How Fat Should A Guinea Pig Be?
76
When I had my first guinea pig, I was surprised to learn that they can get too fat. Since they are built like a Tribble from Star Trek, how can you tell if they are too fat? Do you weigh them? The average weight for a female guinea pig (technically called a sow) is one and a half pounds. The average weight for a male guinea pig (called a boar) is about one and a half to two pounds.
Yet, there are always piggies that never read the guinea pig books. Boars weighing four pounds are not uncommon. In Peru, where guinea pigs are a major (and often only) source of protein, they purposefully breed "Superpigs". Genes apparently have not been tinkered with - which means any baby cavy has the potential to be a Superpig.
So, weighing the guinea pigs to determine if they are too fat is out. What can you do?
Looking Down From Above
Although guinea pig adults are mildly pear-shaped when looking down on their backs from above, the bottom part of the "pear" should not be significantly bigger than the smaller part. Baby cavies are shaped like a Tic-Tac when looked down from above. Until they are about three months old, the biggest parts of the babies will seem to be their ears. They will lack any butt development whatsoever.
If your female guinea pig suddenly gets really fat, she might be pregnant. Sexing baby guinea pigs is difficult at best. Most pet stores do not separate the sexes or wrongly sex them and so unplanned piggies are often conceived. Take her to the vet to be sure. If she's not pregnant, then she is fat.
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.
But if you are still not sure, please take your guinea pig to a vet who often sees guinea pigs in his or her practice. Overweight guinea pigs are in danger of dying early from sickness and disease just like overweight people are. Feed less and make sure your guinea pig has a good scamper around a safe play area for at least ten minutes a day, preferably an hour. Treats like yogurt drops are loaded with calories. Cut back on them.
Your guinea pig will complain when put on a diet, but after a couple of weeks, the piggy should be more active as well as slimmer.
This gp is pregnant. If your gp is this fat and NOt pregnant, then he or she is too fat
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (3)
- Funny (1)
- Awesome
- Beautiful (1)
- Interesting (2)
CommentsLoading...
I need to make my guinea pig fatter. What should I do. i went to a vet and they said that he has overgrown teeth. HELP ME!!!!
Your vet should have already supplied you with this information! You should speak to them, or find a better vet if not! Exotic animal vets are best because they specialise in smaller animals such as guinea pigs. If your pig is happy to eat feed them plenty of timothy hay, lots of fresh vegetables such as carrot, brocolli, cauliflower leaves and a little cucumber. Also an excellent food called Supreme Science Recovery is available which comes as a dry powder, so it can be mixed into balls or a liquid and fed regularly via hand or a syringe. The vet *must* trim the guinea pig's teeth, and perhaps it would be worth having an x-ray done to make sure the roots aren't growing too far inwards which can be very serious. Make sure your guinea pig eats regularly and a fair amount each time - this should help. Good luck!
i have a 2 yr old guinea pig (male) how much should it weigh????????
thx for telling me about the guinea pigs and their weight. Im only in 8th grade and i take care of the guinea pigs in my class and we think one of them is pregnant. I read online that if you can feel the babies in her tummy or if you feel them kick she is pregnant. is that true. How can you tell if the guinea pig isn't just breathing and the baby isn't kicking? thx for all your help =^D.
my guineapig that is 1 year old how much should it weigh ??????????
i had a guinea pig named porche [he died last month] but he was around 3 pounds or so. when he died he was about 1 pound. his teeth werent too long, but somehow he got sick or something. i think maybe because i used soap and a tiny bit of pinesol to clean his cage? or maybe he was old. how old do guineas get? and if u set them outside in the grass is it safe? my guinea pig started running down a hill and tried to dig a hole for some reason! and how do u 'potty train' piggies so they dont go potty on people? mine did that. a lot. and he would poo as well,... but if i get 2 guinea pig thats a girl can they be in the same cage if they are small? one more thing: my guinea pig wouldnt chew on his wood toy thing and i didnt know why. he wouldnt eat his yogurt snack either. how come?
Can someone tell me what my guinea pig is doing?!?!
she eats alot but i don't know if she is pregnant.....
and i can't afford to see a vet! i think she is,but i am not sure.Someone PLZ HELP!!!!!
