Fat Rabbit- help!?

Question

I have a beautiful lionhead rabbit who is almost one year old. She was a grumpy little thing when we homed her, but lots of love and affection have turned her into a sweet natured little girl and I love her to bits!

We had her spayed at 6 months and since then she has put on a lot of weight, so much so that when we took her to the vets last week for her injections, he said she needed to go on a diet!

She is a house rabbit and we let her roam the house for most of the time we are at home, I have cut down on her dry foods, and give her more hay in her diet, and we even take her down to the park (on a leash, obviously!) which she loves.

Im doing all I can for her as I know its really unhealthy for her to be overweight, and was wondering if any rabbit owners have some good tips for me?

Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

A rabbits diet is roughly 95% hay (which should be on hand at all times) and then 5% food....I feed mine on Super Rabbit Excel Nuggets, only because that was the food they were on from the start...your rabbit would only need one handful of these nuggets once a day....cut down on carrots, dandelions etc etc...these should be fed a couple of times a week, as a treat...and in small amounts...

I have 2 house rabbits and I bought a hutch and hubby built me a run so they get a fair bit of exercise during the day and come in at night. By all means take her down the park but being on a leash does restrict her exercise as she cant just run about on her own..

I would have thought tho your vet would have advised you more, if not try speaking to the nurse or pop in to Pets At Home (if you have one locally), I have found their help excellent both with my rabbits and puppy.

Good luck

PS...DO NOT feed your rabbit LETTUCE, it can kill her!!!

Answer 2

I know that rabbits love lettuce and carrots. I know that they are healthy but will that help your rabbit lose weight?

Answer 3

Sounds to me like you're doing everything right. I had my male Dutch rabbit fixed at 6 months and he also got very fat. I have a female Dwarf rabbit that's 5 years old and i didn't get her fixed, and she has stayed the same weight for 5 years. I think it has a lot to do with getting them spayed or neutered. Just watch the diet, and provide lots of exercise. You sound like a responsible bunny owner to me :-)

Answer 4

Try swapping her food from the Excel to the Excel Lite. That's what I gave my rabbit when he got fat and had to go on a diet it really helped him loose the weight.

Answer 5

When you feel that she is putting on more weight, find a fun way to take it off, such as playing with her fave toy or running and hopping around the house.

Answer 6

also the problem is that when animals do get spayed it tends to slow down there metabolism, but you sound like ur doin a good job jus make sure you keep it up

Answer 7

Could you take her to a rabbit gym? There's one near where I live. They have a hopping treadmill, and a hat they can practice appearing out of.

OK I'm joking, but what a great idea!

Answer 8

First of all what are you feeding? Are you feeding pellets or the colourful stuff? If you are feeding the colourful stuff then you need to switch because that contains alot of sugar. I recommend Excel Rabbit food. I think they do a 'lite' version too.

I'd recommend feeding a large bowl of vegetables a day (nothing too sugary, thinks like romaine lettuce, cilantro, parsley) . It all depends on size but my medium rabbits get unlimited hay, a small handful of pellets and a big bowl/2 handfuls of veg a day.