Body shape: too thin? just right?

[Quartz]

My bun is an approximately 2-year old lionhead dwarf.  I adopted him just over a month ago, and his age is approximate, as given by the shelter.  I’m curious about his body shape.  He’s my first rabbit, so I have no point of reference.  Firstly, I’ll say that he acts normally and eats well, no issues with him being fussy with anything.

With that out of the way, I’m curious if someone could tell me what I should expect in terms of healthy body proportions for a dwarf lionhead rabbit.  He was about 3.1 lbs 2 months ago when he first came to the shelter, and he’s now up to 3.55lbs.  What’s making me curious is that I keep feeling like he’s maybe grown a bit?  I don’t mean fatter, I mean larger overall!  I might be imagining it, but he has gained that weight, and when I look at him eat hay and such, he can look kind of “long”, on the lean side.  And he was absolutely not skinny when I got him.  So either he’s still growing despite being around 2 years old, or he’s younger than they had estimated, or I’m imagining things?

Should I expect a squat body shape with more powerful rib area from a dwarf lionhead or a long lean body type?  I see a lot of photos of chubby looking rabbits, and wonder if it’s just because they are a different breed.

[River]

Could it be that his diet at the shelter was improper, and his new diet is causing some weight gain?
It is true that different breeds have different body types – commercial, compact, etc.
Can you get a picture of him?

I could be wrong, but I think the max weight for show lion heads is 3.75 pounds. I’m not certain, though, and some rabbits certainly do fall on the heavier side healthily.

[Quartz]

He’s gained weight since he came home with me, I think. I feed him a very healthy diet, with low protein and no treats, and he is quite lean when he stretches out. There’s no “belly” or plumpness. I was just curious about him having gained weight while simultaneously looking a bit leaner and longer. Which made me wonder if he’s still growing (his skeleton size that is).

[tobyluv]

I assume that he is getting exercise at your house, whereas he probably was kept caged at the shelter, so maybe the weight gain could be from muscle development.

[Quartz]

Ohh good thinking. That could be it. He does have complete free roam of my apartment while we’re at home. He spends a good portion of the day chomping hay and being lazy though  But he does sometimes run around in fast dashes.

[Author]

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