Help for weight?

[wafflesandcosmopiggies]

I've had my guinea pigs for this year will be three years now and I always thought guinea pigs being on the chubby side was okay from what I heard. I've also read lately that if your guinea pig is fat your not exercising enough or feeding them too much which I give a cup of veggies per day unlimited hay and around 1/8 a cup total for both guinea pigs. I give them floor time and they have the suggested size cage I believe it was around 9 square feet with a second level that I built myself.
I give them exercise and the right amount of food that I have always been told to give. Am I doing anything wrong or should I worry?

 

[Piggies&buns]

You would need to check your piggies heft to check they are the a healthy size for them as individuals. Their healthy size is going to vary from piggy to piggy and it is not the number on the scales which will tell you whether they are healthy for themselves

The guide below explains

Weight - Monitoring and Management

Feeding wise it sounds like you’re doing fine - unlimited hay, one cup of veg per pig and one tablespoon of pellets per pig. (1/8 cup between the two of then is fine)
Cage size is a minimum of 8 square feet for two sows but 10 square feet is recommended. Boars need more room so 10 square feet as a minimum but 12 square feet is much better for boars.

 

[Wiebke]

I've had my guinea pigs for this year will be three years now and I always thought guinea pigs being on the chubby side was okay from what I heard. I've also read lately that if your guinea pig is fat your not exercising enough or feeding them too much which I give a cup of veggies per day unlimited hay and around 1/8 a cup total for both guinea pigs. I give them floor time and they have the suggested size cage I believe it was around 9 square feet with a second level that I built myself.
I give them exercise and the right amount of food that I have always been told to give. Am I doing anything wrong or should I worry?

Hi!

I would recommend you to read our Weight management and our diet guides in order to work out in the first place whether your boys are a good weight for their size or not by feeling for the 'heft' around ribcage. that will answer your question whether your boys are overweight or not. I would also recommend to read up about ow weight changes over the course of a life time. Your boys are currently in the prime of their lives so at their naturally heaviest. They are now middle-aged adults and have lost the excess energy of their yough. The weight guide also has a chapter on tips on how you can use feeding time to make them work for it. A very useful read in all!

You may also want to review your veg and stitck to strictly just 1 tablespoon per piggy per day - you can use their pellet allowance to make them work for it and move around. No so much in the amount but what you are feeding and cut out all the high calorie/sugar/starch food like carrot and other root veg; grain products, fruit etc. and just keep your diet as leafy green with added watery veg like cucumber and the odd fresh herb for trace elements etc.

Here is the information:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[wafflesandcosmopiggies]

Thank you so much for your help and I will definitely read through this info