Is your Guinea pig fat?

Guinea pigs are very adorable pets. Their cute guinea pig nose, fascinating wheeking call, and distinctive walk endear them to almost everyone that they often get spoilt with attention and treats.

Spoiling your guinea pigs is fine, but only to an extent and exclusively in some areas. Giving your guinea pigs an extra-large habitat, plenty of toys, a balanced diet, some sensible treats in moderation and lots of attention are wonderful ways to show your love to them.

Giving your Guinea Pig food and treats can be the tricky part. Food is one area your guinea pig fans might want to go a bit overboard. A fat guinea pig is certainly not a happy guinea pig and a fat guinea pig is certainly not a healthy guinea pig. With your pig's peculiar body shape, how can you tell if it is fat and how do you stave off or treat guinea pig obesity?

How to know your Guinea Pig is fat?

This may seem simple but it is not as simple as you might think because the normal body shape of a guinea pig makes this difficult.

Guinea pig weights vary from 900 to 1,200 grams for males and 700 to 900 grams for females (Ferrets, Rabbits And Rodents Clinical Medicine And Surgery).

The best tool for measuring your Guinea Pig’s weight status is called a Gram Scale. Regular weighing would enable you to spot any tendencies in your Guinea Pig's weight gain or loss. A Gram Scale would track both smaller and larger increments, which is why it’s very helpful for weighing small animals like guinea pigs

You can also observe your guinea pig for weight gain by answering this question; Does your Guineapig walk any differently or seem more lethargic?

Also, you can check it from above to see if its sides are bulging out.

If you notice anything that seems to hint that your Guinea Pig has gained excessive weight,  don’t ignore it. Sudden gain or loss of weight could mean your pet is pregnant or that it has a medical problem like a tumour.

How to prevent your Guniea Pig from gaining weight

1. Try not to feed them too much food. You could get your pet some Guinea Pig Food from our Scarlett store.

Also, make sure your Guinea Pig has a lot of exercise as too little exercise is usually the cause of excess weight. Get your Guinea Pig Toys to ease your pet's exercise.

1. One food that you can feed your pet with no fear of weight loss is hay. Because it is high in fibre, Guniea pigs rely on it to wear down their continual teeth growth and to keep their digestive tract moving. As long as the hay is grass hay and not alfalfa, give as much fresh hay daily as your pets can eat.
2. Some food, like vitamin C-fortified guinea pig pelleted food, is necessary for good health.
3. Treats are an amazing bonding tool and also improve your pet's life, but be careful with the type of treats you offer. Ensure Treats are offered in moderation, as guinea pigs who fill up on treats won’t eat their hay and normal diet.
4. Avoid giving your Guinea pigs meals like candy, cookies, ice cream, cake, potato chips, doughnuts, cheese curls, etc. The same junk food for you is also junk food for guinea pigs.
5. Consult your veterinarian to determine the best weight loss program for your guinea pig and get Guinea pig healthcare for emergencies and total healthcare.