Guinea pigs are well-known for his or her love of meals! Nonetheless, they’re hardly ever fats. That is due to the sheer quantity of meals they should eat simply to manage their weight.
In case your guinea pig is simply too fats, they’ll have a U-shaped stomach that hangs down or touches the ground. It’ll be onerous to see their ft when viewing them from the facet, and also you gained’t be capable of really feel their ribs, backbone, or hip bones simply.
Preserve studying to study extra about weight problems in guinea pigs, methods to know in case your guinea pig is simply too fats, and extra.
Disclaimer: Weight problems in Guinea Pigs is Unusual
Guinea pigs are chunky little animals–many individuals name them “potatoes” on account of their lovely physique form. It’s fairly irregular for a guinea pig to be chubby, particularly when fed the best eating regimen.
I at all times advocate specializing in correct eating regimen and enrichment, relatively than weight reduction. The most typical causes piggies change into chubby embody too many pellets, an excessive amount of sugar within the eating regimen, and having a small cage. Feeding hay that’s increased in fats, akin to oat hay, may also trigger weight problems in piggies.
It’s additionally vital to notice that lots of the weights in guinea pig measurement charts are inaccurate, and guinea pigs can fall exterior of the traditional vary (700-1500 grams) and be completely wholesome. That’s why it’s higher to depend on their physique form than their weight to evaluate their physique situation.
Know if Your Guinea Pig is Too Fats
1. First, Take a look at Your Care
Listed here are some frequent causes a guinea pig is chubby:
- They’re fed greater than ⅛ cup of pellets day by day or fed an unhealthy pellet. See our guinea pig pellet suggestions for extra info.
- You’re feeding the incorrect kind of hay, and it’s too excessive in fats. Timothy hay and orchard grass are the very best and most typical selections for wholesome guinea pigs.
- They’re getting an excessive amount of sugar of their eating regimen. Many individuals don’t notice that carrots include a whole lot of sugar (for a piggy, anyway) and needs to be fed sparingly. The identical is true of fruit. Goal for a small quantity as soon as to twice weekly.
- Their cage is beneath the really helpful minimal measurement. For 2 piggies, 7.5 sq. ft is the minimal however 10.5 sq. ft or extra is very most popular.
2. Subsequent, Assess Their Physique Form
Whereas weight comes right down to a person piggy, and thus doesn’t essentially inform us in the event that they’re chubby, you possibly can assess their physique form for a extra correct image.
That is how an chubby guinea pig seems:
- You can’t really feel their hips, backbone, or ribs
- The stomach has a U-shaped curve when considered from the facet, and will contact the ground
- It’s tough to see your guinea pig’s ft from the facet
- Their chest space is identical width as their rear finish, or shut (notice that this can be seen in guinea pigs who’re too skinny!)
Remember the fact that long-haired piggies can seem fatter by means of a thick layer of fur. You’ll must really feel them along with your arms to see should you can really feel their hips, backbone, and rib cage, or in the event that they’re coated by fats.
What to Do if Your Guinea Pig is Chubby
Change Their Eating regimen
In case your guinea pig is chubby, the very first thing to take a look at is their eating regimen. They need to have entry to massive quantities of contemporary hay 24/7. Keep away from hays which might be excessive in fats akin to oat hay.
Every piggy also needs to get round one cup of contemporary greens. Darkish, leafy greens are finest, and will be supplemented with veggies excessive in vitamin C akin to bell pepper. Feed small quantities of carrot or fruit only one to 2 occasions weekly in order that your guinea pig isn’t consuming an excessive amount of sugar.
Lastly, every guinea pig ought to get ⅛ cup of pellets day by day. These needs to be plain, timothy-based pellets with out colourful items or seeds.
By no means prohibit hay or feed lower than one cup of day by day veggies in an try and make your piggy shed weight. Do not forget that they should eat consistently on account of their quick metabolisms, and proscribing meals on this method will be very dangerous. GI stasis can happen in simply 6-8 hours with out meals.
Make Positive Their Cage is Massive Sufficient
The naked minimal cage measurement for a pair of guinea pigs is 7.5 sq. ft–your cage ought to by no means be smaller than this. Nonetheless, for a lot of piggies that’s not sufficient area.
It’s really helpful that your cage be 10.5 sq. ft or bigger–please give them probably the most area you possibly can!
After all, bigger teams of piggies want much more area.
The larger the cage, the extra room your guinea pigs must train. In small cages, you could discover them staying nonetheless or attempting to run round however not having sufficient area.
In massive cages, guinea pigs can do zoomies and popcorn to their hearts’ content material!
Present Extra Enrichment
Enrichment is something that helps guinea pigs act on their pure instincts and retains their our bodies and minds lively.
For instance, place tunnels across the cage to encourage them to maneuver round with out feeling uncovered in a large, open area.
Purchase or make guinea pig-safe toys and distribute them across the cage for them to chew, or scatter feed pellets to encourage exploration. Forage mixes are one other great point to make use of as long as all the components are good for piggies.
Except for enrichment inside the cage, you can even carry your guinea pigs out for ground time. Some don’t like this, however those that do will sit up for the chance to discover a brand new space.
The Significance of Weighing Your Guinea Pigs
Once they’re sick, guinea pigs can shed weight quickly. Weight reduction is usually the primary signal of sickness {that a} piggy father or mother will discover.
Because of this guinea pigs needs to be weighed weekly. Use a kitchen scale that measures in grams, and write their weights down every week in a pocket book, in your cellphone, or within the Guinea Pig Care Planner–wherever you possibly can entry it best.
In case your guinea pig will get sick or begins to shed weight, weigh them day by day to maintain a more in-depth eye on their well being. This may additionally inform you whether or not or not they’re consuming.
Weight lack of 50 grams per week or extra warrants a visit to the vet, and dropping greater than 100 grams in per week necessitates an emergency vet journey.
In conclusion, weighing your guinea pig is essential! Nonetheless, wholesome weights differ relying on the person piggy, and it’s not frequent for guinea pigs to be too fats.
An important factor is that your guinea pig’s eating regimen is wholesome, they’re getting loads of enrichment, and have a big cage to train in.
