HOW MUCH TO FEED YOUR SMALL FURRY PET
Feeding guidelines on pet food packaging are very useful in helping you know how much food to feed to your hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, chinchillas, gerbil...etc
Manufacturers spend a lot of time trying to make feeding guides on packs as accurate as possible but they will never be exactly correct for every pet. This is because there is a significant amount of variation between individuals. Some pets need to eat more than others to maintain their body weight, others put on weight easily.
This is due to:
differences in activity level/lifestyle
stage of growth
individual metabolic rates
external factors such as temperature
To prevent selective feeding only small amounts of food should be offered each time, and the bowl should never be ‘topped’ up with new food until all the different ingredients have been consumed. Mixes often contain pellets or extruded pieces (kibbles) too – these may contain vitamins and minerals but sometimes vitamins and minerals are scattered through the whole mixture.
The PFMA has produced a Healthy Pet Test for rabbits, called the Pet Size-O-Meter, that owners should carry out every 2 weeks, or weekly if worried about their rabbit's bodyweight and regulate the food accordingly. Advice about weight loss or weight increase in pets can be obtained from your veterinary surgeon and any concerns you have about your pet’s body condition should be addressed.
