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Is my guinea pig overweight at 3 lbs? How can I help him lose weight?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Small Animal | Guinea Pig | Male | 3.1 lbs

Is my guinea pig overweight? If so, what should I do to help him get to a healthy weight? I just weighed him and he weighed in at 3 lbs 1.7 oz.

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 4th, 2020

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!

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