Weight gain at bunny boarding

[Theodorusrex]

My husband and I are just back from honeymoon and picked up Theo from his boarding this morning. I posted about the boarding a few months ago but this place specialises in boarding house bunnies and we researched it really thoroughly. We sent his normal food, hay etc with him and the man who owns it provided the fresh veggies everyday. He went and stayed there for the weekend a couple of months back and he got on well so we decided to board him there for the honeymoon. When we picked him up today he was his normal self but looked on the pudgy side – unusual for theo who naturally has a small frame even the vet said he was small framed for a relatively big lop rabbit. I decided to weigh him to put my mind at ease and he has gained 0.5kg (just over 1lb)which is a lot seeing as he only weighs 2kg (4.5lbs) I’m horrified – we told him to give him only 1/4cup pellets daily which he obviously has ignored

Any advice on what to do? Or tips for a healthy safe way to get him back down to his normal weight?

Thanks

[Bam]

Wow. I’d be horrified too. 0,5 kg on a 2 kg bun makes him obese (25% surplus weight is considered obesity in buns).
You should get his weight down slowly. Cut back on pellets, cut out all treats and up leafy greens. When my Bam went on a diet he lost 100 g/month for 3 months. It was spring so I could forage lots for him, that helped.
How long were you gone?

[Theodorusrex]

We were only gone 2.5 weeks and Theo’s not prone to gaining weight – he’s never lost/gained a single gram hardly while we’ve had him. I’m so cross about this, this boarder is supposed to be the best for rabbits in the area.
Wow 100g/month, meaning it could take 5 months or more to get him back to normal – that’s really shocking. My poor little man ?
We will cut right down on pellets and up his greens and make sure he gets plenty of exercise which he does anyway being free roam mostly. Thanks for the advice, bam. We’ll need to find someone new to look after Theo next time.

[Bam]

I’d not have thought it possible to make a bun gain that much in 2,5 weeks
If he’s an active rabbit, he can probably lose weight faster than Bam did. Bam likes to eat, nap and be pet on his head – not the most calorie-burning activities imaginable.

[Q8bunny]

I can see the opposite happening from the bun not eating as much from missing you, etc., but that’s ridiculous! Did Theo have space to run around in or was he more sedentary than at home in his new surroundings? Could he have had access to another pet’s food or even to a human’s food? One thing I would try if you’re not doing it already, is feed him with scattered food so that he has to forage. A cat treat ball or even scattering his pellets and leaves all over a room should help shed the pudge.

[Bam]

Scattering food is good! Although if you scatter greens you’ll have to go check so he really has found them, so you don’t end up with a house full of uneaten veg that goes mouldy etc. Don’t “hide” the food too well for starters, if he’s used to getting his food served in a bowl, as our little princes and princesses generally are, he needs a bit of training before he knows that he needs to go look for his food. 

Here is an article from the HRS about overweight bunnies and why it’s VERY important to get their weight down slowly. Scroll down to Home Care Of An Overweight Rabbit.

Overweight bunnies

I still don’t really get how this person could have accomplished this in such a short time. Feeding him like a foie gras goose =(

[Theodorusrex]

Thanks for the article bam will have a good read.
Q8 we often do scatter his food to keep him amused – will continue to do so. Since we’ve had him back he’s been wolfing everything like he’s never seen food before ? I’ve NEVER seen him eat some much hay as he did yesterday. Granted, he is mostly free roam at home so he had less room at the boarder’s but he was in a 3ft by 6ft pen so he did have a good bit of room.
My husband and I have been doing some math though – we sent Theo with a 2kg bag of food which came home nearly empty – which when you do the math means he must have been getting 100g of pellets each day – probably the equivalent of like over a cup of food a day!

[Q8bunny]

Egad! No wonder! He got the bunny equivalent of one Big Mac each day. Poor little chap.

[Author]

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