay based, one cup of leafy veg is given per day and that carrot, fruit and other fattening items are not fed often. Ensure you are feeding plain pellets (not muesli) and that you are limiting pellets to one tablespoon per day and that they are not left with pellets throughout the day); and encouraging movement. It can also help to encourage foraging through not using food bowls and instead scatter feeding items around the cage which will also encourage movement. Also see a vet and have them double check for heft.