How to help my rabbit gain weight!

[ccscheurman]

My bunny got skinny, but it wasn’t evident unless you touched her. The vet told me she is getting dangerously thin and told me I should try giving her way pellets than I normally do. The vet and assistant both said not to give her more than a few vegetables due to how watery they are. It was odd, after we got home, I immediately fed her, right in the carrier and she started grunting, panting and her nose got really congested , she started sneezing and slobbering. I took her food back to the cage, and put her there as well, suddenly she was fine!

As far as the vet, they looked at everything they thought could cause the weight loss, they said it was either from a parasite (please no) or from a lack of protein from the pellets, this is possible, as in the past month and a half, there was at least a good fourth of that time that all she got was hay for that day. (Especially when I left her with my parents for a few weeks). She is eating fine now and is currently just relaxing.

Question 1: What can I give her to help her put on weight?
2: Why did she start freaking out in her carrier while eating, but has had no problems in her cage?
3: Is it possible even if she drinks and eats plenty, that she lost a lot of weight (i can see her spine) just by not getting pellets.
4: They want me to bring in a sample of her droppings, is there anything I personally should look for in them?
5: How do I calm myself down? (As soon as I heard underweight, I instantly blamed myself and seem to think no matter what she won’t put on more weight and that like, she will starve any second, where as, the vet said it is critical, but wants me to wait a few weeks while trying her new diet.

[MissGabbster]

What was she being being fed prior to the visit on a daily basis? That info will def help us to help you! Also, what other information can give you about your rabbit? Size, weight, possibly breed if you know it. That can give us a basic guideline that we can use to find out what quantity of food she should be eating.

I do find it odd that your vet said not to feed her many vegetables. Vegetables are an important part of a rabbit’s diet. If she’s not used to eating them then they do need to be introduced slowly so that their system can get used to them.

I know where you’re at mentally! When I first got Ox he was underweight and it didn’t help that I wasn’t feeding him enough so when I did get him into the vet and I was told that he was underweight I felt terrible! My vet just had me give him more pellets and veggies and once he got to his healthy weight I reduced the pellets again so that he wouldn’t keep gaining weight. His daily salad hasn’t been reduced, in fact it just seems to keep growing. Haha.

Here are some pages that really helped me out:
Healthy Diet for your House Rabbit: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/2/PID/940/Default.aspx
Diet FAQs: http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/
Suggested Vegetables & Fruits: http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/
More suggested veg: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1KgqCvKiV-3MwctnEen9loPz4pJxekhGccuQ5jKVeRGAtsHF9Dodq9Z1R4qDP/edit

[Megabunny]

It’s highly unlikely you’d see anything of consequence in the droppings. Try not to freak out about that until you have to. I know they can get parasites, but I still think it’s not that common. Others will likely disagree. HOWEVER, the vet looks for parasite eggs, which are microscopic, so get as fresh as sample as you can to bring in. Just a few droppings should be fine.
I’m very curious how old your rabbit is.
No clue why that episode happened in the carrier.
Bananas, oat hay and pellets come to mind for putting on weight. Maybe those treats that we all curse on here, as long as bunny’s tummy can tolerate them, at least for awhile. But the tops to oat hay is supposed to be fattening. I believe they call them nom noms in the BB store. People with horses might have a supply they’d give you. A cup or two would last you forever.
Rabbits do not show symptoms of discomfort. There could be something metabolic going on, and fur can hide a lot of things, especially when it’s a slowly progressing problem that you just adapt to as it happens and don’t necessarily notice. It will do no good to beat yourself up. It’s not like you were starving her. If she had hay, it’s reasonable to think that would be enough, although it’s not always. Depending on the hay, some rabbits won’t touch it. My guy will have hay, but if he doesn’t like it, his pellets are gone and he poops all around his food dishes to let me know he’s STARVING when I bring his morning salad…even though there’s a pile of hay there. Sadly, we sometimes have to learn along the way.
I do think pellets have a place in rabbit’s diets and I wouldn’t totally stop them at any other time.
It’s OK. You obviously love your bunny and for whatever reason she was at the vet, well, that was all really good you had brought her. Was there something else wrong with her that you brought her? No offense to your parents, but if you leave her with them again, be sure they’re willing to feed her more than hay.

[JackRabbit]

I agree with the others. The limited veggies right now may be to make sure one of the veggies isn’t upsetting her tummy and to focus on higher calories foods like pellets (good quality pellet like Oxbow adult) to get weight on her. Oat hay tops are nutritious and high calorie so add some of those to her diet.

