Diet For those feeding pellet-free

[Raene]

How much veggies, etc are you giving to your piggies? I have four in one cage and they are NOT pellet free but don't seem to eat many pellets (they are still offered) but I wonder if I'm feeding them enough veggies. Well, they are chubby girls anyway, but still...I want to make sure. I just got them last week. Thanks!

 

[Meganii]

How much do your girls weigh? they should be getting about 10% of their body weight in veggies but do you know if they were fed veggies in their previous home? If not you want to introduce them very slowly, If your girls seem to be a good bit overweight (a bit of chub is nothing to worry about) then you may want to consult a local exotic vet on how you should feed them, and you also said that you have had them for a week, it took my Basil about two weeks to eat a good amount of pellets had and veggies, so they might just be settling in.
Hope this helped!

 

[bpatters]

Not 10% of their body weight, but 10%-12% of their food.

How much do they weigh? Most weight charts are based on the weights of lab animals, not on people's pets. And it's good for a pig to have a little "extra" in case of illness.

My three get, per day, together: about 1/3 head of red or green leaf lettuce, three small chunks of carrot, 1/2 of a smallish tomato, three wheels of English cucumber, three wheels of summer squash, 1/6 head of radicchio, and 1/3 to 1/2 head belgian endive.

 

[Raene]

I don't have a scale in my house, so I have no idea what they weigh. They are HUGE guinea pigs in general, twice the size of my Abyssinian that I used to have, but the guy said they had a big dad. They aren't fat, just a tiny bit chubby. He was giving them several heads of romaine each day (there were 5 pigs at that time) but I'm not sure if he ever gave them any other veggies. They like a lot of things though and no runny poops so far.

 

[bpatters]

You need a scale. It's the most important piece of medical equipment you can have. Loss of weight is often the first sign that a pig is ill, and weighing regularly and keeping a record of the weights can let you get started on treatment before they show any other symptoms.

Kitchen scales that weigh up to five pounds and are marked in both grams/kilograms and ounces/pounds are readily available at places like Walmart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, etc. They cost $15 or less.

If your pigs really are large, they may be cuy. Can you post pictures next to something we can reference for size? Water bottle/hidey/brick/whatever.