Help! My guinea pig is too fat!

Guinea pigs are animals that will eat anything they see in sight. They cannot save food for later. For this reason, every owner of such a rodent should portion and portion out food for him.

Sometimes it happens that we are not able to take proper care of the animal, which grows to quite a large size without being noticed. We can easily recognize when the rodent has too much body. A guinea pig is definitely too heavy when, while walking, it drags its belly on the floor and is unable to lift it. However, when we look from above while it is sitting, we do not see its paws, which are hidden under rolls of fat. If you have any doubts whether your guinea pig has the correct weight, you should ask your vet. There are no clear weight standards for all guinea pigs, because each breed is different.

It should be emphasized that being overweight can end in the same tragic way for a guinea pig as it does for a human. The rodent can die prematurely due to heart disease, atherosclerosis, suffer from hypertension, diabetes, joint and bone degeneration.

The most common cause of obesity in guinea pigs is an improper diet and too little exercise. Remember not to give your pet any dairy products or yoghurts. Also, choose more expensive food that does not contain fatty seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds. It is best to give food in the form of pellets. Ground and compacted food prevents selective eating of tasty morsels.

We should not drastically reduce the daily amount of food when the guinea pig is losing weight. It is better to consider whether we should not change it, because it may be inappropriate. Nowadays, we can get specially prepared weight loss food for our guinea pigs in pet stores. It would be worth testing them. We can also start giving vegetables in a light version.

When the guinea pig is on a diet, you cannot limit the amount of hay you give your guinea pig. Hay does not fatten, but is necessary for the proper functioning of the animal's digestive system. Instead of giving it hay, help your guinea pig move more. Encourage it to exercise by letting it out of its cage more often. You can make it an obstacle course out of cardboard. It will be happy to explore it and check all possible exit options.

(cp)