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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR So how bad would this be?

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    • Michelle&Lolli
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        Miss Tootsie Roll needs to lose some weight.  When she was free range in my apartment, just cutting down on food a.k.a. treats did the trick. But now she’s only allowed out of her pen in her room when I’m in there with her the whole time.  So aside from the initial running around, sniff and tail wagging when the pen’s first opened, she plops her patootie down and doesn’t move.   Much like she did at the apartment.  But if she was under the table in the dining room, she pretty much had to hop maybe 8 or 9 ft to her area for example.  Now she’s turns around and it’s right there.   

        My point is she gets less exercise now.  She can’t be let out of the room cause my dad will flip out if she poops anywhere.  Although he did agree to her being out on her leash and harness.  I did try that a couple of times but she hates it and gets mad cause I won’t let her go where she wants (back in the corner of course) and she simply sits and refuses to move until we go back to her room.  I just can’t win with this girl.  Sigh.  LOL

        Here’s the possibly bad idea.  I was thinking about possibly chasing her a bit around her room to get her moving a bit more.  Not for very long. Maybe just a couple of circles around her room.  How bad would that be? Good or bad idea?  Need some other bunny slaves advice!  

        I know the downsides are that she’ll be frightened and will be pissed off at me.  I’ve been brushing her every other day for almost 2 weeks now due to her molt. Plus did an ear cleaning and nail trim.  She’s pretty much as pissed off as she can be with me right now.  LOL  


      • Monkeybun
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          What is her diet like now? I don’t like the idea of chasing her, as it really could scare her. Too much risk if she bolts and injures herself. Diet is really the only other thing if she doesn’t get much exercise.


        • Sam and Lady's Human
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            Noo don’t chase her! You’ll ruin her trust in you. Do you have carpet floors? If not, maybe a large area rug will encourage some bunny runs and binkies.


          • Michelle&Lolli
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              Ok. I figured it was a bad idea. LOL Just wanted to make sure.

              Since I am bad, she gets too many treats. Well both of us do. LOL Right now, she gets old fashioned oats. When I get paid this week, i’m going to get some oxbow timothy treats. She loves them and I can control the amount easier than just giving a “pinch” of oats.

              She also has her hay and gets 1/4 cup pellets – usually just once a day. I only give her more when the bowl is empty or close to it. Usually by the next morning she is ready for more. Occasionally she’ll eat them all by the time i get home from work so that’s when she’d get more. Cause she’s just going to starve to death with her bowl being empty. LOL


            • Michelle&Lolli
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                Oh…I’m going to look into getting one of those cat or dog treat dispensing balls. Make her work for her treats. haha


              • Sam and Lady's Human
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                  Posted By Michelle&Lolli on 12/26/2011 09:18 PM
                  Oh…I’m going to look into getting one of those cat or dog treat dispensing balls. Make her work for her treats. haha

                  Yes this is a great idea! I did this for Samson because she’d eat all her pellets and then not her hay, so now she paces herself a bit more And runs around after the ball


                • Monkeybun
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                    Limit her pellets. Not to when she empties the bowl, but per day. She won’t starve. You aren’t helping by giving her more And hte oats are definitely not helping with weight either. Pure carbs there!


                  • Sarita
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                      I agree with MB, cut out the oats completely.

                      You don’t have to necessarily chase her to get her to move – chasing would upset her anyway. You probably could just walk over to her and act like you are going to pet her and if she’s like most of my rabbit’s, she’ll hop away…


                    • Stickerbunny
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                        Get a treat she really likes that isn’t as fattening as oats – craisins, raisins, carrot, whatever she really likes. Break said treat up into really small pieces (only give a raisin, or a carrot, but strip them into multiple pieces) and make her come across her area to you to get it, then go to the other side for the other piece and make her come to you again. My buns will chase me across the house to get a craisin if they hear the bag rattle. And yes, cut out the oats and limit the pellets to 1/4 per DAY my buns empty their plate of pellets within about 30 minutes, but they have hay so they won’t starve – if you feel bad not feeding her pellets twice, split up the amount into two sections but don’t give over the amount. Also, salads are good low-cal, low-carb foods.


