Diet Overweight. Diet with babies.

[PiggieGuinea]

Flower is overweight. She has a pear shape, not as bad as Loopsie did when she was pregnant, but big enough for me to conclude the fact she is fat.

How do I put her on a diet without hurting Loopsie and her pups? I want Loopsie to get a proper diet for feeding her pups and self. The cage is a bit crowded right now because I dont have ennough room for the cage size I want, but am getting the biggest I can fit somewhere in mid August.

It is also affecting her breathing. She is perfectly healthy, eating, drinking, no runny nose or eyes, just kind of heavy breathing. Like, her body moves with each breath.

The piggies havent been out much since I have been busy for a couple of weeks now. Ive been at the beach, hanging with friends, watching animals, sleepovers, parties, church (I dont normally go) and just anything else summer. They only can get out for a few minutes a day. They are normally out for a few hours.

I have taken the steps i can for Flower so far-
No treat or snack at laptime
More timothy pellets in the mix for her. (It was half timothy half alfalfa, now its 4/5 timothy 1/5 alfalfa)
More freedom when they get out for a short time. I connect mine and my brothers room now.
No access to food for the short time out, only water and hay.

Should this help? I don't like to see her like this. How much should she lose? She is 1 lb 15 oz last time I checked. Not sure if it has changed any. Ill weigh her in the morning as well. But its almost midnight here so I dont want to disturb any of my non-nocturnal family memers

 

[PiggieGuinea]

I let her out for a bit of floortime tonight and she seems to enjoy it. Maybe I should free up my schedule a little to give them the proper amount of floor time. I let lulu out to so momma and babies have a bit of bonding time in the cage.

 

[PiggyLove1]

Do you have any extra grids? Put a plastic tub that isn't too deep and put grids around it. Then put whatever you use, fleece or shavings, in the bottom and a hidey house or something. You can keep her in there while she's on the diet. Or separate their cage and put the diet food on her side.

 

[lunarminx]

Flower is overweight. She has a pear shape, not as bad as Loopsie did when she was pregnant, but big enough for me to conclude the fact she is fat.

How do I put her on a diet without hurting Loopsie and her pups? I want Loopsie to get a proper diet for feeding her pups and self. The cage is a bit crowded right now because I dont have ennough room for the cage size I want, but am getting the biggest I can fit somewhere in mid August.

It is also affecting her breathing. She is perfectly healthy, eating, drinking, no runny nose or eyes, just kind of heavy breathing. Like, her body moves with each breath.

The piggies havent been out much since I have been busy for a couple of weeks now. Ive been at the beach, hanging with friends, watching animals, sleepovers, parties, church (I dont normally go) and just anything else summer. They only can get out for a few minutes a day. They are normally out for a few hours.

I have taken the steps i can for Flower so far-
No treat or snack at laptime
More timothy pellets in the mix for her. (It was half timothy half alfalfa, now its 4/5 timothy 1/5 alfalfa)
More freedom when they get out for a short time. I connect mine and my brothers room now.
No access to food for the short time out, only water and hay.

Should this help? I don't like to see her like this. How much should she lose? She is 1 lb 15 oz last time I checked. Not sure if it has changed any. Ill weigh her in the morning as well. But its almost midnight here so I dont want to disturb any of my non-nocturnal family memers

How old is she? Her weight in grams is 878.835, according to Guinea Lynx she is well within her weight.

https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html[h=3]How much should my guinea pig weigh?[/h] Every guinea pig is different. Veterinary reference books frequently cite adult weights of:

900-1200 grams for males

700-900 grams for females

 

[PiggieGuinea]

She is 4 and 1/2. We took her to the vet about a momth ago and she was 1 lb 12 oz. Now she is 2 lb 1 oz before breakfast this morning. And she is pear shaped, like she is prrgnant, but it is all fat. I just want her to be able to enjoy her last years without being fat.

Edit- She doesnt look like the pigs when you search "Adult Guinea Pigs" on google. She is way fatter.

 

[bpatters]

Two pounds isn't fat for a guinea pig. My two top the scales at almost three pounds, and they're fine.

You say, "I just want her to be able to enjoy her last years without being fat." Guinea pigs only enjoy life if they're eating -- it's the be-all and end-all of existence to them. If you could ask her if she'd rather live a few weeks longer or be fed what she wants, she'd be saying, "Where's my food, woman?!"

But if she looks pregnant but isn't, you should consider a vet visit to see if she has ovarian cysts. Pigs can have them without the usual symptoms. Also, regular weighing and recording weights will tell you if she's gaining or losing an inordinate amount. Adult guinea pigs don't usually gain much weight once they've reached their full growth and filled out, so there may be something wrong.

