Overweight Pig

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CarlaAnn

New Born Pup
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Location
Mexico, San Miguel
I have two pigs but one seems quite big.
I have looked at articles and read about how to check if your pig is overweight and I think
she falls into that category.
Any advice to help her loose weight ?
I cant really feel her heft or her backbone.
I dont feel like I overfeed, here is what she eats:
A leaf of lettuce
a slice of bell pepper
and then whatever vegetable or herb I have
then I repeat that for her dinner
She doenst get treats during the day except for occasionally.
She alos gets hay and 2 tablespoons of pellets.
Its 2 except for one because some people say to give unlimited at 4 months of age
and othrs say 1 tablepsoon so i do 2 to be inbetween.
She is also kinda round bUT i dont think she is pregnant
since I have had her for like 3 months or so
I think when I got her she was with males
but again 3 moths and like nothin so...
She is 800 grams btw
She is four months old
 
Maybe best check with a vet first, that sounds quite big for 4 months but piggies come in all shapes and sizes. If the vet confirms she is not pregnant and is healthy but is too fat, you could cut down/remove the pellets and probably cut down the veg a little. Does she get plenty exercise, a big cage and some time to run around your floor or in a big run or playpen? Scatter feeding so she has to run about and search for little pieces of veg is good too. But please get a vets opinion first.
 
CarlaAnn said:
I have two pigs but one seems quite big.
I have looked at articles and read about how to check if your pig is overweight and I think
she falls into that category.
Any advice to help her loose weight ?
I cant really feel her heft or her backbone.
I dont feel like I overfeed, here is what she eats:
A leaf of lettuce
a slice of bell pepper
and then whatever vegetable or herb I have
then I repeat that for her dinner
She doenst get treats during the day except for occasionally.
She alos gets hay and 2 tablespoons of pellets.
Its 2 except for one because some people say to give unlimited at 4 months of age
and othrs say 1 tablepsoon so i do 2 to be inbetween.
She is also kinda round bUT i dont think she is pregnant
since I have had her for like 3 months or so
I think when I got her she was with males
but again 3 moths and like nothin so...
She is 800 grams btw
She is four months old
Click to expand...

Hi!

At that young age, any extra calories go into growth and not overweight. Sizes in guinea pigs can vary enormously - in newborns the largest can be triple the size of the smallest - and that continues throughout life.
With a good hay based diet and regular exercise, your piggies won't go badly overweight, but their individual weight can vary enormously. I had a pair of litter sisters that were 500g in difference at the peak of their lives. Both lived a very good life span and it was the smaller of the two who ran a large group of sows despite being one of the smallest. Other sister triplets were 200g in weight difference between the largest and the smallest at the age of your piggies, but they were all a good weight/size ratio. ;)
Please also be aware that babies do not grow evenly; they are fat and squat one week and then they are suddenly a lot thinner but longer a couple of weeks later.

When you feel for the heft, you feel for the ribs of the ribcage; you should be just able to feel their presence.

If in doubt, please have your girl vet checked re. pregnancy. She is a large girl for her age.

Please take the time to read these guides here. If you are already following the feeding advice (including tips on how to encourage your piggies to eat as much hay as possible), then you need not worry. Please reduce the pellet amount to the 1 tablespoon per piggy per day for adult guinea pigs; pellets and fattening veg like carrots or sweet corn (the burgers of the piggy world) should only be fed in small quantities at the most.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
 
Thanks for replies
I will try to limit the amount of pellets and veg
What are ways to make her eat more hay?
How long are pregancys?
I have had her three months, I thought it took
50 days, no?
I felt around for moving and such in her belly but there was nothing
She has always been an eater and looooooooves food, way more than her sister
 
Piggy pregnancies are around 10 weeks. Are you 100% sure that both your piggies are girls? If you got them from a good rescue you can be confident, but if you got them from a pet shop or a breeder.... Well this site is full of stories of pregnancies because the piggies were wrongly sexed. I hope it turns out that she's just a big lassie. X
 
CarlaAnn said:
Thanks for replies
I will try to limit the amount of pellets and veg
What are ways to make her eat more hay?
How long are pregancys?
I have had her three months, I thought it took
50 days, no?
I felt around for moving and such in her belly but there was nothing
She has always been an eater and looooooooves food, way more than her sister
Click to expand...

Please read the guides - they contain tips on how your feeding patterns can encourage activity and eating hay. Feed veg and pellets in portions that can be eaten in our go and remove the bowls (one each for your piggies, at least a body length apart) to encourage eating hay.
More tips in the links in my last post. You will find the information in there very helpful!
 
Welcome to the forum
I have 3 sows - all adults now.
One is a big chunky teddy whose normal weight hovers around 1300g
One of the others is a nice petite girl in size, she and her daughter have both settled at around 1150 - 1200g
Please can we see pictures
 
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