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Diet Guinea pig Diet

cutielily

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Hello! I need help with putting a diet on my bigger guinea pig. She's overweight and I'm not sure what to give her to make her smaller. She has always been overweight, since I got her. Her friend/sister though is not overweight and perfectly healthy. I give her hey and just a little bit of pellets in the morning. Alas I cannot give them fresh vegetables either, as my mother says it is too expensive to keep buying them. But Cutie (that's her name) has no problem moving around, as she's doing just that right now. I always see her eating, but not her sister, Lily. Lily is fine, though, and she eats till' she's full. But is Cutie overeating due to stress?:confused: Or can she not tell when to stop eating? Thank you for reading.:love: IMG_1065.jpg<-- That's Cutie. My first post explains Lily, if you are interested in learning about her. :)
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Cutie doesn't look overweight to me at all. Do you weight her regularly? If you do, what is her weight compared to Lily's? And if you don't, you need to start. It's quite often the only way you'll notice a problem as it starts.

As far as eating goes, both of my boys are always eating. Lily NOT eating would actually be more of a worry to me. Your mother needs to understand that fresh vegetables are an important part of a guinea pigs diet. They need vitamin c, just like humans do, and lack of it can cause major health problems. A great source of vitamin c is a generous slice of bell pepper every day. NOT a hot pepper. They don't need a LOT of vegetables, but Vitamin c is important. The most important thing for them to eat is their hay, and unlimited fresh quantities of it are best.

It's extremely difficult for a guinea pig to be overweight. After all, they ARE herbivores and who ever gets fat eating vegetables? Piggies are different, just like people, and some are just bigger than others.
 

bpatters

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Ditto @Guinea Pig Papa.

About the only times that guinea pigs are overweight is if they're fed too many pellets, or they have a mobility issue that keeps them from moving around.

The weight ranges you see quoted in different places are based on outdated information from vet textbooks, written by people who were dealing with lab pigs, not pets. With the exception of one, all my sows weighed a little over three pounds, and the one was just under three. Neither I nor my vet considered them the least bit overweight.

And don't limit her hay. It's the most important thing in a pig's diet, and keeps the gut moving and her teeth ground down.
 

cutielily

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Okay, but I just think that she looks fat when you look at her from above her sides are sticking out like 2 balls and she's very heavy.
But the problem is mommy will say no, because we don't have enough money for that every week. :confused:
 

Soecara

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Look into buying hay in bulk. If you have somewhere to store a rectangle bale and can find a local fodder store (or even better local farmer) that sells them you can get a full bale for a fraction of the price.

Buying hay by the bag is by far the most expensive way to get hay. Getting bulk boxes online and having them shipped to you will cost more upfront, but the price per pound you are paying compared to a bag will be much cheaper. However buying by the bale will be the cheapest.

To store a bale you need somewhere that is protected from weather and direct sunlight, and has good air flow to prevent the hay molding. I have an old outhouse that I have transformed into a hay storage area.
 

bpatters

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Are you saying that you don't have enough money to buy hay?
 
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