Runny/mushy poop and weight loss are signs of a parasite so its important to get the poop sample to the vet as quickly as possible. Make sure to take a fresh sample. Also, make sure to give clear feeding instructions to anyone who helps you care for her.

[ccscheurman]

Hi everyone! Thank you for the advice!

To answer the questions, she is a little over 1 year old (rescue rabbit), she is an American Rabbit, an on everyday basis, she is being fed hay, cilantro and a half bowl of oxbow pellets.

Here’s the weird thing on the parasite front. She hasn’t had runny poop, at all, she has only produced solid dropping, so that is also odd!

[ccscheurman]

Oh and the reason she was at the vet was that her ear was drooping! And as if by magic, today it is totally fixed!

[Megabunny]

Figures right?
I would vote For way more greens if you can afford it. Just one kind isn’t really the ideal way to feed. Romaine isn’t too bad and you could add other fun things like onthe sites Miss G suggested.
It would likely put your mind to ease to rule out parasites but I know that itself can be costly. Not that you’ve suggested $ is any issue I just don’t want to assume either way. Keep us posted though

[ccscheurman]

Money actually was an issue until I got my student loan return. I can probably get to the store later today to buy some lettuce. Maybe a few otger things for variety, I am running low on a few things anyway, so I will find time tp go shopping!

[Megabunny]

No iceburg you know. Romaine or spring mixes when on sale are yummy.

[Megabunny]

Hey c c. also depending on where you live once summer is here you may be able to get lots and lots of free food outside. Apple branches and dandelions and all sorts of things

[ccscheurman]

I know to avoid iceberg, she used to have lettuce a lot! Thank you though!

And I live just outside of Portland, Oregon!

[Megabunny]

Oregon is the number one state for people moving to. We are number two here in South Carolina. I bet you could find a lot of good stuff in the summer in Oregon. I really miss being able to collect my own rabbit food in the summer. I guess I could find it in the country but we are too close to the city

[ccscheurman]

Thank you so much! I will look for some good summer foods.

We had a weird developments today! Her pee is red (not blood red, beet red), she even had a few dropping that are beet red. The only thing I can think of is, the treats I have fed her recently have all been that color, but I am concerned it could be blood that got darkened cause it was in her litter box.

I also don’t have a scale and need a way to make sure she is gaining weight not losing it, I’m bad at sight checking, is there anyway to check her well?

[Megabunny]

Ha ha. Welcome to the world of feeding rabbits a variety. While I won’t give a blanket statement to ignore it, it is normal for their urine to change color with certain foods.

Now if she isn’t spayed, I would try to see if it’s really coming from her bladder and not her lady parts, which would be VERY much reason for concern. I should copy/paste more things people post for future ref. seems like someone posted pictures (Roberta?) of different colored urine. I don’t want to panic you because vets will be happy to do hundreds and hundreds of dollars in workups BEFORE you find out it’s going to be either something you can’t afford to fix, or something you can’t fix anyway. So bare that in mind before taking her in.

I’m sure they’d weigh her for no charge. I bought a scales for $40 online and it never ended up being much help. It was tiny even for my small bunny. Maybe bring her every couple of weeks to be weighed?

Again, I’m torn between telling you to panic and telling you it’s normal blood. If it’s blood IN the droppings that would be abnormal. I guess I’m worried that she’s got it coming from not being spayed and leaving strands of blood around and THAT would be serious

[ccscheurman]

She is spayed actually and has been for some time. I wouldn’t let her go without that for this long. So, it helps me feel better, because she is certainly spayed.

If she is spayed, you would say it probably isn’t a concern?

[Megabunny]

Well you don’t want me being the only word on this. You could start a new thread about red urine and people will likely have experience but if it isn’t all the time I’m not sure I’d jump at getting it looked at. There are proteins or something like that which can cause the red to come and go. But then so can bladder infections although I’d think she would be having accidents outside the litter box if that were the case.

[MoxieMeadows]

Another suggestion is growing your own veggies/lettuces in pots and containers on your windows (if you can) in the spring/summer. I’m not sure about seed prices over there, but we can get a packet of seeds for 99 cents to $1.50. So ten dollars worth of seeds can go much farther then buying veggies from the store. And if money gets tight, you’d still have veggies/lettuce growing so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’m sure it isn’t blood-apparently you would not really be able to see blood in urine. Red urine is from food so no need to worry.

Feed pellets (increase gradually 10% a day) until you can give her unlimited and she can eat when she is hungry -make sure she always has hay. Don’t worry too much on the veggies-those are to provide vitamins and trace nutrients, but can upset tummies and you aren’t sure why she lost weight so I’d stick with the basics-pellets and hay. You can also give some alfalfa hay, that will help her gain weight too.

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