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Weight Overweight Guinea Pigs

wheekermommy

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Hello,

I recently took all my guinea pigs to an only exotic vet clinic for nail trims and check ups. They mentioned that all of them are slightly overweight with my male being the worst off. I think she said for a body shape he is a 7 on the scale (with 4 being ideal).

I know animals being overweight is really bad for their health so I feel terrible. I just don't understand how it is possible. The share a 2x9 cxc cage with only tunnels or forests so they can zoom around if they choose. Their daily diet is unlimited Small pet Select Hay, 1 oxbow vitamin c tab, 1/8 cup/pig of KMS pellets (measured out), and 3-4 cups veggies with red/green leaf lettuce making up the bulk. They get fruit maybe once a week (such as a blueberry, grape half, chunk of watermelon etc) but that is it.

My vet recommended increasing floor time to daily ( I was doing 1-2x per week), cutting back on carrots, and fruit treats. She also mentioned cutting back or taking out the pellets entirely and to up the vitamin c tab to 2/day.

What do you guys think? Is there anything else I should do? I am trying to increase the floor time but it takes a long time to get them out of the cage so it hasn't been happening as much. I also don't feel comfortable eliminating their pellets since my boar doesn't consistently eat veggies.
 

bpatters

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I wouldn't worry about it for a minute. Vet recommendations are usually based on vet textbooks, and their weights are derived from lab animals, not pets.

It's EXTREMELY hard for a guinea pig to be overweight unless it's overfed on pellets or has some mobility issue that keeps it from moving around. They're herbivores, and their getting fat would be like you getting fat eating nothing but salad.

Additionally, if a guinea pig develops a serious illness, any extra cushion of weight, if they've really got one, will just be a extra reserve in their favor.

How much does each of your pigs weigh?
 

wheekermommy

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See that is what I have always thought, and I measure out their pellets which sometimes they don't even finish.

At the vet Little Bear was 978 grams, Luna 1236 grams, and Loki 1529 grams. Granted this was after breakfast veggies. I weighed them before dinner tonight and got 931, 1172, 1575 grams.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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My boys have all been fairly big. Pooper and Sly spent most of their lives in the 1500 gram range (until late in their lives when both were ill) and both of my current boys are fairly hefty as well. Scooters last weight in was just under 1500 grams, and Punkin is a chunky 1624 grams.

Neither are overweight. They get plenty of running time, which they do on a regular basis as their cage is about 40 square feet. They get one Staybowl of pellets per day, unlimited hay and fresh veggies daily. They don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Your pigs sounds just fine to me.
 

bpatters

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I'd watch the heaviest one's weight. Make sure it's not due to an over-abundance of pellets, which could mean a too-high calcium intake. None of them are overweight, and the lighter two aren't even close.
 

LittleSqueakers

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When you're looking to see if an animal is at a proper weight, what you really need to be checking is their body condition score, not an actual number on a scale. One of the vets I've worked with would describe proper body condition this way: running your fingers along your pets ribs should feel the same as the back of your hand. If it feels like your knuckles, they're too thin; if it feels like your palm, they're too fat. Since animals all come in different shapes and sizes and some may weigh more or less simply because they are a bigger or smaller animal, the body condition is the best indicator of whether they are at a good weight.
 
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