Normal bellies?

[manic_muncher]

K so these 2 new bunnies, one flemish, one new zealand, both have REALLY round bellies.  If they were puppies, I’d be worming them for roundworms, that’s how round they are.  The breeders had pellets up to their eyeballs, no hay.  Bumpy being a holland is different shaped, his belly didn’t feel like this when I got him, but he was also (I’m guessing) 2-3 weeks older than these two.

If I run my hand along their rib cages, I can feel the ribs slightly.  They have a huge appetite and are drinking running around and pooping.  From all that I’d read on worms, they would have big appetites but would be losing weight.

Could this be normal for this body type of rabbit?

[JackRabbit]

Did you get two bunnies????

[manic_muncher]

yea lol Bumpy wants nothing but to run them out of the house.

[JackRabbit]

OMG! Two new bunnies!! I shouldn’t laugh. When I went to get my 2nd bun I couldn’t decide between them so got them both which is how I have three. When I brought the babies home, Kieko wanted them dead. Now she wants them to obey and worship her which is why we’re on a long bonding break (she still doesn’t believe she’s a rabbit so we have to work on that first!)

I will warn you, going straight from one to three can bring on that “what was I thinking” feeling quite often at first! Just remember, we’re here for you!

Congrats! Now, pictures???!!!

[Sarita]

So you are actually palpating the stomach or just looking at their hindquarters?

[Deleted User]

Two bunnies – talk about greedy! LOL!

Surprise surprise, I have NO idea! Ha ha ha ha…. But I’m sure BBer’s with the same breeds will come along and can give you more accurate advice in relation to their little fat tummies. The only thing I can think of (as long as it isn’t worm related) is if they weren’t eating any hay at all, only pellets, that would cause a fat bunny tummy? I think once you introduce the hay and they stop filling up on pellets that should make a difference. Even though we are encouraged to feed our young bunnies unlimited pellets, we are also told to offer them unlimited hay – which I’m sure helps to balance out their diet. I’d give them a few weeks on hay and restrict their pellets (I’m not sure what amount though?) and see if their tummy size reduces?
Keep in mind manic – I have NO idea, ha ha ha, so best wait till someone who actually does know comes along and either shames me down (which is all ok with me) or confirms what I think? Cheers.

[manic_muncher]

LOL Andi. Yea Sarita, when I actually pick them up, it’s like holding a tennis ball with legs and ears. Their poo looks normal, round, good texture, and like I said they seem healthy. I was thinking like Andi said, since they’ve been pretty much fed like pigs with a trough attached, they might just be fat? But I also wondered if it could be worms. One of them had the beginning of a red spot behind her head and after I flicked at it, I saw one speck of dandruff. So I treated them with revolution just in case. When their bowl is empty from pellets, they do eat hay very nicely, which I feel pretty lucky since it’s the first time they’ve had it.

[Sarita]

It wouldn’t surprise me if they had worms if the breeder’s facility wasn’t well maintained. I think it wouldn’t hurt to do a fecal test to check for that and coccidia.

[LongEaredLions]

I’m actually going with what Andi said. Are their tummies squishy or hard?
Oh and I had NO IDEA either, lol!
A healthy-bunny check at the vet couldn’t hurt.

[JackRabbit]

Maybe if you show us pics of the new buns and their chubby bellies we could help better?!

(keeps checking thread, dying for MM to post bunny pics)

[manic_muncher]

LOL ok ok… I gave them no free time today because I was asleep, but I’m up now and they’ve eaten and are napping now. When they wake up I’ll grab them and take pictures!

-grasping grabby hands-

Gonna setup a makeshift area for them in the hallway to run around for a few hours. She’s been trying to binky in the cage and wow her legs are powerful!

Oh, they are Bonnie and Clyde! (must tell you this, JackRabbit reminded me that you guys hijack name creating!)

[manic_muncher]

Oh and.. LEL… I’m beginning to think it is just food too. There were a LOT of bunnies where they came from and they had a trough system there, and they were full of pellets all the way across. When I fed them pellets a lil bit ago, the nz just sat and gorged, he literally was chowing down until it was all gone. So yea.. I’m limiting their unlimited pellets a lil bit next feeding time. I may even give them the cat treat ball treatment like I did Bumpy when I first got him.

Not sure when I’ll be able to take them to the vet. It’s a long drive. I’m gonna call my local (non)rabbit savvy vet and see just how non-savvy he really is. We’re country/rural… so he may be able to take a look at them for basic general well-being. Anyway, getting close to time to get the dogs their heartworm checks, maybe I’ll drag them along to slide them in and get a freebie look-over.

