Rescued a bun and is very overweight!

Martha2000 · Feb 18, 2022

Hi all, I currently have 6 bunnies. I love them all to bits. I picked up 2 from a rescue center last week and i could immediately tell that they are very overweight. One of them is a mixed breed. I am thinking that he is a dwarf lion lop but I am not quite sure and the other is a mini lop. I have 2 other mini lops so im sure about her being a mini lop. They did not know the age of the cross bun - they think around 3 years old but the mini lop looks a lot younger and probably around 1 year old. Ive chosen 2 names... bumble for the mix as he is very fluffy and Sprout for the blue mini lop as she loves her sprout toy that i bought her!!! Bumble weighs 3283G which is a massive weight and he is a very large rabbit. Sprout weighs 2476g which is also overweight. What is the ideal weight i should get them down too? Most of my other buns are about 1900g. DOes anyone have any dieting advice? I want to do it slowly and controlled so it doesnt cause any health issues and stress. They are currently in an enclosure that is 14ft by 10ft

John Wick · Feb 18, 2022

Ideal weight is not really possible to provide since it varies based on each rabbit's individual body composition.

The following link walks you through some ways to better assess the severity of the weight problem, as well as ways to get a rabbit to a healthier weight: Weight management - WabbitWiki

Please note that weight loss needs to be done at an appropriate pace, so having the rabbits properly assessed and a weight management plan agreed upon with a rabbit-savvy vet is important, especially since being overweight can be co-occurring with other health issues.

Tam O Ham · Feb 18, 2022

nothing to add but -

pics?

Please. They sound adorable

JBun · Feb 18, 2022

No special diet is necessarily needed. Just ensuring they have free fed good quality grass hay, limited grass based pellets, and veggies/greens appropriately introduced. Though I would leave out any high carb foods like starchy veg, fruit, grains, etc. They should slim down gradually this way. Though the pellet amount can vary some depending on each rabbits metabolism. A more chill lazy rabbit with a slow metabolism may need less pellets than an energetic busy rabbit.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
Monitoring your rabbits weight

Martha2000 · Feb 19, 2022

Tam O Ham said:
nothing to add but -

pics?

Please. They sound adorable

here are the 2 rescues

Martha2000 · Feb 19, 2022

JBun said:
No special diet is necessarily needed. Just ensuring they have free fed good quality grass hay, limited grass based pellets, and veggies/greens appropriately introduced. Though I would leave out any high carb foods like starchy veg, fruit, grains, etc. They should slim down gradually this way. Though the pellet amount can vary some depending on each rabbits metabolism. A more chill lazy rabbit with a slow metabolism may need less pellets than an energetic busy rabbit.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
Monitoring your rabbits weight

thanks so much - thats amazing.