Piggy weight

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Hi!
I just wanted to make a quick post about my piglets' weight.
The vet made a remark about it during our visit two weeks ago, and I wanted to see if anybody had any opinions on the matter.
My piggies are currently all just under 3 pounds. I need to weigh them this week, and I have a feeling that one (or more) of them has hit the mark already.
Mo and Stubbins are about ten months old, and we think Vani is around 8-9 months.
I have always been concerned about their weight, considering their age. When they fluff out while eating their veggies, I can really tell that they are quite big piggies and I am super worried.
They currently eat:
Unlimited Western Timothy and Orchard Grass Hay (Oxbow)
1/2 tablespoon of Oxbow Adult Guinea Pig food in the morning and night (per piggy)
In terms of veggies, I feed:
Romaine lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Bell pepper
Carrot
Cucumber
Parsley
Kale
Orange
Spinach
Fennel
*I only feed orange 1-2 times per month. High calcium veggies only once a week (or twice in smaller portions).
They are also on Bene-bac and Baytril. Stubbins is currently on Vibramicyn as well as the two other medications. They also take Oxbow Vitamin C to help them with fighting off their current infection.
All I can say is at least they are not skinny.
When we brought in Vani, she was super skinny due to never being kept on a proper diet. I had to put her on a special diet, and now she is bigger than my other two.
Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Because piggies come in all different shapes and sizes, judging them by their weight is not accurate. You need to go by their heft. If when you put your hand over their ribs, you can feel their ribs then they are perfectly fine, if you can’t feel them then there may be a weight issue.
3lbs is 1.3kg (according to the conversion I’ve just done), so that is quite big for their young age, but again, age to weight comparison can’t be done accurately, it’ll be down to their heft!

As you know, they need to eat more hay than anything else, veg needs to equate to one cup per day and no more than one tablespoon of pellets per day. Piggies will gain weight in their own time, it’s down to genetics really. If you are following the feeding guidelines and ensuring that their daily is mostly hay and they are getting plenty of exercise, then there generally isn’t a concern.

 

[Elthysia]

Hi,

their diet looks good to me. Perhaps cut out the carrot and one of the pellet servings, they are getting plenty of Vit C so don’t need two servings. Carrot is said to be a bit of guinea pig junk food

They are a little big for their age but as Piggy&buns said you can’t judge each pig by their weight. Have a look at the weight guide - it explains well how to feel their weight in terms of feeling for fat between bone and skin on their back.

weight is two part - diet and exercise. I can give my pigs all the floor time I want but they aren’t very active (probably age related a little too). I don’t know how big your cage size is but may be worth increasing their floortime

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Because piggies come in all different shapes and sizes, judging them by their weight is not accurate. You need to go by their heft. If when you put your hand over their ribs, you can feel their ribs then they are perfectly fine, if you can’t feel them then there may be a weight issue.
3lbs is 1.3kg (according to the conversion I’ve just done), so that is quite big for their young age, but again, age to weight comparison can’t be done accurately, it’ll be down to their heft!

As you know, they need to eat more hay than anything else, veg needs to equate to one cup per day and no more than one tablespoon of pellets per day. Piggies will gain weight in their own time, it’s down to genetics really. If you are following the feeding guidelines and ensuring that their daily is mostly hay and they are getting plenty of exercise, then there generally isn’t a concern.

Thank you so much!
I will definitely check in the morning!

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Hi,

their diet looks good to me. Perhaps cut out the carrot and one of the pellet servings, they are getting plenty of Vit C so don’t need two servings. Carrot is said to be a bit of guinea pig junk food

They are a little big for their age but as Piggy&buns said you can’t judge each pig by their weight. Have a look at the weight guide - it explains well how to feel their weight in terms of feeling for fat between bone and skin on their back.

weight is two part - diet and exercise. I can give my pigs all the floor time I want but they aren’t very active (probably age related a little too). I don’t know how big your cage size is but may be worth increasing their floortime

Thank you so much!
I will try cutting out the carrots. Right now, they only have carrots once a week.
My piggies would be SO mad if I cut down their pellets! They wheek for them! I tried to scatter feed one time, and they looked at me like I was crazy and then stared adamantly into their bowls.
I will definitely look at the weight guide in the morning.
My guinea pigs have a 24/7 free roam of most of my bedroom. They are fenced off from under the bed or near the heater for safety, though.
I give the piglets a ton of enrichment to choose from (toys stuffed with hay, willow balls, etc.), but they prefer to sleep!
I won't give up trying, though!
I wish I could do outdoor time, but that is not possible due to my dogs (I love them so much) peeing everywhere . The piggies would love the grass, though. It is super green!

 

[Elthysia]

Haha! On the pellets, they won’t notice if you gave them less in that case, eg 1/4 twice a day rather than half twice a day

mine can’t go outside either as I live in a flat but I bring them grass etc from safe places

when I had a housemate we literally had to tell eachother when they’d been fed or they’d pretend to be starving when the second person got home!

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Haha! On the pellets, they won’t notice if you gave them less in that case, eg 1/4 twice a day rather than half twice a day

mine can’t go outside either as I live in a flat but I bring them grass etc from safe places

Thank you! ☺