[manic_muncher]

http://youtu.be/wWcjlM1sqkM

Ok 5min crappy resolution video.  I really wish my cam worked better inside.  I’ve taken some nice bright ones outside, low light is terrible! ugh.

 

[manic_muncher]

Bleh, ok chrome is glitching.  2nd photo showing the roundness won’t insert properly.  Will try again in a lil bit.

[manic_muncher]

 

ok there we go.  You can see the slightly darker lines of shadow, that’s not an illusion, it’s their actual belly pudge.  I mean for their breed body type, they just seem a bit round and full… but I dunno if it’s just fat bunny pudge or not.  And with their previous grow out pens… and just leaving their mom’s cages, I don’t think they’ve had much exercise.  Hopefully the running and jumping will build up their leg muscles and maybe get them to proper weight. Which by the way, he weighs 1.5 pounds, she weighs 2.6 pounds.

[Roberta]

It could be they are just a breed prone to cobbiness… My Pascal is a Silver Fox and Cobby is his middle name.

[JackRabbit]

OMG! Big cute pudgy baby bunnies with big uppy bunny ears and doing first time binkies! (Suffering cute overload, must take deep breaths)

You are going to have too much fun! Wait til they do bunny 500’s! Oh I think you should share . . . If I jump in the car right now (in my nightshirt!) I can be there in 3 hours! Well, 2 if I drive really really fast! LOL!

[Sarita]

Oh goodness, how cute they are – they look fine to me.

Pretty coloring too.

[manic_muncher]

Thanks She’s light grey and he is supposed to be lilac colored… I dunno, we’ll see. I just wanted them obviously different so I could tell them apart easily.

[LongEaredLions]

Aww, adorable!
They look fine to me too.

[Deleted User]

I’m a little (ok, a LOT) jealous manic! Not fair!

[JackRabbit]

How’s it going with the new buns? Is Bumpy still grumpy?!

[LongEaredLions]

I want to know as well!

[Usagi1618]

If you’re new to adopting baby bunnies their growing tummies make them look pregnant. They seem normal to me. They get out of chubby tummy stage after another twobor three weeks.

[manic_muncher]

Thanks Usagi! That’s exactly the word I used to describe them to my hubby when we first got them. (“they look pregnant!”)

Ok… Bumpy has been pretty good with us the last couple days. He’s acting more like himself maybe slightly more bossy, but it’s only because he can’t see them. He does occasionally periscope up to see over the screen block and sometimes comes around to the other corner where I just have a box sitting in the way. He’s still pissed about them in general. You know how when dogs and cats get mad and they get that line of hair that raises up? He gets a single line from mid-back down to his puffy tail. He also tries baiting them to stick their noses out of the cage. He did a glorious crocodile roll when he grabbed at Clyde’s nose several days back. That’s when I put up the screen. Clyde took minor damage.

I JUST got the new xpen and will be setting it up for Bonnie in a couple hours. 42″ tall hopefully will contain her. I am feeling slightly sad about separating her from Clyde. They are only 9 weeks old now, but where they are is too small for the both of them, and she’s growing so fast. Since Bumpy has somewhat adjusted to splitting his pen with them, I figured just leave Clyde in there by himself.

Question! Should I still let them have their playtime together? She’s a flemish, so it should be at the very least 2 more months before I’d really have to start thinking about separating them. Would housing them separately break their bunny bond so I’d have to have separate playtimes too? She did quite a bit of chasing when I first put them in the cage together, but she’s stopped with that.

[JackRabbit]

Is there any way that you can keep the xpens side-by-side? I know Bumpy has a huge area, but keeping Marlee and Moshi’s dog crates next to each other kept their bond intact ( they slept next to each other, etc., just couldn’t actually touch).

Since Bonnie’s growing so fast, it’s only fair that you share more pics . . !

[manic_muncher]

Sadly, no. And to make it even more dramatic, they won’t be able to see each other much when separated. Across the room with obstacles blocking vision. And I know their bond would more than likely break when they get to be teenagers. Clyde will be able to see me almost all the time, Bonnie would be able to see my husband almost all of the time. Bumpy will run around pissed off, demanding treats and turning his back on everyone except Outlaw.

[Deleted User]

Sounds like a perfectly normal household to me! (that describes my family!). Ha ha ha ha……

[JackRabbit]

Poor Bumpy deserves treats!

[Author]

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