 

[PiggieGuinea]

Ok. Maybe she will thin down when I feed less when momma isnt nursing. I gave them their veggies. Another thing- is it ok that the babies arent eating veggies? They have been eating hay and pellets, trying to drink from the bottle, and nursing.

 

[lunarminx]

Pictures of the pig in question please. She shouldn't be having alfalfa pellets over a year. Are you 100% certain she isn't pregnant? How did your other pig end up pregnant? has she been around any male pigs in the last two months or even in the same house hold?

 

[lunarminx]

What did the vet say at the last visit? I would also call them and double check her last weight.

**Where Are The Feet?Although it sounds like a Garfield joke, a guinea pig is too fat when you can't see their feet when they waddle. These guinea pig heavies usually have loose rolls of fat you can feel all throughout their body. When a guinea pig walks, their bellies are entirely lifted off of the ground and do not drag. If they drag their bellies, they most likely need to loose weight.**

https://renasherwood.hubpages.com/hub/How-Fat-Should-A-Guinea-Pig-Be

 

[PiggieGuinea]

I can see her feet, and when she runs her belly is above the ground. I only have pictures on my FB psge but was told by CavySpirit I couldnt say the nwme here. We got Loopsie while she was pregnant, but didnt know that she was pregnant. And I dont own any males. She hasnt been near a male in over 4 years. Vet said she was fine. But since then he has sold his practice and took piggy records with him as the new vet isnt cavy savvy. The only reason for alfalfa pellets at all are because all of the other pigs are 4 or less months old.

 

[lunarminx]

The picture I saw of flower shows her to be normal unless she has changed that much from the 17th. More hippy but has the indentation for the waist.

 

[lunarminx]

I can see her feet, and when she runs her belly is above the ground. I only have pictures on my FB psge but was told by CavySpirit I couldnt say the nwme here. We got Loopsie while she was pregnant, but didnt know that she was pregnant. And I dont own any males. She hasnt been near a male in over 4 years. Vet said she was fine. But since then he has sold his practice and took piggy records with him as the new vet isnt cavy savvy. The only reason for alfalfa pellets at all are because all of the other pigs are 4 or less months old.

Oh no, he has no choice but to give you a copy of their charts if you request it.

 

[lunarminx]

I can see her feet, and when she runs her belly is above the ground. I only have pictures on my FB psge but was told by CavySpirit I couldnt say the nwme here. We got Loopsie while she was pregnant, but didnt know that she was pregnant. And I dont own any males. She hasnt been near a male in over 4 years. Vet said she was fine. But since then he has sold his practice and took piggy records with him as the new vet isnt cavy savvy. The only reason for alfalfa pellets at all are because all of the other pigs are 4 or less months old.

Weird, others have linked their FB pages.

 

[lunarminx]

I also understand about the pellets, I wouldn't worry if you can see her feet when she walks. You should see how fat Knock knock is but I can see his feet and he isn't my heaviest.

 

[bpatters]

Oh no, he has no choice but to give you a copy of their charts if you request it.

Oh, yes he does. He can choose to refuse, or just give a summary, or give you the whole chart. And he can charge for the summary and/or the chart.

 

[lunarminx]

Oh, yes he does. He can choose to refuse, or just give a summary, or give you the whole chart. And he can charge for the summary and/or the chart.

I have no problem paying for the chart. I charge people all the time at our office and for some, its no charge, it depends on if they have to be mailed. He has two choices, a copy of the chart or a summary but it has to be one or the other, that is the law in most states. https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/sr-confidentiality-patient-records.aspx

I have full copies of every visit Boo has ever had, I get them that day. I request copies of lab work when they get them back, I stop by to get them. The doctor I work for goes beyond duty and pays Iron Mountian to keep old folders and he only has to keep records for five years from the last visit.

 

[PiggieGuinea]

We dont have any way to contact him. We might be able to contact the vet to contact him. He are some pictures.First one is when she is laying down, seccond is standing in the litter box, third is her standing, and fourth is baby nursing because I was in the cage and had to share I dont want to pay money for the chart. We are trying to pay off $375 bill from checkups and medicines.

 

[PiggieGuinea]

****Bump****

 

[Pawesomepet]

When one of my girls was pregnant I had to up the food and all of my piggies got chunky from it! Make sure she isn't getting any alfalfa pellets/hay (not sure if you're feeding that) but once my girls got back on their regular diet they went back to their "normal" size. Don't know if that's what's going on with your piggie but that's what happened with mine!

 

[PiggieGuinea]

yes it is. and that makes me feel better. Thanks!