How do I know if my bunny is too fat? xD

[Zombie-Sue]

Hi hi! x)

Is there a specific way to know if my bunny is too fat, or will the vet be able to tell me…?

According to the shelter, Tank is a havana bunny, and based on the descripion and pictures I’ve seen in books, I am inclined to believe them. I don’t think he’s mixed with anything.

Except… I read that Havanas are generally between four and six pounds and Tank is ten… X_____X

Is it more likely that he’s fat or a mutt? x3

[jerseygirl]

Hi, welcome to the forums. It is very likely your rabbit is a cross breed. Most shelter rabbits are. The shelter may have labelled it on looks alone. So it may have had a specific coat colour and upright ears enough for them to say Havana.
I’ve always used this guide from this article to check body condition. I’ve only pasted the relevant paragraph.

How do you know if your bunny is fat? Many house rabbits are, and they are not at all embarrassed by it! Rabbits store fat inside their abdomen, which makes just eyeballing them for love handles ineffective. Run your hands along your rabbit’s side, feeling the rib cage. When you reach the end of the ribs, your should be able to feel a slight inward slope, the waist. Fat bunnies will balloon out instead. Remember that the ribs are palpable in even quite obese rabbits, so don’t let your bunny fool you into more snacks!

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/obese.shtml

With some breeds, especially lop breeds, it is harder to tell as their bodies are more compact so they can have a tendency to look a bit weighty.
Of course, you can post a pic of Tank and we can all give our opinions.

[Zombie-Sue]

Oh, thank youuu! That does make me feel a little better x) Four extra pounds is a looot when we’re talking about such a small animal. But I will still try to check. I don’t know, the only pictures I can take are with a cell phone–wouldn’t that be annoying or hard to tell? ^^’;

I think I’ll finish reading that article, too. Thank you for it!

[LoveChaCha]

I’ve seen on some sites, if you look at your bunny when you stand up, their body will look pear shaped. I’m not quite sure about medium-larged sized breeds, as mine is just a dwarf. But lotsa bunnies are cross breeds so it could vary

[Zombie-Sue]

Pear-shaped? When I look at him from above? Am I thinking about this right?

Thank you, by the way (:

I guess then, if I find he is round, he is fat? x3

[Beka27]

Can you post some pics of him from different angles and in better light? I saw your intro post and I thought he looked “rexy”, but it may have just been the light and/or picture quality. How much does he weigh? Did he have a vet check before adoption?

[Zombie-Sue]

 

Those are two he let me take while he was out *brieeefly* tonight (: All I can do is use my cell phone to take the pictures, do they help to venture a guess? To me he seems quite bulbous xD Especially when he streches out and lays down, he kind of looks like a puddle.

I scheduled an appointment with a vet, can they tell if he’s fat without knowing what kind of rabbit he is? I hear it’s REALLY tough to find a good rabbit doctor around where I live (Iowa, if anyone knows anyone? xD) so I am worried that he won’t be able to tell either… I hear fat rabbits can get bad arthritus and things… and he IS getting pretty close to getting old…

 

He is about ten, eleven pounds… I don’t know when his last vet appointment was. I know they neutered him and put a microchip in his neck, but how long ago was that? I couldn’t tell you xD

 

I tried to take more, but he REALLY doesn’t like my cell phone xD

[jerseygirl]

It is hard to tell but he does look to be carrying a bit extra. He appears to have a sort of roll around the neck/chest area. He seems a sort of compact body type though. I’m surprised he weighs 10lbs. I agree with Beka, he has a sort of rex like look. Rex fur is plush and velvety & they have crinkly whiskers. Havana fur is supposedly shiny. Is his fur black right through or he has a different colour undercoat?
Some breeds around his weight are New Zealand or Beveren. Though he could be havana for all we know, crossed with a larger breed. I believe there are even rex crosses that don’t inherit the rex fur. So it really is a guessing game.

A vet can tell what to look for in body condition. Flabs where they’re not supposed to be, body definition, ability to fell the spine etc. Have you checked out House Rabbit Society list for vets?
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets_iowa.html
Also; http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/Vet_IO.html

[Elrohwen]

If your bunny isn’t purebred, it can be hard to tell what is a good weight. I thought my new mini lop was a bit chubby (at least compared to my holland lop) but the vet said she’s perfect. So I would really trust the vet and see what they say.

From the picks, he does look a little chubby, but not 4lbs chubby. The shelter probably labelled him Havana, not knowing what else to put since he’s a mixed breed. If he’s 10lbs, it’s more likely he’s a mix with a black New Zealand or something similar, rather than a Havana.

[Beka27]

Maybe it’s the pics, but he does not look like he’s 10 lbs. I’m trying to look at him in comparison to your dresser drawer, and he looks smaller than that… but you’ll know better than I. If he’s 10 lbs he seems to be hiding it well. I think at a glance he looks pretty good (absolutely adorable!) Maybe a little bit “fluffy” but not too bad.

What is his diet?

[bunnyluvr]

Tank looks very similar to my little angel girl, Boogity. I was told by my vet that she was a havana/rex mix. Her fur was very shiny and smooth feeling, is his? He does look a little chunky but not horribly so. And he’s beautiful by the way.

[Zombie-Sue]

THANKS EVERYONE WHO IS HELPING MEEE! (: And for all of your lovely compliments. I know he can’t read, but I swear they are going to his head… maybe I’m cooing at him too much… as if there could be such a thing (;

I took him to the vet and the vet seemed very knowledgeable. xD

So,
THE VERDICT IS IN.

DRUMROLLLL…

He IS fat. xD Buuut, as many of you guessed, he is not 4 lbs fat.

The scale at the pound was either wrong or they rounded up xD (they weighed him right in front of me, but I didn’t see the reading.) He is 8 pounds and 1 oz. The vet estimated that he needed to drop 1 to 2 pounds, and we’d see how he’d look then. The vet reccomended I feed him more vegetables and less pellets, and gave me a list of good vegetables for him. I think at the animal rescue league, they only fed him pellets and hay and he didn’t get much exercize, so I am optomistic that with improvements in those areas, he will do well x)

As for his fur, he is shedding EVERYWHERE. That is all I can really say about that. xD I will have to examine it more closely! Maybe when he is smaller, he will look more like a Havana bunny. Or maybe he’ll still look like a mutt haha. I am having trouble determining the texutre of his fur, except that he REALLY needs brushed and it is very soft. <3

Again thanks everyonneeee. <3!

[Sarita]

Exercise will definitely help. This is not really unusual too for rabbits coming from a shelter environment – they don’t have the resources to feed fresh veggies and give them alot of exercise due to space and funds.

[Elrohwen]

I know that at the rescue I work at, the bunnies only get hay and pellets (veggies are too expensive with so many buns) and most of them are chubby. The rescue owner knows she feeds them too many pellets, but she feels so bad for them being in cages most of the time that she feeds them a little extra. Haha. So it’s not uncommon for shelter buns to be a little chubby.

Good luck brushing him! He probably didn’t get much brushing at the shelter so there’s probably a lot of fur that needs to come out before he can have a super shiny coat.

[Ladyvicious]

I need help is my bunny getting fat. I picked her up and she feels “full” like she is solid. Please help.

[LBJ10]

Hi Ladyvicious! Welcome to BB. This thread is 5 years old. We ask that you do not pull up old threads because it causes confusion. I read half way down the thread before I realized what I was reading was old. I’m going to lock this thread now and I’ll start a new one for you. That way, people will see right away what your question is.

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