• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Weight Loss Tips For My Pig?

Status
Not open for further replies.

snortypig

New Born Pup
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
35
Hi everyone! New guinea pig owner here.
I adopted a 1 year old GP from a girl at work. It belonged to her 10yr old daughter and wasn't very well taken care of. She never came out of the tiny cage she was in, never had her nails trimmed, and was never given any vegetables.
We trimmed up her nails as soon as she got home, so they look alot better than before. They're still pretty long, but not twisted anymore.
My main concern is her weight. She is very big. She is also not very active. She's healthy so that's not the issue. She just seems really lazy. She also eats nonstop all day. I give 1/4 cup of pellets once a day and all the hay she wants. She absolutely will not touch any vegetables whatsoever.
Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to manage her weight. I don't want to cut down the pellets even more, I'm afraid of the vit c deficiency because she hates veggies. She gets about 1 hour of floor time too, but just lazes around mostly.
 
How much does she weigh? Some pigs are naturally larger than others. My late Bea (profile pic) was one such long pig but she wasn't overweight.

I would look at offering little veg and often, if she's not eaten veg it's hardly surprising she doesn't know what to do with it. I would put a couple of small bits in and leave it there for the day to see if she will try it and just keep going with it, in the end she's likely to have a nibble and figure out the goodness.
 
You may find that as she gets more active, she will lose the weight anyway. I would keep trying her with veg and keep the nuggets too. You can always give her vit C powder separately if you are concerned she's not getting enough. It's probably just a case of being patient. If her nails have been really long she probably isn't used to being able to walk properly. Keep at it, you're doing all the right things.
 
The long toenails makes sense. I'll keep it up. Thanks for the responses. Not sure how much she weighs, I'll put her on the scale when I get home from work . You can't see her legs or feet when she walks, so she's a bit chubby
 
Is she on her own or does she have a friend? if she is on her own a friend in the shape of another female piggy or a neutered boar would help - get her more active and make her happier.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top