Controlling small pet weight gain will help your little friend live a long, healthy life. I'm sure you've heard of little pets who've been "killed with kindness". Recent trends have it that more and more small pets like rabbits and guinea pigs are getting dangerously fat because their owners just couldn't stop feeding them.
But just as in humans, overweight small pets are bound for all sorts of health problems like bad bones, teeth, and infertility. Controlling small pet weight gain may sound Chinese to many doting owners, but yes, there is a need to impose diets even to our little friends. Excessive weight in small pets causes a lot of strain in their cardiovascular system, and also aggravates arthritis in aging ones. In obese rabbits, a condition called "flystrike" is common. This happens when caked feces gather around the anus area of a fat bunny, therefore attracting flies that later on lay eggs (which later on become maggots) - all simply because the poor thing is too flabby to be able to groom himself. In fat guinea pigs, on the other hand, a condition called ketosis is also common. This happens when a guinea pig's body burns more fat than is required in response to abnormal glucose or liver glycogen levels. Ketosis in guinea pigs often result to stillbirths and abortions.
Now, those are certainly the last things anyone would want to happen to their little pets, right? The solution to these conditions is fairly simple, yet difficult to carry out. A balanced diet. In view of this, a good first step in controlling small pet weight gain is actually trying to hold back on handing fattening treats and snacks to them. Cookies and cakes are some of small pet's fave treats, but if you're putting your little one on diet, then try to feed them these in moderation, and if you can, keep these food out totally. Try feeding him with more greens, instead. Give him more grass hay in addition to food pellets. Greens provide these small pets with much needed roughage which pellets cannot provide. A steady diet like this for a few weeks is considered effective in controlling small pet weight gain.
If your small pet is too fat, do not attempt to get him on a crash diet or it may lead to fatal results. Ideally, seriously fat small pets would need the supervision of a veterinarian in controlling small pet weight gain. Once you get your small pet to his ideal weight, then that's the time you plan for his long-term diet.
In conjunction with healthier food, you would also need to encourage your small pet to exercise. If you have an indoor bunny, taking him to the garden regularly for a good run or playing games with him indoors are good exercise ideas. Try putting new toys or arranging them regularly in a guinea pig's or a mice's cage to make him more interested in playing and getting active.
Obesity is fastly becoming an epidemic, not just among humans, but among our pets as well. Controlling small pet weight gain, as in humans, requires the right diet, exercise, and discipline.