I've had "Marley" from when he was about a month and he is awesome...in order to train it to not pee or poo is easy. Take it out...when it does pee or poo put it back in its cage quickly and wait half a day. Guinea pigs get really really lonely..if by themselves...so it learns pretty fast ..like by the first week if done everyday. that peeing or pooing equals back in cage. So it'll learn to hold it in..and even is "sneaky about it and sneak a few lil turds..which is part of their thing..they like to taste their own poop..high in proteins..no joke.
my pig has black poo but is sometimes brown is this bad
hi i have two guinea pigs they are so sweet they do poo that color it just depends on what they eat oh yeah i have a q. i think one of my gp is pregnent how do i tell i do not like vets eather she is huge and eats alot help me please
from
Reasess,Buttercupand booka
hi, i highly doubt anyone will answer this, but your welcome to. As you have probably guessed i have a gp named Zoidburg and hes about 2 years old and i am curious to know what weight he is suppose to be, because most of my friends gp's are huge pancake sorta things and mine is some little pear and i'm concered if hes not eating enough. So if you are reading this i would greatly apricate anyone who answers
i dont know if my guinea pig is overweight or not its very hard to tell and we dont have proper scales how can i tell if hes over weight
Can you weigh him? and if you can't then have the vet weigh him. if you know he is over weight I would contact a vet and see what is the best diet to put him on.
I got my GP from a friend of mine and I dont know how old it is, but yesterday my GP sguiggle died and my other GP bugsy hasn't been eating since, im very concerned what can I do ?? also can GP's get colds because bugsy sneezed on me and im not sure if I should take it to the vet or what ?? pleaseee HELP!!
My gp is almost 5 and he sneezes all the time I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing......
hi, I am concerned about my guinea pigs, I have recently got a new one they are getting on fine but i think that one of them is a girl, i have looked up on every website i could on how to tell but i'm still not sure and i can't afford to go to a vet to check, on one website it said that inly males have the spot on top of their butt, is this true because only one of my guinea pigs has the spot!!!!
zozobozo--Hold your pig with one hand or have someone else hold it for you so that you can see the genitals. Very gently but with some pressure, press your thumb into the the area next to what looks like the tip of a penis. If a penis pops out, it's obviously male. Be very gentle, don't hurt the pig. Make sure you don't drop it.
My guinea pig's belly doesn't really drag, But she's a little thick around the back. I can't let her run around the apartment because if she goes to the bathroom, Then we get a fine. The only thing that Daisy can do is go up the stairs, and play in her tiny pen. But it's too small for her to really run in. What do I do?
Can I worm my gp after she had babies
@ guinea pig lover don't worry too much. My guinea pig loves to eat (she squeaks SOOO loud when she hears a bag rustle). If shes eating more than normal you should consult someone (youtube: guineapigpersonals--this woman is very knowledgeable, ask her a question...she helped me with biting.)
Cuby is really fat. when she walks, i dont know if she is pushing and then pulling. also she HATES other guinea pigs after a few incidents and does dut does not seem lonley. what should i do?
I have read on some websites that nearly all guinea pigs are social but there can be a oddball who dosent get along with other guinea pigs, your one is obvioulsy a gp that dosent get along. dont stress!
im getting a guinea pig on friday 27th 2010 i'm ready your website helped me understand i' trained to be a vet your power graph i'm going to tell them and hope fully get the job................thanx add me on msn my name is ripa begum........x x x x x
How do you weigh a guinea pig?! We tried to weigh my guinea pig (he looks like a grey blob with a face lol) and he just ran right off the scale and back to me (aw :D). How do you weigh them?
Really, I would just like to know EXACTLY how much to feed my overweight gp. She has been to the vet, she is not pregnant. She is obese. Only info I can find on the subject is that they should eat plenty of fruits and veggies, never-ending supply of timothy hay, and some pellets. (We aren't going into water with vitamin sups.) How much is too much? How many cups a day of fruits and veggies? How many tablespoons of pellets? SHOULD I minimize the amount of hay? She has 6 square feet cage to run, and gets floor time. Please! I would love to have a healthy pig!
I accidentally gave my piggy cabbage,IS THAT VERY BAD!? I'm so worried, i gave him ALOT. D:
When your Guinea Pig has overgrown teeth, be sure to make an appointment with your vet once a month for check-up, so that he/she can get them cut. If you do not do this, the Guinea Pigs teeth will grow far too long, curve up & it will eventually choke, possibly die.
Guinea piggy luver -
You can, but there's better and more nutritious veggies to feed them. Cabbage is mostly water and doesn't contain a lot of nutrients. What type of cabbage also makes a difference.
The other problem with cabbage is it's a very gassy food. You want to limit how much they get or they get bloated from too much gassy food - and they're not comfortable or happy when they're bloated.
