Nutrition New Diabetic Guinea Pig

[Squek Life]

Hey all, I just adopted a guniea Pig from a shelter a while ago and now he is living with another friend. The home he came from didn?t provide a healthy diet. The previous owners only fed him fruit and he is very over weight and I believe he has diabetes (type 2). He?s always drinking water and he weights about 3 pounds (1389 grams). I am not sure if I should take him to the vet or not. Also his poops are very tiny only 1.5 centimeters and he?s 4 years old.

 

[bpatters]

I'd definitely take him for a vet visit, but I'm not sure why you think he's diabetic. Three pounds is not overweight for a guinea pig, especially a male. Also, some pigs drink a lot of water, others don't. It certainly could be a clue that he might be diabetic, but diabetic pigs, like humans, usually lose weight pretty rapidly, so I'd say it's not likely.

 

[Squek Life]

Thank you so much, I?ve heard from some websites that 3lb is overweight and from some it?s not but thank you for the clarification. Do you think the abnormal poop is a sign of constipation? I am not sure if his old home supplied him with hay or not so maybe thats why his poop is small?

 

[bpatters]

I'd say there's no way to know anything about his poop until you've had him on a good diet for several days. Get some good quality pellets (KMS Hayloft or Oxbow) and some good hay (local farmer if you can get it, online from Small Pet Select/American Pet Diner/KMS Hayloft/Sweet Meadow Farm if you can't. And feed him some good quality/variety veggies. Watch his poop for about a week and see what happens.

Three pounds is definitely NOT overweight. You'll see vet texts that say pigs should weigh 700-900 grams, but those are 1) out of date and 2) come from lab animals, not family pets. Could you get fat eating nothing but salad? I didn't think so. About the only way for a pig to be overweight is if it's fed too many pellets, or has a mobility problem and can't get around well.

Have you checked to see if he's impacted? See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/85830-Awesome-video-on-how-to-clean-the-Anal-Sac. Check weekly, but only clean as necessary.