                      • Michelle&Lolli
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                          She usually gets 1/4 cup of pellets per day. I usually fill her bowl in the mornings when i leave. If it’s really low by the time i go to bed at 10pm, I will give her a bit more. But that doesn’t usually happen. lol She doesn’t seem to particularly care for her oxbow pellets, so she doesn’t scarf them down. Unless she’s just really hungry.

                          I was thinking maybe i could do the hand reaching out thing with her. So she’s forced to hop away. Although she can’t be feeling too bad or anything. She did a huge binky tonite. LOL


                        • Monkeybun
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                            Make that “Not usually” to “not ever after her first serving” and she’ll be good


                          • Huckleberry
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                              Posted By Michelle&Lolli on 12/26/2011 09:18 PM
                              Oh…I’m going to look into getting one of those cat or dog treat dispensing balls. Make her work for her treats. haha

                              What about putting her pellets in it and make her work for her dinner? Would that be considered cruel? Because if not, I am going to do that to my little chunky bun.


                            • kamdynandsunshinesmom
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                                I hardly ever give my bunnies treats because they can make them over weight unless they are healthy treats. Is your rabbit litterbox trained? Tell your dad that she is litterbox trained and wont go anywhere except her litterbox. I also live with a parent as well and my mom doesn’t like sunshine running all around the house. So Sunshine is in my bedroom and I let her out into the hallway shutting all the doors that is how sunshine gets her exercise. Also i am not sure what type of cage you have maybe since she isn’t getting enough exercise maybe building her a bigger cage with a 2nd level so she can jump. Also providing her toys sticking some of her food in her toys so she will have to work for it. Hope this works!


                              • Bunnehs
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                                  Give your bunny 1/8 cup of pellets everyday. it really helps! also you should encourage her to exercise by putting treats in the cat/dog toy you said or those minature golf balls with the holes in it where you can put treats in. I give my bunnies leafy greens as treats with their regular 2 cups of vegetables everyday. My bunny gets a thumb sized carrot& apple everyday…


                                • Michelle&Lolli
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                                    I think I’ve figured out the solution – just run late for work and completely forget to give her bye bye treats and more pellets. LOL Coincidentally, this is also how I can get her to do more binkies when she sees me. hahahaha


                                  • jerseygirl
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                                      haha! It’s a win-win.

                                      I tend to think the pellets can make them a bit sluggish sometimes. Like over full. It won’t hurt to cut them back further. If she’s not really eating them in one sitting, shes probably not as into them as you think.

                                      Does she have any favourite herbs? You could give them for a treat. Or rose petals if you have bushes around. Treats don’t have to be sweet. They have a ton more taste buds so things like herbs would be a flavour explosion. :p

                                      Have you had her weight assessed by your vet? I know rexes are prone to gaining but I think they probably show weight more too, even if they’re at a healthy weight. I don’t know any rexes personally though. Is she able to groom herself well, eat cecals etc?


                                    • Michelle&Lolli
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                                        Is she able to groom herself well, eat cecals etc?

                                        Yes, she has no problems with that. She just looks…….rolly polly. LOL So she’s not so fat that she can’t care for herself but she just looks like she could stand lose maybe a 1/2 lb or so. I decided I’m only going to give 1/4 cup of pellets per DAY. So once she’s out, she’s out. She doesn’t eat a lot of hay and I also realized last night that it’s because she has her pellets. Since she didn’t get any more, she was forced to eat her hay.

                                        The other night she was eating cecals or grooming herself. She got into that cat position with the back legs splayed and stretched out. I was surprised she could even do that still. LOL And I think you’re right – I think rexes show even the slightest weight gain. She’s just a solid bunny. I don’t know if that makes sense. She’s just…..solid and hefty. Her and Eddie always weighed about the same – around 5lbs, lolli maybe a bit more. She just always felt heavier. I’d pick Eddie up and feel like I was going to end up tossing him in the air cause he felt so light. LOL

                                        I will have to try to get her some parsley and cilantro. Well, it’s not a big deal to get her some. I just haven’t bothered when I go grocery shopping. lol


                                      • mainer
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                                          Maybe try a few cardboard boxes with some entrances and exits in different arrangements so she can explore…even jump up on for exercise. I change the boxes and/or arrangements every few days. The best thing was getting Peter a pal…that makes them a lot more active but they poop a lot more everywhere….

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                                      Forum BEHAVIOR So how bad would this be?