Two of my sows (female pigs) are 3 lbs each. I've taken them to the vet, and I am just told that they are "big girls." They are both abyssinians (like these pigs here: http://www.popularpets.net/guinea-pigs/pictures/ab so it's hard to tell if they're just fluffy or fat.
However, if you're REALLY concerned, post a picture of your pigs - or better yet - ask a vet! To get a guinea pig's nails trimmed is about 8-10 dollars, and most vets weigh the pigs for their records free of charge.
im really confused. When i first bought my guinea pigs i was told that they were both boys, they are around 7-9 months old,one of them has always been a bigger eater but lately i've been noticing that that cookie (the one that dont eat as much) is putting a lot more wait on than the other 1 i was just wondering if any1 had any advice.
im really confused. When i first bought my guinea pigs i was told that they were both boys, they are around 7-9 months old,one of them has always been a bigger eater but lately i've been noticing that that cookie (the one that dont eat as much) is putting a lot more wait on than the other 1 i was just wondering if any1 had any advice.
hello i was wondering if i could have any advice im now looking after my sons school guinea pig sheis only 2 years old but i noticed a lump on its right side of her back i took her to the vet and was told it could just be a fatty lump but it seems to be getting alot bigger. i was wondering if guinea pigs take anesthetic well or if the chances of her pulling through are slim. shes a really loved guinea pig but had a tuff start to life
You can give your guinea pig fruit tree branches, just cut bit of a apple or pear tree that will help wear their teeth down so that they don't grow up or down into the mouth. hope it helps. we do that at college I'm on a animal care course and i have tried with my guineas and there teeth seem to be fine still fairly young though they weight 1.5pounds not sure if thats fat though haha x
My guinea pig is about to turn three next month, is a boar, and weighs three pounds. Is that a lot?
my pig is a fat little bitch it was like 3 pounds. However it has a very long body, so it doesnt look that fat. I kiss that little bastard all day it's so damn cute.
@jojo
Nope, 3-4 pounds is fine for a boar guinea pig. I have 2 that are turning 3 in a months time to, and they are big guinea pigs like yours.
i have a female guinea pig and she is about 5 months old and only weighs 210grams. is that under weight?
People need to not worry about your guinea pigs wight and size. They very a lot when it comes to this issue. If you piggie gets lots of exercise and eats nice amounts, has lots of vitamin c and seems happy/healthy more than likely your pig is just fine.
My guinea pig weighs 2,146 pounds. Is this too fat?
http://www.guinealynx.info is a terrific course of information for anyone who has questions about guinea pig care.
hello i have bought 2 guinea pigs before and it seems cute and funny i had enjoyed very much because their lovable and so tame but after many months my sow got pregnant,resulting to 5 pups until such time that i cant feed them all anymore because they are mating enormously..so what i did i tried to cook one of them and fortunately it taste so good like chicken!..so my problem is solve..im very happy now because i feed them and they feed me as well =)
I have a guinea pig named butterscotch (shares a cage with my sisters Coco) and i notice butterscotch is alot fatter then butterscotch an shees nowhere near as active as Coco is this bad
haha justin i have coco yeah i love coco shes so hyper and sassy. and i love your guinea pig butterscotch too. shes fat but adoribly cute!
healthy male guineas shouldn't weigh more then 3 pounds. females no more then 2.
My female guinea pig is 5 pounds!!!!! I'm not sure at all what to do. Petco and Petsmart couldn't help at all. I'm extremely worried. Can anyone help?
my guinea pig Astro is three pounds! that is bigger than the other. his name is Lenny. Lenny is two pounds.
levro you a syco nasty kunt NO ONE SHOULD EAT GUINEA PIGS!!! i hope you get AIDS. and DIE yourself and all the guinea pigs eat you like a big chunk of cucumber !!!!
Yeah one of my female guinea pigs is really fat but It can't be pregnant because they are both girls
It's body is quite pear shaped
What should I do?
I don't know if my GP is too fat because she looks fat but I can't tell. PLZ HELP!
Me too,PLEASE HELP
We have a 4 and a half month old female i think she is too small as she fits in the palm of my hand can anyone help? She seems very happy healthy she eats and drinks well so its just a small concern
 | Amazon Price: $3.69 List Price: $9.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $3.39 List Price: $7.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $1.70 List Price: $4.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $32.83 List Price: $69.99 |
,){kind=link}
Ginger 4 years ago
My guinea pig has chubbies;)