Weight Watchers

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Nimskii

Nimskii

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Hello
I recently took my little piggy Doug to the vets because of a suspected illness, however when I was there the vet told me he was overweight ! he weighs roughly 1.5 kgs and is 8 months old; my one year old piggy Huxley weighs around the same. I was told to cut back on the pellets and give them more hay...which I have done and 3 weeks on they still weigh exactly the same. They have at least 6 hours of "floor time" and run around like crazy! I give them a cup of veggies a day such as cucumber, bell pepper, parsley etc and unlimited amounts of top quality hay and dried grass. They now only get half a handful of pellets every 24 hours to share between them so I really cant understand why they are still weighing the same! Any ideas?

(Huxley is the fluffy Texel)
(Doug is the cute Abyssinian)

:D
 

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I would cut back on the dried grass & see how that affects their weight.

They are both lovely piggies.
 
Thank you :)
Yes I will try that I didn't realise the dried grass was fattening so maybe that's why they aren't losing any weight !
 
i agree with cutting down on the dried grass. i think i've read that people give a handful a day between them, as i think it's high in calcium aswell.

i'm trying to slim eddie down a bit aswell. the vet called him a roly poly! :)) he's put weight on because maisie has been ill though so hopefully he will slim back down. he's constantly on the move aswell and i only feed about a heaped teaspoon of pellets between them every night so i'm not sure why he's so chunky! i don't feed any sugary or fatty veg, or fruit either so it can't be that.

guess he's just chunky but he's definitely too big for his frame now. oops.
 
I must admit I have been giving them some grass in the morning and at night because I didnt realise it could cause them to get fat but I will definitely now only be feeding it once a day. That must be what is causing them to have extra weight because like I said above they have lots of exercise, hay and non fatty veggies. I will keep you posted on their weight loss! I didn't think they looked fat either but the vet said he would like them to be 1kg so they have a fair bit to lose.
 
Two of mine are 1200. Guinea pigs come in all shapes and sizes. I think vets often say they are overweight but it only takes one illness for them to lose it so better to weigh a bit more surely!
 
piggyfan said:
They do not look overweight though. It is not like they have rolls.
Click to expand...

this. eddie is very short and small and now he's heavier he has gained some rolls so in his case he needs to slim down. but i can't see the chubbiness that eds has, on your two. i think they look like larger pigs, so maybe being 1.3kg or a bit under would be fine and healthy for them. :)
 
Astro is 1.4kg and his weight is generally constant as is Cosmos at 1.2kg, Twinkle at 1.1kg and Star at 1kg approx. Weekly weighing will let you know if changes to diet have any impact.
 
Hello all just thought I would give you an update. Since cutting back on the dried grass to only one handful in the evening, limited pellets once a day with unlimited hay plus a cup of veggies, Doug and Huxley have lost a bit of weight! They now weigh just below 1.25kg. Doug has always been a large boar in general as has Huxley so I don't think they should be losing any more plus their weight seems to be constant now; I think the dried grass trick worked! Thank you everyone for your advice and guidance it is very much appreciated :) x
 
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