How Much? Pig is finishing all his pellets every day. Should I be giving him more?

[theosdad]

I’m giving him 1/8th of a cup of Oxbow pellets every day. Should I increase this to twice a day? Because often he will go to the bowl and lick it, like he’s trying to find more food in there. He seems to be getting thinner (just got him a week ago), and I’m worried that he’s hungry.

 

[bpatters]

How old is he? If he's less than 6 months old, he needs unlimited pellets. After six months, 1/8 cup is the right amount.

BUT, he needs food ALL the time. He should have unlimited hay, preferably timothy (but any long strand grass hay will do -- orchard grass, blue grass, meadow grass, brome). And an adult needs a cup of veggies a day. Most of that should be red or green leaf lettuce and bell pepper, but others can be added.

Here's some info for new pig owners: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners

 

[theosdad]

He’s about a year old. Good, it sounds like I’m doing everything correctly. I realized earlier that he has just been stretched out more lately and that he’s not actually losing weight. When he puffed up into a little ball earlier while he was eating some lettuce, I recognized that he is the same weight, but I will start weighing him.

 

[SandyPig]

I've usually given our piggies somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 of a cup of pellets (per pig) and none have been overweight. I notice sometimes they go through a week of eating a lot of them for some reason and then cutting back on their own.

 

[bpatters]

The risk in overfeeding pellets is in the pig getting too much calcium. They're far less likely to develop calcium (or any other) problems from fresh veggies and hay than from pellets. I'd limit it to the recommended 1/8 cup per pig per day.