Senior problems

[3bunboys]

Hello all,

    I was hoping you all could make some suggestions for me and my two senior boys.  Rupert is a grey/white dutch, a little over 9 years old and Benny is an american albino a little over 7 yo.  Originally they were a threesome with a female named Flo but she went over rainbow bridge this past spring.  Benny and Rupert have been holding up pretty well but there are a few issues that i’m having issues with.

1. Rupuert was always immaculate with his litter habits until he moved in with Benny and Flo.  Benny and Flo always did ok with their litter habbits.  Since Flo has passed Benny and Rupert will NOT use their litterboxes at all.  I’ve tried different boxes, different litter, different places in their pen.  In all different combos.  I’m not sure what else to try.  Any thoughts?

2.  Rupert is a tiny dutch 5lbs or less and Benny is a bit overweight at 7-8lbs.  He’s always been heavier and had a bigger frame then Rupert, both he and Flo.  They get unlimited hay and only get 1/8 cup of pellets between then.  They get daily greens and the occasional piece of banana or a few raisins.  Its gotten to the point where Benny can’t clean his undercarriage and poop gets stuck.  I check every few days and try to keep it clean but i’d rather he be able to keep it clean himself.  My question, how do I help Benny to lose weight while not changing Ruperts diet too much? 

Being that their seniors I don’t want to mess with their diets and cages too much but I gotta do something.  Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[JackRabbit]

Maybe check with your vet to make sure there’s no health issue for Benny’s weight and difficulty cleaning himself (arthritis?)? The only other thing I can think of is additional exercise.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh I have a Rupert! But my Rupert is the chubby one and Kahlua is the tiny one

Mine lost their litter habits -several reasons-if you figure a way to fix it(after ruling out any health related reason) let me know! I just sweep often – *sigh*

As for changing the food-you could separate them to feed pellets-that’s the weight gain stuff really so you could restrict (maybe even with a gate, or one is out and one is in) Benny and let Rupert eat his fill. You only need separate at meal times, and can gradually reduce Benny’s pellets until he’s a bit more svelte.

[Megabunny]

My only other thought is that I wouldn’t assume Benny isn’t able to reach to clean himself. Could he be getting into poopy butt problems? I think others have mentioned it can be a tooth problem that leads to that.

[Sarita]

It could be dental problems or arthritis as well – when was the last time you had a vet do a physical exam on them?

[Author]

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