New To Forum! Weight Advice Please!

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RubyandBetty

RubyandBetty

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Hi I am worried about my girl Betty's weight. She is three years old but I have only had her since Sept 13. Within a week of her coming to me she had blood in her urine, vet thought she was pregnant so off she went for a scan. 'Pregnancy' turned out to be a huge infected mass in her ovaries. This was removed and she was spayed. She was quite poorly following the op, and lost quite a bit of weight as she wasn't eating properly. Thankfully she recovered fully within a few weeks and is still going strong! Lately I have noticed she has been gaining more weight, and she has now reached 1.4kg. I am concerned that she's now overweight. She gets lots of floor time but she has never been one for running around madly like my other pigs. Basically she likes to snooze in a box while she's out! She is an Abyssinian so looks big anyway because of her tufty hair, but she just looks huge round her middle. She actually looks pregnant with the shape of her body, which of course she can't be! Is this just weight gain, is she too fat, or is there something else going on inside her, like another growth that is making her weigh heavy? Apologies for the really long post but I'm new to the forum, and I'm really worried about my Betty Boop! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
Hi welcome to the forum, sounds like you have both been through a lot.

It's difficult to say what it could be, some pisg are just big, one of my abbys is about the same weight. I would suggest getting her xrayed or scanned though if you are concerned about another mass just to rule out anything nasty. A lot of vets will do this conscious.
 
How much exactly as she put on since her spay? It would be expected for her to regain some of the weight lost after her spay. Given her history, I can see why you may be a little concerned about the weight gain, if it is a lot.
If you are concerned another trip to the vets won't do any harm, even if nothing is found at least it will set your mind at rest. As Helen says getting her scanned should show up any problems. I hope it is just that she is regaining her weight lost, now she is eating again properly
 
Hi thank you both for your advice. Betty has been eating normally for ages now, it's just that the weight gain seems to be sudden rather than gradual. That's what's bothering me. She literally does nothing during floor time, I've tried setting up different 'obstacle courses' for her but after about five minutes she gets bored and lies down! What if it's because she's too fat to run round? I'm a born worrier lol. If there was another 'mass' or growth inside her, would that make her weigh heavy?
 
RubyandBetty said:
Hi thank you both for your advice. Betty has been eating normally for ages now, it's just that the weight gain seems to be sudden rather than gradual. That's what's bothering me. She literally does nothing during floor time, I've tried setting up different 'obstacle courses' for her but after about five minutes she gets bored and lies down! What if it's because she's too fat to run round? I'm a born worrier lol. If there was another 'mass' or growth inside her, would that make her weigh heavy?
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Try not to worry too much, hopefully it is just her getting back to her normal self. A vet visit won't do any harm if you are concerned.
If there is another mass it would weigh something, how much would depend upon the size and type of tissue. When my Rosie had an abdominal mass last year she went from around 780g(top end of her normal weight) to 920g to less than a week.
 
Oh her weight gain hasn't been quite as rapid as that! I will keep on monitoring her, and take her for a scan if her weight continues to rise, or if she shows any other symptoms. What would you class as obese for a guinea pig?
 
Hi! Weight gain can happen some months after a taxing operation. One of my spayed sows is quite chubby, too.
1.4kg is at the higher end for a sow, but a couple of my rescue abys have been weighing that at the acme of their life once on a good diet after a hard pre-rescue life.

If you are worried, cut down somewhat on the pellets and don't feed more than 10-20g to an adult piggy while offering unlimited hay; the latter should make up to 80% of the daily food intake. Give about 50g/1 cupful of mixed veg per piggy day in as many servings as you like. Guinea pigs have a very fast metabolism, so if there is some overweight, it should regulate itself on a good diet without you needing to introduce any drastic measures.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/
 
she was on muesli but when I got her I very gradually changed her to pellets. I feed her around 20g a day but she easily polishes that off, plus hay plus veggies. her stomach is like a bottomless pit! I was just worried because when she started being ill, the vet could feel the mass (thinking it was a baby) sort of in her sides.....this is where the weight gain seems to be. It's hard to describe. If you were looking over the top of her, she is very rounded on her sides and back end. If that makes sense!
 
RubyandBetty said:
she was on muesli but when I got her I very gradually changed her to pellets. I feed her around 20g a day but she easily polishes that off, plus hay plus veggies. her stomach is like a bottomless pit! I was just worried because when she started being ill, the vet could feel the mass (thinking it was a baby) sort of in her sides.....this is where the weight gain seems to be. It's hard to describe. If you were looking over the top of her, she is very rounded on her sides and back end. If that makes sense!
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Female piggies can be quite pear shaped and can develop fat balls in the areas you describe. It is good that she is on limited pellets, and is still happily eating all her food. I would just keep an eye on her for the time being and weigh her regularly.
 
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