Why won't my piggie lose weight?

[toodledoodler]

Hello everyone! I have a fairly plump little guy, he's just short of 1300 grams (2.2 lbs). His exotic vet said that he is overweight (a few months ago), since then I've tried to get him to move around more (not the easiest task, he much prefers taking naps and always has), stopped feeding him fattening treats, fed him fruit only on very rare occasions, he only gets a tablespoon of pellets per day, I just do not understand why he isn't losing any weight. He gets the exact same diet as his brother who is 1100 grams, not a huge different but Fred has significantly more belly fat. They get 1/8th of a bell pepper, a handful of lettuce and some cucumber most days, some days I sub in the cucumber for an herb or something else. He and his brother are separated by a grid wall on account of a fight where they drew blood, their cages are 1.5 square metres (16 square feet) each so he does have plenty of space to roam around. Is it possible that he just is a bigger guy?
I attached a picture of them both for reference, Fred is the reddish one to the left. Thank you in advance!

 

[fluffysal]

Oh what gorgeous floofs. My Dignified Sir George got fat shamed by a vet once. Even as a pup he was a chunky big bellied guy. His neighboar is a lot slimmer and averages 1185g but he's the one who eats the most. I think it's just like people when some are naturally skinny. I like the fact that if Sir George gets poorly and loses weight he has some spare. Mischievous Master Boris doesn't have this buffer zone so I worry more.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Have you checked his heft by putting your hands around his ribs? You want to feel a thin fat layer on the ribs but still feel the ribs through that layer. No fat and they are underweight; cannot feel the ribs at all then they are overweight.
That is the only way to know whether he is actually overweight, not by the number on the scales.

The weight range for adult piggies is between 600 and 1600g.
Of my four boars (the oldest two having passed away in 2024 of old age), their weighs are/were: 1550g, 1250g; 1050g, 960g - so you can see there is a huge range between all of mine and they were all fed the same. It’s genetics. (I don’t feed fruit or carrot (a treat for mine is something like a different type of herb) and they only get pellets twice a week and are given 5-8 pellets each).
Their hefts were all perfect.

You have done the right thing by cutting out treats though.

Thread 'Weight - Monitoring and Management (Underweight & Overweight)'

Mar 11, 2019

1 Health monitoring: BMI, weighing, poo out and body changes
- The importance of the weekly health and grooming body check
- Different feedback from BMI, weight, poos and body changes
2 Regular weight monitoring
- How often should I weigh?
- Weighing tips
3 Guidelines for changes in weight
- Weight loss guidelines
- Sudden weight gain and fluctuations...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Grooming Care & Health Monitoring

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[Merab]

My Micah was over 1400 g in his heyday but he was never fat.
@Piggies&buns is right in saying it’s heft that is the real tell if a piggy is overweight.
Like humans ‘normal’ weight and building can vary