Overweight and other poor health indicators

[GlennTheLionhead]

As some may know I adopted Nellie in May. She was rescued from living in a single hutch with 4 other female rabbits (all unspayed!) in rather unsanitary conditions… Poor thing. She is about 5/6 years old so has had many years to develop all kinds of possible issues that come from poor care, she also likely got little to no hay.

I’ve always known shes a little overweight but thought with a good diet she would improve… Upon closer inspection she bigger than I actually thought, her massive coat makes it hard to tell but when she floops she looks huge…. She also breaths quite rapidly, initially thought to be anxiety related when we are around but now we can get close to her while shes resting its become obvious that the fast breathing is all the time… Perhaps this is related to her weight. She generally fine otherwise always seems super comfy and eats lots of hay, no apparent ailments or illness. Shes not really active although runs around fine when its food time or occasionally to explore the lounge. The only thing I need to double check is the presence of sore hocks, she appears fine but I’ve recently read that they can actually be hidden underneath fur.

Shes about 2.3 kilos, which is large for a lion head. Glenn on the big side for a lion head in both, length and weight, he’s super healthy and trim hes just muscley from a life time of running up and down stairs ect and just a large lionhead… But even he is only 1.9kg . I also did a body condition test on both and I can’t feel Nellies spine easily at all!

So basically are there anyways I can help her excercise? Or tricks that can be done to help overweight rabbits? Can rabbuts use treadmills like dogs or something similar? Honestly I’m not sure if anything diet related would help as she is already restricted to 8 science selective pellets a day and a teaspoon of natures touch pellet forage mix in the evening.

[Wick & Fable]

This will likely be a helpful resource: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Weight_management#Overweight_rabbits

Be cautious of aiming for a particular weight based on breed– weight ranges are set arbitrarily and can have a wide, yet still healthy range based on natural genetics. Also, most rabbits are some sort of mix, so two lionheads can be different in weight, yet still both be healthy. So yes, use the body scoring as noted on that linked website, in addition to veterinary guidance to figure out what is Nellie’s ideal size.

I’d make sure she has access to spacious, rabbit-appropriate flooring (i.e., non-slippy) so exercising is as easy as possible. You can also try to engage her more to burn calories. Here’s an example of me doing so with one of my more chew-crazy rabbits: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/sr694b/owner_bonding_10min_of_engagement/

You can also definitely make her work for those 8 pellets. You can have her run laps around the room following you in order to get them.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

Yes, don’t go by weight alone. You should examine her body condition. Ribs should feel like pencils inside a soft pencil case. In other words, you can feel them, but there is some “meat” between them. Most bunnies have a “waist”, but the tubular body breeds (e.g. Himalayan) don’t really have a distinguishable one.

Working for food – Try putting pellets in a cat treat ball.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Thanks both! Those links are very helpful! Watching the video on one link says that it does take time so maybe I am being impatient and she is possibly already improving, not sure how long I can expect it to take though.

I’ve just checked her over and I can feel her spine but I cannot feel her rib… She is not covered in rolls of fat though but does have a pronounced dewlap (she was a mum previously).

I really like the ideas about the treat ball and running for her pellets, I’m definitely going to start doing that right away… I think I will alternate treats as well so she only gets them a couple times a week, usually they gets half of a selective treat ring one day and then a peice of dandilion root the next day and alternate like that, perhaps with Nellie we will cut down more.

They have about 60sqft pen and then free roam when we are home. I do try to make the floor softer but she digs at the blankets and will only lie on the hard bottom layer of rubber weirdly.. So I don’t know if that means I should leave hard? Or perhaps just persist with soft flooring till she accepts it?

I will also book them in with our exotics soon and see what tips he has for us. Thanks again!

[Bam]

I had a fat bun. He lost weight slowly under the supervision of my rabbit savvy vet. Slow weight loss is the best thing. Rapid weight loss harms the liver (it becomes overwhelmed with the fatty acid release from downbreak of fatty body tissue).

Make changes gradually. I have the Selective rings with rosehip. Half a ring is great, you can gradually cut down to 1/4

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