Too fat piggies?

[Princess_Harriet]

Hi, sorry to be posting so much but I was wondering if my guinea pigs weight is normal. My year old weighs 2 lbs. 8 oz. My 11 month old weighs 2 lbs. and my 8 month old weighs 1 lb. 12 oz. Are they too fat? And if they are how can I fix this problem?

 

[Siikibam]

Your weights convert to roughly 1.1kg, 907g and 793g. There is no set ideal weight. You have to go by what they weigh individually. The best way to check whether their weight ‘suits’ them is to feel their heft. Have a read of the guide below for more detailed information.

If they are eating mostly hay as they’re meant to, and they’re not eating too many pellets (1 tablespoon each) or veg then they should be fine weight-wise.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Piggies&buns]

Piggies gain weight in their own time and own way, and as they come in all shapes and sizes, weight isn’t a good gauge of what is right for the individual piggy, rather their heft is.
If you can feel a piggy’s ribs nicely then they are fine; cannot feel ribs at all they are overweight; feel the ribs and all bones with no fat at all then underweight.
However, a piggy fed a healthy balanced diet (unlimited hay, one cup of veg per day and one tablespoon of pellets) with a good amount of exercise is not likely to become overweight.

Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Like with humans, size and weight can vary enormously, so any weight chart made by humans is entirely arbitrary. Important is not how much your piggies are weighing but whether they are a good weight for their current size. We call that weight/size ratio the 'heft' or BMI.
In guinea pigs, you can most easily check around the ribs whether they are a good weight, over- or underweight to see whether your piggies are in their own individual right ball park.

Only once you have established that will the weekly weigh-in and body health check be fully useful for long term health monitoring. Please also be aware that weight does change naturally over the course of a life time.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

A good grass hay based diet (unlimited hay should make around 80% of the daily food intake) with a limited amount of preferably green and leafy veg (mimicking the natural forage in addition to a grass/hay based diet), filtered water and 1 tablespoon of pellets max is crucial for long term general health for boosting an average healthy life span to take it from the bottom end to the upper one or beyond. it can really make a different of 1-2 years.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

Please take the time to read all these guide links. You should find them very helpful since they can really help to boost your piggies' health and longevity, so that will be time well spent!

 

[Princess_Harriet]

I'm having a bit of trouble feeling my year olds weight. She's been a big pig since we got her at the rescue. Are there certain foods to avoid?

 

[Princess_Harriet]

*ribs

 

[Wiebke]

I'm having a bit of trouble feeling my year olds weight. She's been a big pig since we got her at the rescue. Are there certain foods to avoid?

PLEASE read both the weight and the diet guides - they have both a chapter on foods to avoid. Some of it may surprise you. Our diet guide has additionally picture of a sample diet that you may find helpful as a guideline and also a detailed list of what you can feed how much and how often.

Please accept that it has taken me several days to make sure that the guides are correct and comprehensive when writing them but since I am doing all my moderating on her for free in my own free time, I do often not have the time to repeat everything for everybody and still be able to answer as many threads as possible.