Fat Bunny

[ChocoClover]

Snowball, one of my females, seems to be eating less. She is fat and always has been. I'm a bit worried about bloating, because I don't really know the difference between a healthy bunny belly and a bloated one. She does eat most of her hay, half her pellets, and all her normal water consumption. She's never been a big eater, which does make me wonder about her weight. She is very calm and really hates being picked up, but when she's in your arms, she will snuggle and squeeze in. When she is outside, she will run to people. She is a sweet, adorable, cuddly, loving creature, and I would hate for her to be uncomfortable. Are there any tips anyone could have?

Ps. She's my profile picture.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Feel her tummy. If it feels soft and malleable like a normal human tummy, she's not bloated. If it feels tight and pressured like one of those metal foil balloons, she is.

Did her appetite suddenly decrease? There could be any number of reasons for that. I would suspect dental, but you'd do best to have a vet check her all over just to be sure. Does she pick up her food, chew once or twice then drop it?

 

[ChocoClover]

I felt her stomach. It's not nearly as hard as a balloon, but harder than a human. Also, her appetite has been weird since I got her a few weeks ago. I didn't notice any sort of change. I could see it being a dental problem because she will eat with gusto for the first ten or so bites, then stop. I'm going to take her to the vet. Thanks for your advice.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Let us know how it goes. All the best, Snowball!

 

[ChocoClover]

I'm realizing that she's just picky about her hay. She eats the green stuff and leaves the brown stuff. I will take her to the vet still because I'm going to breed her, though.

 

[thisisfliss]

Alfy suffers from gas and is picky with her hay. I can tell when she's gassy, other than her belly she's grumpy, her poos gets smaller and she chews her cage bars!

 

[ChocoClover]

That is basically what snowball does. If it is gas, what can I do to make her more comfortable?

 

[thisisfliss]

Give her some infant colic drops- 1ml every hour for 3 hours. You might want to reduce veggies and encourage hay as the fibre is what they need the most. Tummy massages help too. Someone posted a link to me so I'll get it. I've had to do a lot of research into gas cause Alfy is prone. I'll find the link to the post for you!

 

[thisisfliss]

Great advice here:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=79370

And this is a fab video:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/LbyC6CWbm5M?feature=oembed

 

[ChocoClover]

Snowy doesn't eat any veggies, just hay and limited pellets. I will try the colic drops.

 

[thisisfliss]

If they flop onto their sides in pain or are less interested in food then it could be gas. If not it might just be her tum.

 

[ChocoClover]

She does flop sort of a lot... Is always a bit lethargic.

 

[thisisfliss]

Is her tummy soft or is it more like a balloon? Alfy had very bad gas a couple of months ago and kept getting it so I reduced her diet down to hay only and have only just started her back on pellets adding one at a time. Some veggies can give them gas.

When Alfy is gassy I massage her stomach but she's not happy about me touching her. If you think it's gas, trying giving some simethicone (infant colic drops) at 1ml every hour for 3 hours. It helps and won't harm.

There's lots of good info online about gas- rabbit.org is a good place to start!

 

[ChocoClover]

I don't feed any veggies. However, I do walk her regularly and she eats lots of clover.