Weight Loss - Help!

Hi,

Bailey is a large lion head cross (about the size of a large lop) and we have had him just over a year. He cam to us when is owners could no longer keep him as they had to move house. He had been a house bunny but was obviously overweight - 3.8kg.

We tried various things to help him loose weight with no sucess. When we let him out (in the house) he hardly moved and was just happy to eat. Unfortunately he is a tooth problem bunny and needs his teeth deburring around every 3 months. When this becomes a problem he hardly looses much weight but become very quiet.

About3 months ago we managed to bond him with 3 others and move him outside into a playhouse and run. Overtime he started running around and even jumping up on the hutch in the run (something we never thought he would do!). Hi weight started to drop off.

Now the problem is that the weight keeps falling and I am getting concerned that he is loosing too much. I took him to the vets when he got to 3.2kg (3 weeks ago) but they could find no probelms and he was pretty happy. He now weighs 3.0kg. He still seems to be eating and tries to escape everytime you open the door (so not showing his usual signs of unhappyness). He has lost about 0.05 to 0.1kg a week.

Should I be worried and ask the vet to look more seriously at this or is 3kg for a large lop size bunny ok?

Thanks

Have you got a picture of him? Glad he is a happy bunny. Its often difficult to see who eats what, when feeding a large group. It could be that his teeth are causing him trouble again, or he is moving around more, or he is not getting his hands on the food as there is a large group.

Weight can vary. French Lops can be huge, I have two very tiny ones, so knowing the average weight of a french lop would be no use to me. I think if you can post a picture, it might be better to see if he is underweight. Your vet will also know if he is too thin.

I find that if a bun is bonded w/ another, say 1 male w/ 1 female, and if the female has a healthy diet on hay, the female induces the male to eat the same.

this is what's happening w/ my buns. Minnie loves to eat hay, as such, I notice she induces Bernie to eat more hay. And as long as their diet is 80% or more on timothy hay, there is no worry on any bun getting fat

ANd here's another trick: each time they are eating hay, don't interrupt them w/ some other food, let them eat the hay 1st

I will try and get a photo tomorrow, I only have internet access at work.

I do have concerns about him been scared away from food by the other male so have put a food bowl on top of the hutch as the other male rarley goes up there.

When I hand out veg he is first there and dives staright in.

I am not sure if he is a big hay eater but there is plenty of different place for them to access it (in the 2 hutches in the run and in the playhouse).

He never used to eat grass and other garden greenery but once he saw the others he has started to try them out (he did pretend for the first few weeks!).

I have an appointment next Tuesday at the vet for one of my other buns so I could sneak Bailey in if he looses any more weight during the next week.

You could try scatter feeding so that the food is not in one area and they have to search for it, meaning less fighting for food. Or, you could try separating him at mealtimes so that you know he is getting a good amount. You could also try mixing a small amount of rolled oats in with his regular food to try and halt the weight loss.

It might be there is a problem brewing that has not shown yet, that's what happened with my Sweep, so maybe start to think about more extensive tests, just in case?

Here is a photo of the group:



Benjamin is the black and white lop - 2.6KG
Abbie is the white lion head at the back (next to Benjamin) - 2.5KG
Boo is the brown lion head at the front - 1.8KG
Bailey is the white lion head at the front (next to Boo) - 3.0KG

I agree w/ temporary separation. Just put him in a separate cage that is see thru, but he has his own bowl of hay and pellet and water