Pig eating a lot more than other

[Pigalicious]

I have 2 sows. The mother, Butterscotch, and the child, Susan. Since Susan was weaned at maybe 4-5 weeks, she became clearly dominant over Butterscotch. She is quite a govone, and she eats a lot, and a lot faster. She is basically always eating the hay or the pellets, and if butterscotch is eating veggies, she finishes her piece and runs over and steals butterscotch’s. I know it’s normal bossy behavior and Susan is an adult now (almost 2), but she is so wide. butterscotch is bigger than her, as in longer, but Susan weighs a lot more. (Susan is a definitely a runt, she is very small, I often call her half a guinea pig lol). I’m not sure if it’s a problem, I mean they don’t really argue besides Susan asserting her dominance. I wouldn’t say butterscotch is necessarily underweight, but compared to a pig 2/3 her size, she’s lighter.
useless background- their names are SO different because butterscotch’s name matches her original paired sow before we realized she was pregnant

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do you limit the amount of pellets to the recommended one tablespoon per pig per day? The only food Guinea pigs should have constant access to is hay. Pellets are basically junk food and eating too many will be responsible for unhealthy weight gain and health issues.

Is butterscotch gaining weight well?

 

[Merab]

Guinea pigs are appetites with fur, speed eating is common and food theft a popular piggy hobby.
Mine will all cheerfully steal from each other, sometimes literally taking it out of another’s mouth.

So long as you make sure that you limit pellets as @Piggies&buns has said and give them plenty of hay and make sure they both have access to food they should be fine

 

[Pigalicious]

Do you limit the amount of pellets to the recommended one tablespoon per pig per day? The only food Guinea pigs should have constant access to is hay. Pellets are basically junk food and eating too many will be responsible for unhealthy weight gain and health issues.

Is butterscotch gaining weight well?

Guinea pigs are appetites with fur, speed eating is common and food theft a popular piggy hobby.
Mine will all cheerfully steal from each other, sometimes literally taking it out of another’s mouth.

So long as you make sure that you limit pellets as @Piggies&buns has said and give them plenty of hay and make sure they both have access to food they should be fine

hi! One tablespoon? I have always seen 1/8 cup. I put 1/8 cup of pellets in each dish once a day. Obviously they eat out of both dishes, so it’s easy for susan to eat more than her share. Butterscotch isn’t gaining weight, I don’t hold her often as she’s not a big fan of being picked up, but I noticed she lost weight a few months back when I picked her up, since then I’ve been picking her up more often to check on her. I don’t think she’s losing any more, she’s about the same. Susan is gaining though, not sure how that works, I guess the constant hay adds more than I’d think.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes it’s one tablespoon of pellets or less per pig per day. Pellets really are junk food and they should not have many of them - too many pellets is unhealthy and can cause health issues. 1/8 of a cup is two tablespoons so they are getting twice the amount they should be. Do limit them - it will benefit them greatly and encourage them to eat more hay which will contribute to a healthier life.

Hay needs to make up the majority of their daily food intake with veg the next important element at around one cup of veg per day and pellets the least important part. They should be gaining weight from eating plenty of hay, not from veg or pellets

You should weigh your guinea pigs weekly as part of routine care. Any piggy who is losing weight will require health checks to be done as it can be an early indicator of illness or health issues.

I’ve added in two links below which provide further information

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Merab]

If you are concerned about Butterscotch’s weight then it may be a good idea to switch to weighing daily to give you a more accurate idea.
Some piggies are naturally small, others are naturally large- bit like people.

Guinea pigs are prey animals and rarely like being up.
Try using a fleece tunnel or snuggle pouch to pick her up.

 

[Pigalicious]

Yes it’s one tablespoon of pellets or less per pig per day. Pellets really are junk food and they should not have many of them - too many pellets is unhealthy and can cause health issues. 1/8 of a cup is two tablespoons so they are getting twice the amount they should be. Do limit them - it will benefit them greatly and encourage them to eat more hay which will contribute to a healthier life.

Hay needs to make up the majority of their daily food intake with veg the next important element at around one cup of veg per day and pellets the least important part. They should be gaining weight from eating plenty of hay, not from veg or pellets

You should weigh your guinea pigs weekly as part of routine care. Any piggy who is losing weight will require health checks to be done as it can be an early indicator of illness or health issues.

