My guinea pig looks fat. How to manage diet with a companion?

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.

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.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear that you think Brownie is overweight. This question is hard to address because I don't know what you are feeding and how much. Those are key questions to addressing this problem. Exercise is key of course but food intake and what types of food are very critical for maintaining a good body condition. I would advise a visit to a vet in your area familiar with guinea pigs to let them see Brownie and make some recommendations or post another question here with the above information. It's all about food intake and exercise unless something is physically wrong with him. Good luck.

Well, the first thing you'll need to do is figure out whether or not this is a male or female. There are lots of images available on guinea pig sexing and guinea pig anatomy so that you will be able to figure this out most likely. In terms of the symptoms you've reported, I would have to see pictures and perform a physical exam to give you my take. It sounds like you could be right, but there are also many other reasons for both pain and swelling in the abdomen. I would recommend having you and your parents bring him to a veterinarian comfortable treating small mammals. Hope this makes sense.

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Jasper. It is possible that the other guinea pig is eating more food/pushing Jasper away. We also worry about possible dental issues causing difficult eating. If you feel Jasper is underweight then I would recommend having a vet examine him. They can check is body condition to decide if he is truly underweight and can check his teeth to see if they are overgrown/aligned poorly. If there are not problems with the teeth then you may need to feed the guinea pigs separately to be sure that Jasper is getting enough to eat!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your Guinea pig. You will need to have her examined by a veterinarian to know for sure if she is pregnant or not. The gestation period is roughly two months. This should help you know as well depending on how long you have owned her. Go slow around her and offer small treats to help her build trust in you. I hope this information helps!

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!