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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Does my rabbit look overweight?!

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    • lifeasweknowit
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        So I have a male holland lop (may be a mix since I adopted him from a rescue but was told he is a holland lop) I don’t know how much he weighs but I took him to the vet back in march but they never told me his weight? They did weigh him but didn’t tell me and I couldn’t see the scale cause the vet was in front of it. Anyway, I just noticed this dewlap forming on my male rabbit? I can’t tell if it’s just fur cause he’s shedding massively at the moment but it doesn’t seem like it.

        Usually he doesn’t stay very still so I took this picture literally less than 20 minutes ago while he was eating. Do you see that little bump? It’s hard to see but it’s there. His diet consists of: fresh water, nightly veggies (tonight all I had was romaine but I am going to the store tomorrow afternoon), orchard grass/ oat hay, and he gets timothy oxbow pellets but he barely gets any because usually he eats a lot of veggies (I did not go last week so that is why I only have one type of vegetable today) I’d say he gets around at least 3-4 different types of veggies? But he gets a lot. Sometimes I will skip a day when feeding pellets. 

        He isn’t very active, he will come out and run around for like 10 minutes but then go back in his cage and sleep. Also, he pees on my bed, which makes me hesitant to leave him for long periods of time. I always have an extra litter box on my bed and sometimes he’ll pee in it but then pee on my actual bed 15 minutes later? Very frustrating. I can not block my bed off because he likes to play under there and I have nothing to block it with. Any suggestions? Usually if I’m watching his every move I will catch him lifting his tail so I stop him, but I’m usually working on something on my computer so I’m not watchinghis every move but I am keeping an eye on him. He is neutered and around a year and a half years old


      • equalsign
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          An above body picture would be more useful for determining whether he’s overweight. Sometimes boy bunnies develop slight dewlaps. You can call the vet and ask for his weight. You should use “Nature’s Miracle” where he pees. You may want look into plastic bed sheets. NIC grids can be used to close off the space beneath your bed.


        • lifeasweknowit
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            Sorry if I miscommunicated that but it is fine that he plays under there, which is why I don’t want to block it off, just the top. And I might invest in something plastic to cover the top of my bed with. Because it seeps through my really thick blanket, a duvet pretty much, and it’s a pain washing them. And also my sheets and everything. 

            There is another picture. I’m going to take him to the vet soon early next year just for a check up. The problem is is that he probably has gained weight since the last time he went to the vet


          • BinkyBunny
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              yeah, it is hard to tell in this photo really.   

              This is a great excerpt I found in an diet article on http://www.rabbitnetwork.org. 

              “How do you know if your bunny is fat? Many house rabbits are, and they are not at all embarrassed by it! Rabbits store fat inside their abdomen, which makes just eyeballing them for love handles ineffective. Run your hands along your rabbit’s side, feeling the rib cage. When you reach the end of the ribs, your should be able to feel a slight inward slope, the waist. Fat bunnies will balloon out instead. Remember that the ribs are palpable in even quite obese rabbits, so don’t let your bunny fool you into more snacks!”

              As far as peeing on your bed, unfortunately that can be rabbity type behavior that is hard to stop unless he knows he’s just not allowed on the bed. Jack used to get up and chew on the couch, and so I just stopped allowing him up there. At first he was insistent, or would choose to do it when I wasn’t looking, but with persistence on my part, and making him get down on his own by shooing him off, he learned that he would be hassled if he jumped up on furniture and so he just eventually stopped. 

              You can also try to allow your bunny up (have a shower curtain or some sort of plastic cover — though if it’s loose, it may become a “chew” toy. ), but as soon as he lifts his tail to pee, he should be escorted off and to his litterbox.  Then give him a treat once he’s in the box, so that he doesn’t look at the box as punishment.   My bunnies would always end up going in the litterbox right after I escorted them there. But during training, you have to be right there watching carefully, and when the tails begins to go up, that’s when you act. It doesn’t work if your bunny already peed. 

              Good luck and keep us updated with how training works. 


            • BinkyBunny
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                Op…we posted so close to each other, I did not see your post until after I posted.

