sitting while grooming

[peepi&warri]

A lot of the time Peepi likes to sit with his feet out while he grooms his private region. Do other rabbits do this??? I’ve yet to see pictures of other rabbits doing it. I don’t think he’s over weight, so I don’t think thats why he does it.

Here’s a picture and video of him doing it so you can see what I’m talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RazP3Cq_Ayw

[BunnyMuffin]

Hmm…that’s very strange looking, but awfully cute! He’s probably snacking on some cecals (at least some of the time), and as long as he can reach them and keep things clean, that’s what counts. Noelle will sometimes stick one back leg out in front like that, but I’ve never seen her do both at the same time or quite to that extent. Normally she hunches up and tucks her head away under her tummy. But yeah, I don’t see anything wrong with it as long as he gets around okay and everything and has good balance. Maybe he just likes the easier access. 😛

[Beka27]

oh he’s so cute! mine will sometimes stick one leg at an angle to get at their cecals, but not both like that. how much does he weigh? if he is overweight (which can happen esaily with house rabbits thru no fault of the owner!) it would be a good idea to address that sooner rather than later. has he seen a vet recently? it’s hard to tell from the pic since he’s not sitting up straight, but he certainly looks… fluffy. lol. what’s his diet consist of these days and what amounts?

[peepi&warri]

Hi Beka,

He weighs about 4.5 lbs (taken the very scientific way of me weighing myself and then weighing myself while holding him). He used to be a bit overweight maybe 2 years ago but lost some weight after a gas/stasis occurence and has maintained since. I don’t think he’s overweight now, my other bun is a bit chubby and just from petting both of them, Peepi is skin and bones compared to Warri. I wonder if he started sitting like that when he was a bit heavier and has just kept it up because he likes the easy access, like bunnymuffin said.

He went to the vet a couple months ago and got a clean bill of health.

For food, I feed about 8-10 leaves of romaine lettuce, one bushel thingy of parsley, 2 celery stalks, 0.5 to 0.75 cups of bunny basics t pellets, unlimited orchard grass hay, and for treats either half a banana chip or half a baby carrot. And all of that is for both my bunnies, so Peepi eats about half of all that.

[Beka27]

oh that’s possible! yeah, 4.5 pounds for a mini lop is usually not overweight. that must be it then… he just has a special way of doing it. what a unique bun!

your diet sounds good. i personally wouldn’t offer more than a 1/2 cup for the two buns per day, and you might be able to do even less than that…

[KatnipCrzy]

I think if your bunny was overweight he would NOT be able to groom like that.  I have never seen my bunnies in that position grooming or in any other position grooming their underside/back end.  I have only ever seen them turned to groom their own back/topside.  (Maybe my buns are discrete little ladies )

Curious to see what others say!

Julie

[Battie]

I see Quincy (who is definitely not overweight) in less extreme but similar positions when he’s eating his cecals.

And don’t they get the funniest expressions as they munch? It’s like he’s telling me, “You might think this looks gross, but at least YOU don’t have to eat it!”

[Author]

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