Is it just her body shape?

[Pohtaytur]

I honestly feel like I'm paranoid at this point. For entire time I've had her, Henry has always had this body shape. She eats fine and is active as usual. But the thing is, it's a distended belly right? I can't tell if it's cause she's just fat or what. It's only noticeable when she's walking, when she sits it's just normal. I've tapped her belly and I think it sounds like if you just tapped a normal belly. Is it because her butt bone is long? I feel like it could be potentially longer because Harold's is shorter, but I've only had these two pigs. Or is she just fat? I honestly can't tell anymore.

 

[Siikibam]

If she’s always been like that then it’s likely just her build. What is her heft like? That’s a very good way to work out whether a piggy is at a good weight, rather than just the numbers.

If you’re really worried you can always have her checked over by the vet.

 

[Wiebke]

I honestly feel like I'm paranoid at this point. For entire time I've had her, Henry has always had this body shape. She eats fine and is active as usual. But the thing is, it's a distended belly right? I can't tell if it's cause she's just fat or what. It's only noticeable when she's walking, when she sits it's just normal. I've tapped her belly and I think it sounds like if you just tapped a normal belly. Is it because her butt bone is long? I feel like it could be potentially longer because Harold's is shorter, but I've only had these two pigs. Or is she just fat? I honestly can't tell anymore.

Hi
Can you please remind us how old Henry is and how long you have had your piggies?

That would help with the assessment re. ruling in or excluding certain things, like the potential for a larger ovarian cyst if the distinct bulge is only one-sided since they are age related. If the whole belly is like that and soft, then it is a combination of genetics and weight/overweight. As things stand, I cannot comment any further. The bum shape is not unusual in itself.
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Generally, the bum shape is genetically determined. You best feel around the ribcage for the heft or BMI, if you'd rather, whether your piggies are the right weight for their individual size or whether they are overweight or underweight. You can find the details in this guide here: Weight - Monitoring and Management

We all do this for free in our own free time and are a lively place, so nobody is always reading (or remembering) everything. It helps us if you add some more precise information when starting a new thread.

 

[Pohtaytur]

Hi
Can you please remind us how old Henry is and how long you have had your piggies?

That would help with the assessment re. ruling or excluding certain things, like the potential for a larger ovarian cyst if the distinct bulge is only one-sided since they are age related. If the whole belly is like that and soft, then it is a combination of genetics and weight/overweight. As things stand, I cannot comment any further. The bum shape is not unusual in itself.
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Generally, the bum shape is genetically determined. You best feel around the ribcage for the heft or BMI, if you'd rather, whether your piggies are the right weight for their individual size or whether they are overweight or underweight. You can find the details in this guide here: Weight - Monitoring and Management

We all do this for free in our own free time and are a lively place, so nobody is always reading (or remembering) everything. It helps us if you add some more precise information when starting a new thread.

Ah, understood. She's around 3 years old, I've had her for about 8 months now. I felt her ribcage and it doesn't feel fat since I could find her ribcage, and her weight is around the same as Harold's, which is around 1200g. We generally give her things like romaine and peppers, and occasion some peas, carrots, tomato and fresh grass. Her behaviour hasn't really changed, is energetic and she eats well. Her belly feels soft to press with a little bit of resistance, but I didn't want to press too much and hurt her since I'm not sure how much force to put into it. Looking at the poops, they look as how they should be. I always did wonder if it's genetics, but I keep worrying about every little thing that taking them to the vet every time just isn't feasible, nor is it healthy for them.

 

[Wiebke]

Ah, understood. She's around 3 years old, I've had her for about 8 months now. I felt her ribcage and it doesn't feel fat since I could find her ribcage, and her weight is around the same as Harold's, which is around 1200g. We generally give her things like romaine and peppers, and occasion some peas, carrots, tomato and fresh grass. Her behaviour hasn't really changed, is energetic and she eats well. Her belly feels soft to press with a little bit of resistance, but I didn't want to press too much and hurt her since I'm not sure how much force to put into it. Looking at the poops, they look as how they should be. I always did wonder if it's genetics, but I keep worrying about every little thing that taking them to the vet every time just isn't feasible, nor is it healthy for them.

Hi
Thank you for the added information.

It is most likely just her personal figure which can vary quite a lot within breeds and not just between breeds but the figure is well within normal parameters. She is currently a peak of her life and at the naturally heaviest she will ever be.
Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs
Weight - Monitoring and Management (see chapter 3 on how weight changes over a life time)

She is at the age where smaller, hormonal ovarian cysts are the more dominant group but as long as she is not showing any typical behaviours or symptoms I would not worry. The large non-hormonal fluid-filled cysts (the most common variety) will become more dominant in older sows (4-5 years and older).
Keep in mind that an estimated 75-80% of sows develop ovarian cysts in their life, of which the vast majority goes unnoticed and never causes any problems. If you cannot feel any distinct lumps in her belly, then I would not be concerned. If a large cyst was causing that shape, you would have felt it because it would have stuck out amf you would have been able to feel a distinct ball.
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

I hope that this helps you?

 

[Pohtaytur]

Hi
Thank you for the added information.

It is most likely just her personal figure which can vary quite a lot within breeds and not just between breeds but the figure is well within normal parameters. She is currently a peak of her life and at the naturally heaviest she will ever be.
Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs
Weight - Monitoring and Management (see chapter 3 on how weight changes over a life time)

She is at the age where smaller, hormonal ovarian cysts are the more dominant group but as long as she is not showing any typical behaviours or symptoms I would not worry. The large non-hormonal fluid-filled cysts (the most common variety) will become more dominant in older sows (4-5 years and older).
Keep in mind that an estimated 75-80% of sows develop ovarian cysts in their life, of which the vast majority goes unnoticed and never causes any problems. If you cannot feel any distinct lumps in her belly, then I would not be concerned. If a large cyst was causing that shape, you would have felt it because it would have stuck out amf you would have been able to feel a distinct ball.
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

I hope that this helps you?

No, this helps a lot, thank you. I always worried because nobody really seemed to have a lot of information about how different a healthy guinea pig's body shape could potentially be, so it always ate away in my mind since I only had the BMI chart to go off of visually. I probably worry too much about them for my own good, haha. My mom did point out just a bit earlier that her tummy looked smaller than last night so it might have been that she was full? I'm not sure how long food should stay in the tummy for, but since their metabolism is high and it had been a few hours since they had their meal, I wasn't sure and was worried. I guess it's still just me being new to raising any sort of pet so hopefully I just stop worrying so much over time and get a better sense of what's normal for them. Trying to give them the best quality of life possible has been very hard to figure out, so thank you and the other forum members for being patient with me. These forums have pretty much been my main lifeline since there's not a lot of easy access information specifically about guinea pigs here in Canada from what I could tell.