With their short digestive track, I believe gpigs should have food available at all times. If your trying to conserve on pellets, are you supplementing with Timothey Hay and veggies? Gpigs should have hay available at all times and have fresh veggies and/or fuit provided at least once a day. Spinach, Romaine Lettuce(NOT iceberg lettuce) Endive, Parsley, Carrots, Oranges, Apples etc.. Some veggies are not good(poisonious for gpigs) like snapbeans. If you do a search on google, you'll probably come up with a site that lists good/bad veggies. Another factor is how much time he runs around each day. I think all gpigs are chubby and cute. As long as his weight doesn't effect his movement or activity level, he should be fine.