                Holland Lops do have more rounder features, but your lops face looks more oblong — kind of reminds me of mini-lop more than a Holland.


              • lifeasweknowit
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                  Thanks! Yes, he does look to be like a mini lop more than a holland lop. I will check out that website and feel around my rabbit a bit. I did purchase a shower curtain actually, but it smelled strongly of plastic so I don’t know if I’m going to use it? It’s been a couple weeks so hopefully the smell isn’t too bad, I’ll check. And thanks for the tips!


                • Beka27
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                    He certainly looks more like a mini lop than a Holland. He reminds me of my Max, but your guy has a lot more black. If he’s a mini lop, or a lop mix, weighing 5-7 pounds wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. A Holland will weigh about 3-4 pounds.

                    Have you tried the (highly un-exact) method of weighing yourself with and without bunny to get a ballpark weight? Or do you have a kitchen scale?

                    From the pics he doesn’t look obviously fat, but actually being able to feel him will give you a better idea. His diet sounds fine too.


                  • lifeasweknowit
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                      I could try that! I do have a scale in the bathroom that I use to weigh myself periodically. I will try that this afternoon, and tell you around how much he weighs. I did feel around and I don’t think I felt him balloon out.


                    • lifeasweknowit
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                        I weighed myself at least 2 times and then I weighed myself a few times with the carrier and then I put my rabbit in the carrier and weighed us a few times, the numbers were all different but very close to each other. It seems as though he weighs 4.2-4.6lbs, but of course this is not an accurate way of weighing him.
                        Another totally random question, my rabbits go to different vets should I switch one of my rabbits over so they are seeing the same vet? The problem is is that I don’t know which vet to pick? My older rabbit’s vet (black and white) is on maternity leave which is why I had to pick another vet for my youngest rabbit to see. Both are excellent. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone on this forum goes to one of the vets that my rabbits go to.


                      • Beka27
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                          That’s great that you have two competent rabbit vets to choose from! So many people have a hard time finding one! It’s up to you what you want to do. Maybe over the course of the year it would be a good idea to have them both seen by both vets… This way in the case of an emergency (or like in this case, a maternity leave), they have a record at both offices.


                        • lifeasweknowit
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                            Good point! The next time my rabbit (black and white^) goes in for his yearly checkup I’ll take him to the other vet.


                          • LittlePuffyTail
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                              I don’t think he looks fat, though it’s hard to tell with all that fur. He’s certainly not obese. I prefer my rabbits to be a bit on the chubby side as opposed to being too thin.

                              If you are concerned about him gaining weight, I suggest you get a kitchen scale (I bought mine at Walmart for $12) and weigh him monthly.

                              He’s definitely cute!


                            • lifeasweknowit
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                                Thanks, I shall do that! And thank you so are yours !


                              • peppypoo
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                                  Hehe, what a cutie. I agree with the others – getting an actual weight on him would be best, but just by the picture he doesn’t look too overweight.


                                • lifeasweknowit
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                                    Thanks I will definitely plan that out


                                  • Elrohwen
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                                      I don’t think he looks overweight in the top down picture. I also agree that he looks more like a mini lop, so 5-7lbs wouldn’t be too heavy.

                                      Your vet should be able to tell you by feeling his body whether or not he’s fat, instead of relying just on the scale.

                                      Lops tend to look very thick and chubby, but that’s how they’re built and it might not mean they’re overweight.


                                    • fennec2009
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                                        Aww your rabbit looks almost exactly like mine! So cute!

                                         

                                        Mine is a Holland Lop (he’s a bit big for a Holland but he came from a breeder) and he looks about the same size as yours, maybe a tiny bit skinnier. I wouldn’t say yours is overweight at all. When mine was skinnier, I thought he didn’t look as healthy and I could feel more bones than I was comfortable with. So I started feeding him more and think he looks much better. He also has a little bit of something beneath his neck like yours, but it’s nowhere near some overweight rabbits that I have seen with lots of fat under their chins. If I were you I wouldn’t worry too much about it unless he gains more weight.

                                         

                                         


                                      • LittlePuffyTail
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                                          Awwww…..your buns is cute, fennec

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                                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Does my rabbit look overweight?!