Chubby Bunny

[Micaela]

I got Eva a few weeks ago and when I first got her she was very thin, you could feel all her bones but her thick fur helped cover it up and made her look quite plump, but as soon as you’d pet her you’d notice just how skinny she was.
When I first got her I made sure to feed her lots of pellets to try and get her weight back up-and during the first few days of having her I discovered just how much she eats. I’m used to taking care of my boyfriend’s dwarf rabbit who doesn’t eat very much, so I was very worried when I noticed how much Eva was eating (she’s a Californian cinnamon mix and she’s about 2 years old if that gives any info).

She’s ALWAYS hungry, she’s a very smart girl and quickly learned how to ask me for food. She’ll catch my attention and run to her food bowl and paw at it until I feed her, and when I give her food it’s obvious that she was truly hungry because even if i give her things she doesn’t really like she’s scarf them down very quickly. I give her about 1/2 a cup of pellets a day and about 2-3 cups of veggies a day and a few fruit pieces here and there (she weighs about 6 pounds)
I know I should cut back on the pellets but it breaks my heart to see her so hungry. She goes to her treat jars and paws at them whenever she wants something sweet so to me it seems that she goes to her food bowl only when she’s hungry and wants a meal but I don’t understand how she can eat so much and still be hungry. I guess I could understand how much she eats if she were very active but she’s a bit of a couch potato, when I first got her I was told to not freak out if she wasn’t as active as other rabbits because by nature she’s very lazy. She likes sleeping and lounging around quite a bit, but she seems completely healthy, I’ve seen her run around and jump but she seems to just rather lay in her cardboard castle and relax. 

The real problem is that within these past few weeks she’s gained weight very quickly- so much so that I’m starting to worry she might be gaining a little too much weight. She’s healthy at the moment but I want to prevent her from gaining anymore weight. I’ve thought about cutting back on food a bit but she’s so hungry all the time that I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. I’m just at a loss here and I don’t know what to do. How can I keep her from getting too fat? Should I be worried about her overt interest in food?

Please help 

[JackRabbit]

Does she have access to unlimited hay? Between meals she should be eating quite a bit of hay to keep her digestive tract moving and healthy.

[LongEaredLions]

I agree. If she is hungry, she should be eating hay. Most bunnies do like pellets, but as you said, too many can make them fat. If you are concerned that she may be unusually hungry all the time, you might want to take her into the vet just to make sure everything is ok.

[litheandgraphic]

I second the hay! It should always be available. Bunnies are so hard to ignore when they beg. How can one say no to that adorable little face? They play us like fiddles, sometimes. Alas, for their own benefit, sometimes we must learn to say no. Or at least, no, you can’t have any dessert until you have your real food! I’d cut back on the fruit and the pellets as well. Try dropping those down gradually to about 1/4 or even 1/8 cup depending on what you feel would be best. If she has plenty of hay at her constant disposal and a good variety of leafy greens in her diet, she will be absolutely fine with fewer pellets, and it may help her lose a little weight, or at least, slow down the rate at which she’s gaining it.

As for shedding the weight, maybe try and up her exercise as much as you can? Something I’ve found works pretty well if nothing else is to have a few pellets or leafy greens and walk from one side of the room to the other so that she runs to catch up with you. Give her a small reward (a bit of greens or a pellet), and continue doing this for a little while. Obviously don’t overfeed during this exercise.

Another thing you could try and do is just to have more active toys for her to play with. If she’s the type to do the Bunny 500 or lots of binkies, try giving her a little bit more room to run around in, a few more toys and/or a tunnel and/or a box for her to play with and in, and she may well take advantage of this new enrichment.

And of course, as LongEaredLions suggested, you may want to take her to the bunny-savvy vet if the problem accelerates too quickly.

[Micaela]

She has a large ball of hay in here cage as well as a big box filled with toilet paper tubes stuffed with all kinds of different hay at the end of the room whenever she’s allowed out (Her cage is open all day for the most part except when im sleeping). She has plenty of hay and she does eat it quite often but that’s not stopping her from eating all the time. 
I think I’m going to cut down on the pellets and fruit and just give her more leafy greens instead. 
As for the exercise my house has tile flooring so im going to have to figure out a way to give her more space to run around in than just my room. The problem is she haaates the tiles- i think they’re too cold on her little paws and they don’t give her enough friction so I’m scared she can hurt her back while trying to run. Maybe I could buy some cheap rugs and lay them down around the outside of my room during playtime to give her a bit more space. I’m going to head out to the pet store to buy her more interactive toys and hopefully she’ll be running around and playing with them in no time.
I think I’m going to hold out on the vet for a little bit just to see if she gets better on her own- if not, a trip to the vet it is!

Thank you so much guys! 

[Author]

Messages