Pepper is a fattie, and Poopie questions

[PeppersMama]

Okay…So i feel like pepper is a fattie. He looks fat, and he feels fat. He hasnt got so fat hes developed a dewlap, but he does look a little fat around the neck and the hind quarters.  He only weighs 4.5 pounds, but he just looks fat. maybe not? maybe he is supposed to look that way and since its my first rabbit i just dont know what a rabbit is supposed to look like. Maybe its different because hes a lop? I dunno but he looks like a fattie mc tubby butt. lol! He gets 1/3 cup of pellets a day and 2 cups of veggies. lately hes been getting more raisins than normal because im at my dads for christmas and despite all the rules i give him about 1-2 raisins a day, he ends up getting like 4 a day. so maybe thats why. Should i put him on a  diet? I will have a new camera after christmas (my current one is broken) so i will post a couple of pictures of his fattiness and maybe you all can help me decide if hes fat or not. I mean i want a happy rabbit, but im not so sure him being a fattie is good for his health.

Maybe the above is related to this? I also had a question about his poopies. He just went through a molt. not a big one, but a molt none the less. I rolled him everyday with a sticky roller until the fur stopped coming out for the most part. But i would still be finding two poos stuck together by hair in the center every once in a while. Lately his poos have been varied sizes from ginormous to very small. but never consistant. Also he has eaten more hay this month than ever in his life i feel like. i went through a 48 oz bag of timothy hay in less than 2 weeks. that is a ridiculous amount of hay. a lot more than he normally eats. but im kinda worried about his poo sizes. is it normal for a rabbit to eat more hay during a molt? and should i just continue to monitor his poo sizes? am i doing the right thing?

oh and i should say his activity levels and eating and all that are normal. hes not acting abnormally at all. still runs to anyone who walks in the room hoping that they have treats! lol!

Thanks everyone!!! sorry for so many questions!!!

[Beka27]

it is good he’s been eating more hay, esp. since he’s been shedding. were you brushing in addition to “rolling”? if not, i’d recommend you still brush regularly b/c that is what is going to really help to get the loose fur up and out. you can roll after you’re done to pick up any stray hairs that are left.

4.5 pounds for a lop is usually not abnormally large. it will also depend on his build tho… my lop is so SQUARE in comparison to my mini rex who is much leaner and more shapely. Max kinda resembles a small 5 pound tank with ears, but he’s not overweight, just solid. i do think your pellets could be cut down further. usually for 5 pounds, you won’t want to go above 1/4 cup, some people will even reduce further to 1/8th cup. the hay, followed by veggies should be the main part of his diet.

[Sarita]

I don’t think that sounds fat either – rabbits weight is mostly in their hindquarters and but area, that’s the way they are built. Lops do tend to look more tank like just because of the way they are bred, they don’t have the sleek face and just appear more stout.

The string of pearl poops mean that his ingested fur is running through his system so keep combing and keep feeding hay – that’s a good thing.

I would recommend as well cutting his pellets to 1/4 cup as well.

[PeppersMama]

okay thankyou guys its good to know hes probably not fat. i wasnt sure so i thought i would ask. thankyou

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Agreed-he doesn’t sound fat-and I like them to be on the chubbier side-if they do get sick they have some reserves, but that’s just my personal preference in all animals

The poops sound like shed poops and as long as he’s still eating and pooping sounds good to me-he should come through fine after the shed is over

[MimzMum]

Pepper is a loppie. Mimzy is a loppie. I think there is something about the shapes of their faces, their overall build and the long, droopy ears and all that makes them seem more plump than most buns. I know I panic about Mimz’s weight all the time, but he’s constant as of his last vet visit a few weeks ago.

I find those poops hanging from the cage bars like a pair of fuzzy dice all the time. Makes me crazy! 0_o

[PeppersMama]

hahahah fuzzy dice! thats hilarious!

could you imagine if someone with one of those german giant rabbits took one of those pairs of poos and hung them on their rearview mirror??? talk about an air freshener…hahahaha!

[Beka27]

ew! ROTFLMAO!!!

[bitterepiphany]

If it makes you feel any better, we just had Meco to the vet and the first words out of the vet’s mouth were “Well aren’t you a tubby bunny!” (I restrained myself from the “She’s new! We’re working on it!” defense) but, when she put her on the scale – she only weighed in at 5lbs 1oz. The vet was really surprised at how little she weighed since she looks like a gigantic egg when she lays down. (I swear, she’s a pointy oval…if it weren’t for her ears you wouldn’t know she was a bunny.)

We feed 1 oz pellets in the AM and 1oz in the PM along with a cup and a half of fresh veg (mostly lettuce/greens, 2 baby carrots & 1 celery stalk/handfull green pepper spears) and a fry basket full of hay. She’s lost a few ounces since we got her…it may also just have been hair due to her new brushing routine (i.e., we do it.) but she definitely looks slimmer in the tummy when she stands up.

Still looks like a gigantic easter egg – and we think that’s adorable.

[PeppersMama]

haha a bunny that looks like an easter egg! how ironic

[bitterepiphany]

She really does. Except when she looks like this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/waxwingedfae/3157638107/

[MarkBun]

Dr. Harvey showed me about how to tell if a rabbit is fat (since I wanted to keep an eye on my girlfriend’s). She says that you should be able to feel the back of their spine clearly as well as a little down the sides. If you think of a compass with the top of the spine being North, you should feel it from NorthEast to Northwest But if you can feel the top of the spine without anything but skin between it and you, it is good.. In addition, the ribs should be somewhat easy to tell through the skin. This may sound like a rabbit is starving but that’s what she said is a normal weight bunny. Now, if more of the spine is being exposed, it means that they are underweight and need more pellets. It is one of those rare balancing issues – a little one way or the other could mean an issue. So I’d always consult a vet if you are worried about fatness.

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