While guinea pigs are generally low maintenance, they do require daily checkups. You must ensure they have access to adequate food, and that their living space is kept up. Additionally, you should do a physical check up on your guinea pig every day.
This doesn’t have to be anything intensive. It just means you need to give your guinea pig a good look and make sure they look good physically. One thing you might notice is that your guinea pig is losing weight. In today’s article, I will share everything you need to know about what to do if your guinea pig loses weight.
How to get guinea pig to gain weight?
The best way to help a guinea pig gain weight is to switch to alfalfa hay, introduce new veggies and fruits, clean the cage, and introduce pellets.
Switch to alfalfa hay
If you aren’t already feeding your guinea pig alfalfa hay, you should definitely consider it to help them gain weight. Compared to timothy hay, alfalfa hay is very high in calcium and also has a high protein content. For this reason, alfalfa hay is usually fed to pregnant or underweight guinea pigs.
Therefore, alfalfa hay could be a great way to help beef up your guinea pig to help them get back to a healthy weight.
Introduce new veggies and fruits
As you probably know, you should feed your guinea pig fresh vegetables and/or fruit once a day. If your guinea pig isn’t eating the current vegetable you feed him/her, you should test out veggies and fruits that have high calorie content.
I would suggest you try giving your guinea pig bell peppers or tomatoes. As for fruits, I would suggest you give your guinea pig apple chunks or oranges. These are both high in vitamin C, and can be a great solution if your guinea pig is suffering from scurvy.
You should know that guinea pigs have a very sensitive GI system, so when you feed them a new food, you should do so very gradually to help their digestive system adjust. You can start by cutting the food into small pieces and giving them ½ cup a day.
Clean the cage
If you guinea pig is living in a dirty environment, it can affect both their physical and mental health. A guinea pig with bad hygiene may be less enticed to eat. Therefore, if you notice your guinea pig does not finish their food, you should give your cage a big clean.
Additionally, always make sure your guinea pig has access to fresh, clean water.
Introduce pellets
If you haven’t already, you should introduce pellets into your guinea pig’s diet. Pellets are a great source of protein, and also contain a lot of other essential vitamins for a guinea pig’s diet. You can buy cheap guinea pig pellets on amazon. You can learn more in my article on do guinea pigs need pellets?
As mentioned earlier, you should start feeding a guinea pig a new food source gradually. You should start by feeding your guinea pig 1/8 cup of pellets per day, and eventually work up to ¼ cup a day.
If you notice your guinea pig is losing weight, it is very important that you find out what is the source of the problem. Therefore, I have made a list below of the main reasons why a guinea pig loses weight. The quicker you diagnose the problem, the quicker you can solve it.
Why is my guinea pig losing weight?
There are plenty of reasons why your guinea pig could be losing weight, including dental problems, scurvy, bad hygiene, and parasites.
Dental problems
You should know that a guinea pig’s front tooth never stops growing. In order to prevent the tooth from getting two big, you must give your guinea pig enough hay to help naturally ware down the tooth. If your guinea pig’s tooth becomes too big, it will become very painful. This discomfort can cause your guinea pig to eat less, and in turn cause them to lose weight.
Scurvy
Scurvy is one of the most common diseases in pet guinea pigs. Scurvy is essentially a deficiency in vitamin C. When a guinea pig develops scurvy, they can begin to lose their hair, lose mobility, and eventually lose weight.
Bad hygiene
If your guinea pig’s cage is not well kept and cleaned regularly, it can cause your guinea pig to eat less. Their food will be a lot less enticing if their entire cage smells like poop. When they eat less, they will eventually start to lose weight.
Parasites
Parasites such as ringworm and mites can be very painful for your guinea pig. If they nest inside their skin, your guinea pig will probably start scratching profusely. This will cause even more discomfort, and it can cause depression and result in them eating a lot less. To learn more, check out my article on does my guinea pig have ringworm or mites?
Now that you have read about a guinea pigs weight, you might be wondering how much they should weigh to begin with.
How much should a guinea pig weigh?
- An adult male guinea pig should weigh around 1kg (give or take 200g).
- An adult female guinea pig should weigh around 800g (give or take 200g)
If your guinea pig is a little above or below these thresholds, there is no need to panic. You should only worry if you notice your guinea pig has suddenly gained or lost a lot of weight over a short period of time.