My potbelly pig is gaining weight. How much should I feed her?

Pigs should be fed a specific diet, such as in this case the Mazuri mini pig diet. I would recommend following the guidelines on the bag for your pig's particular size and weight. In addition, supplemental food can be in small quantities. I would encourage you to refer to the following page for information as it is a great source of info for new pig owners. http://americanminipigassociation.com/mini-pig-education/mini-pig-nutrition/ Hope this helps.

Vaccines for pot bellied pigs will depend on geographic location as well as lifestyle (risk of exposure). Leptospirosis, Erysipelas, Bordetella, Tetanus and pneumonia vaccines should all be discussed with Penelope's veterinarian. She may need one, a few or none at all.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I typically recommend feeding adult dogs twice daily. The bad of food you are feeding will tell you how much to feed daily for her weight. I would split that daily amount into two meals. Kisses to Peppa!

Just looking at pictures makes it hard to see if your Guinea Pig is overweight. Maybe a little bit? Just make sure that she gets LOTS of hay, a decent pile of greens, not too many pellets (and the pellets should be timothy based pellets with no junk food in them) and very limited treats and you should be ok.

Pigs tend to run hotter than people and a normal temp is around 101.5-102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If she's lethargic, not wanting to eat as much, and also has nasal discharge, I'd be worried about something underlying such as a respiratory illness which can affect piglets. Having a vet take a look, especially if she isn't improving, is best. In the meantime, keeping her eating her regular food, and keeping he warm may help keep her comfortable until the cause is found.

It sounds like the larger pig is getting more of the food you put in the enclosure and as a result one is growing too quickly and one may not be growing enough. Probably the easiest thing to do would be to separate the pigs when you are feeding them pellets or treats. You can leave the hay in the enclosure while they are together. Also make sure you are only feeding fresh veggies with very occasional treats. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center with your question about Snowball and for providing pictures, they are very helpful. Yes he is a bit overweight. He should be weighing around 2.5lbs and he does look overweight in the pictures. You need to adjust his diet. Around 80% of his diet should be high quality grass hay. He also needs vitamin c. In order to get a variety of nutrients and vitamin C, give your guinea pig up to 1 cup (128 g) of fresh vegetables and about 1/4 cup (30 g) of fresh fruit a day. Stick to this diet, nothing extra, and that should help him lose weight. Limit the amount of pellets he gets, as that can be a cause of weight gain. The Humane Society recommends that guinea pigs eat about 1/8 cup (30 g) of pellets a day. Also avoid high starch foods and commercial treats. Finally, get him to exercise. Let him run around the house supervised, and set up obstacles and toys in his cage to get him moving. I hope this helps!