Overweight

[Annie's piggies]

Hi all
I have two piggies and I have weighed them today they are both adults and female
One of my piggie however is naturally larger abyassian and female she weighs 1300 grass is that normal or is she that little bit overweight.
Do you have any advice on how Guinea pigs can lose weight
( every month I have now started weighing them now so I can always check how much they weigh )

 

[Merab]

Piggies are like humans - some are naturally bigger than others.
My Jemimah held steady at around 1300g for most of her adult life and that was never overweight. One of her cage mates is always around 1050g - if she was 1300g she would be overweight while Jemimah is down to 1kg and is underweight due to illness.

So long as your piggies have a healthy diet - hay should be 80% of it - and about a tablespoon of pellets per day, plus minimal sugar veggies like carrots then they should maintain a healthy weight.
Weigh weekly - a fluctuation of 30g is normal

 

[Annie's piggies]

ahhh ok then that's good to hear

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all
I have two piggies and I have weighed them today they are both adults and female
One of my piggie however is naturally larger abyassian and female she weighs 1300 grass is that normal or is she that little bit overweight.
Do you have any advice on how Guinea pigs can lose weight
( every month I have now started weighing them now so I can always check how much they weigh )

Hi and welcome

Please weigh your guinea pigs once weekly and combine this with a body check as their life long health monitoring routine. Once monthly is too little. You cannot control the hay intake with your eyes - and it makes around 80% of the daily food intake. Your piggies can lose a lot of weight rather quickly while still begging for their veg; it doesn't happen all that rarely!

Your girls may be fine or they could be too heavy - I have had both at this weight. It is the 'heft' or BMI size/weight ratio that helps you work out whether your piggies are overweight or not. The weekly weigh-in monitors any chances once you know that they are in the right ball park for their individual size. How big they are doesn't influence the life span as long as they are fine in themselves. Guinea pigs have the same taller and smaller people like we humans.

Please take the time to read our weight and diet guides so you can learn how to feel around the ribcage whether your piggies are actually a good weight for their individual size and sort the problem with a good general hay based diet with a small healthy selection of veg that relegates calorie bombs like carrots and fruit to the category of special treats and reduces fattening pellets to 1 tablespoon per piggy per day. Also remove any bowls between meals so your girls are encouraged to eat as much hay as they can and don't stuff themselves with lots of sugary and fatty calories by hogging the majority of the pellets.

The correct diet can make a real difference in terms of long term health and whether your piggies live to the lower or the upper end of the average life span for healthy piggies.
Keep in mind that guinea pigs have evolved on a diet of dry and fresh grass with some herbal forage added in to supplement trace elements and minerals. The closer you can keep your diet to that, the better. Instead of lots of treats, turn exercise and feeding time into an enriched event that your girls have to work for and that is also fun for you to watch!

It is really worth reading these guides here. They contain all the practical details and ideas you will need and that I can pack into one post:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

 

[Annie's piggies]

Hi and welcome

Please weigh your guinea pigs once weekly and combine this with a body check as their life long health monitoring routine. Once monthly is too little. You cannot control the hay intake with your eyes - and it makes around 80% of the daily food intake. Your piggies can lose a lot of weight rather quickly while still begging for their veg; it doesn't happen all that rarely!

Your girls may be fine or they could be too heavy - I have had both at this weight. It is the 'heft' or BMI size/weight ratio that helps you work out whether your piggies are overweight or not. The weekly weigh-in monitors any chances once you know that they are in the right ball park for their individual size. How big they are doesn't influence the life span as long as they are fine in themselves. Guinea pigs have the same taller and smaller people like we humans.

Please take the time to read our weight and diet guides so you can learn how to feel around the ribcage whether your piggies are actually a good weight for their individual size and sort the problem with a good general hay based diet with a small healthy selection of veg that relegates calorie bombs like carrots and fruit to the category of special treats and reduces fattening pellets to 1 tablespoon per piggy per day. Also remove any bowls between meals so your girls are encouraged to eat as much hay as they can and don't stuff themselves with lots of sugary and fatty calories by hogging the majority of the pellets.

The correct diet can make a real difference in terms of long term health and whether your piggies live to the lower or the upper end of the average life span for healthy piggies.
Keep in mind that guinea pigs have evolved on a diet of dry and fresh grass with some herbal forage added in to supplement trace elements and minerals. The closer you can keep your diet to that, the better. Instead of lots of treats, turn exercise and feeding time into an enriched event that your girls have to work for and that is also fun for you to watch!

It is really worth reading these guides here. They contain all the practical details and ideas you will need and that I can pack into one post:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

Ok thankyou will have a read of those I will weigh them WHEEKly from now on thankyou for the advice