Am I wrong or does she look overweight.

[Tony's Mum]

Carmela is new to our family and I don’t know a huge amount about a Rex’s body shape etc. I know a lot of mini rexes get bigger than show standard but she’s 6lb 14oz, compared to the ideal weight of 4-5lbs. I’m not suggesting she needs to weigh that little, but I feel she’s definitely chunky and would probably be better losing a pound. I know her shelter diet wasn’t ideal (they just focus on keeping buns alive rather than catering to fussy waters and chunky monkeys), but as I know mini Rex’s have different body types, I was hoping someone a bit more experienced could weigh in on this for me (excuse the pun)

[Mikey]

I dont think she looks overweight. When you pet down her back, can you lightly feel her spine? Can you feel her hip bones if you add a bit of pressure while petting? If so, her weight is fine If you feel the bones too much, she needs to put on weight/muscle. If you cant feel it, shes a bit fatty and should exercise more and might need a diet change

[Tony's Mum]

You can’t feel her bones easily like you can on Tony who is a good weight, but I’m not sure how much is just breed variable. On him you can feel the bones but they don’t stick out, on her you can’t feel them unless you press down on her and they definitely seem more cushioned than his. I’m just aware that rexes are more solid than lionheads and I shouldn’t compare them exactly

[Mikey]

She may be a super tiny bit overweight for her build. My vet says even with rex breeds, you should be able to feel their spine with a bit of pressure while petting

[Tony's Mum]

Thank you! I wasn’t sure because Tony is a TOTALLY different build to her

[LBJ10]

She looks fine. Probably not overweight really, maybe just a little “full”.

[bunnyfriend]

I think she looks good too, but it may be a good idea to get a weight on her now as a baseline and then check her occasionally. I have a Rex too and was told that Rexes tend to have more weight issues than other breeds. Mine was very overweight when he was surrendered and he could afford to lose more at the moment. This is how he looks right now for reference (he’s the black and white one):

[bunnyfriend]

I think she looks good too, but it may be a good idea to get a weight on her now as a baseline and then check her occasionally. I have a Rex too and was told that Rexes tend to have more weight issues than other breeds. Mine was very overweight when he was surrendered and he could afford to lose more at the moment. This is how he looks right now for reference (he’s the black and white one):

[Q8bunny]

She’s stunning!

This may sound awful, but I’d slim her down a tad. Even accounting for different bun breed builds, you should be able to feel a bun’s spine with only light pressure. The reason I’m suggesting this is because overweight buns can have difficulty grooming themselves (especially their bums, which can lead to other risks like flystrike). But most importantly because rexes are very prone to sore hocks, and the heavier the bun, the more pressure on their gorgeous furry thumpers.

[Tony's Mum]

Thanks everyone!

BF; she’s definitely fatter than yours, when she loafs she looks ridiculous.

Q8; yeah I’m really concious of the hocks! I think I’ll lower her pellets anyway for now and see how she gets on in a few weeks. I’m already introducing leafy greens into her diet, this week she’s trying kale and next week we’ll try parsely. Hopefully she’ll settle at a healthy weight with a healthier diet.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Im with Q. On the first photo you can see a slight (what we’d call!) muffin-top in the middle….. but with her being free roam now she may well work that off just by being more active and moving more.

But she looks goooorgeous xx

[Author]

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