Before Christmas, I decided to upgrade my two female pigs from a 160 Ferplast cage in their shed to having half of the shed floor, approx 50sq ft, covered with thick lino, then softflake shavings with piles of hay around the area. They normally have 50 gr of Versele Laga pellets and veg. This is much better healthwise with them moving around a lot and at 4 1/2 years should help bladder health and feet too. The issue is that both have lost weight , going from around 1000gr to 850gr and 870gr. as of today. I am giving them much more hay which they eat and they both have great teeth. I assume as both look good, the extra activity is the cause for slimming down! Has anyone else had their piggies slim down as older pigs?
Losing weight after moving to large enclosure.
- Thread starter poopie
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Guinea pigs do lose weight as they get older mainly down to muscle loss. That though is quite a large loss in a fairly short space of time even taking into account they have more space to run around in. If they were mine I would be getting them a health check at the vets if for no other reason than to put my mind at rest.
I agree - older piggies do tend to drop a bit but it’s a lot of weight to lose in a short time.
I would step in with some top ups of recovery feed and see a vet just for a check to ensure all is well.
Are they warm enough in the shed?
I would step in with some top ups of recovery feed and see a vet just for a check to ensure all is well.
Are they warm enough in the shed?
They have been living in the shed for the past 3 years. The weight loss happened in the first week when they appeared scared and everything was different of course. They are stable at this weight now and no concerns on their health. I wonder if they need more pellets as they are more active? I would prefer they ate themselves rather than stressing them feeding them. They dont have any calcium issues and have rainwater to drink. I dont think they can physically eat anymore hay so upping pellets might help. I was looking to see if anyone has gone through the same scenario.
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All our girls lost weight as they got older especially come 6 they were much noticeably smaller. If they are holding weight then that is good. It is weight loss trends you look for in illness e.g. constantly losing.
Sounds like they have a wonderful piggy palace
Sounds like they have a wonderful piggy palace
If they are now stable then it is fine.
We would not recommend increasing pellets.
All of Mine have always lived in my shed and even in their old age and they did start to drop weight due to old age then I still did not increase pellets. I did throw in a tablespoon of porridge oats per day which helped as a boost of calories particularly during winter but they always maintained just at a new old age lower level
We would not recommend increasing pellets.
All of Mine have always lived in my shed and even in their old age and they did start to drop weight due to old age then I still did not increase pellets. I did throw in a tablespoon of porridge oats per day which helped as a boost of calories particularly during winter but they always maintained just at a new old age lower level