I’ve added in two links below which provide further information

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management

If you are concerned about Butterscotch’s weight then it may be a good idea to switch to weighing daily to give you a more accurate idea.
Some piggies are naturally small, others are naturally large- bit like people.

Guinea pigs are prey animals and rarely like being up.
Try using a fleece tunnel or snuggle pouch to pick her up.

Ok I will slowly wean them off to 1 tablespoon, I don’t want to just cut their food in half in a day. They do get their vegetables no worries they get veggies in the morning and they eat those then they eat their constant supply of hay until the evening when they get their pellets.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok I will slowly wean them off to 1 tablespoon, I don’t want to just cut their food in half in a day. They do get their vegetables no worries they get veggies in the morning and they eat those then they eat their constant supply of hay until the evening when they get their pellets.

I would cut the down immediately rather than slowly reduce it. Immediate reduction won’t hurt them at all. You won’t be cutting their food in half because pellets are not and should not ever be a main meal - it should always be hay

 

[Piggies&buns]

that is not exactly true...i give mine mazuri timothy based pellets.they are made for gp nutrients in mknd that they need so that you can feed them as much as you want.even our vet agrees

It is absolutely true pellets should be limited and not fed as much as you want. It is and will always remain the advice of the forum for long term health reasons.
Their diet needs to be primarily hay and grass. While pellets can serve a purpose in bridging any gaps in nutrition, there are a lot of things in them which are not healthy for them and particularly the high calcium content of all pellets (even low calcium ones) and risk of bladder problems.
Also pellets do not wear their teeth down - only hay and grass does that. A piggy having unlimited pellets can reduce hay intake so along with weight, and potential calcium related issues, it also poses a dental risk.

The Mazuri you mention (Having looked at the ingredients myself) contain all the same ingredients of other commercial pellet brands. They don’t appear to be any different in their composition and are not grain free.

If you wish to feed unlimited amounts then you can continue to do so but it will not be the standard advice we give on of the forum given grass is their natural diet, not pellets.

 

[piggl]

Well I’m sorry but the forum is WRONG and I will take the advice of my vet over the forum anyway.. you are not experts here just random people giving what they think is true when it is not and fyi 2 gets we see both said they can have unlimited lettuce also so again the forum is WRONG

If you give a kid unlimited access to sweets they will probably favour them over a nutritious meal, so they will enjoy it and favour it over the proper meal prepared for them but they will/may become ill and even obese if this continued their whole life.

Its your job to provide your guinea pigs with the correct diet, so nobody can force you to do anything but if you wish to continue to do whatever with the correct information provided, then on you go, but you will not get support in doing so nor will you be allowed/encouraged to share potentially dangerous advice (overfeeding of nuggets can lead to deficiency's in other areas of the diet and obesity), especially not without anyone challenging/asking about your ideas/opinions.
That's the best thing about this forum, we can discuss and conversate about loads of different topics, but at the end of the day the correct/best information will be provided no matter your own opinion.

And you are right, the people on this forum are not "experts". But they are people who have owned guinea pigs for decades, dealt with all kinds of guinea pigs and many of the moderators take loads of time out of their own days to continually be there for people who have questions/worries about their own guinea pig care, off their own backs. If you wont take that advice, fine.

I would also recommend you look into finding a different vet. I wish you all the best but to come back and be rude to people who spend ages helping so many owners with all sorts of issue, there's just no need for it.

 

[VickiA]

Well I’m sorry but the forum is WRONG and I will take the advice of my vet over the forum anyway.. you are not experts here just random people giving what they think is true when it is not and fyi 2 gets we see both said they can have unlimited lettuce also so again the forum is WRONG

I’m not sure why you felt the need to come back and reopen this old thread other than to be rude. If you don’t value the advice given by our experienced members then please don’t trouble yourself to return any time soon. I’m closing this thread to further comments and if you continue to post in the same vein your account may be terminated without further warning.
Signed a random person giving what I think is true.

 

[BossHogg]

In fact, if we are so wrong, you don't need any advice from us, so goodbye, don't let the door hit you on the ar$e on the way out.