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weight. Fat or fine?

Loulou8425

Warren Scout
Hey.

I was wondering how you know if your rabbit is overweight? Lily is a lion head lop mix. I'm not sure exactly what she weighs but I'm guessing over 2kgs. She's neutered and 1 year old. I'm thinking she maybe just fat to me because our new rabbit is much younger and he's smaller. Is there such a thing as ideal weight?
 
Hey.

I was wondering how you know if your rabbit is overweight? Lily is a lion head lop mix. I'm not sure exactly what she weighs but I'm guessing over 2kgs. She's neutered and 1 year old. I'm thinking she maybe just fat to me because our new rabbit is much younger and he's smaller. Is there such a thing as ideal weight?

When you take them for the vaccination, the vet will weigh and let you know what they think ... Can you take her to the vet nurse in the meantime? It's so difficult to judge if you're not used to the size of rabbit.
 
I go off the graphic that shows what they should look like from above - however, tia is fluffy and always looks plump but isn't. The vet weighs them every time we go (including the nurse for nail clipping) so we go off that really - altho, Rupert is always 2.24 apart from in winter when he's 2.7-2.9 but I know he does that so not worried.
If you're worried you should be able to book them in for a weight check with nurse - I know we can - our vets like you to have them weighed often so they can keep a record :)
 
We have a lop and a chinchilla rabbit. The chinchilla (Billy) is similar size to the one in Jack's-Jane's post, short fur and quite lean. Out lop, Poppy looks quite chubby next to him and I started to get convinced Billy was underweight and not eating, but when we took him to the vet 2 days ago, he was fine. He'd lost nothing, and the vet said he looked perfectly healthy - it was just distortion from being next to Poppy. She didn't seem to think Poppy was overweight either, she only weighs 300g more than Billy, but she looks almost twice as wide, and I think it's just that her breed is generally a bit broader and fluffier. When I feel her spine and pelvis, the bones are all easy to feel, just like Billy's. I can't judge her weight using the guide Jack's-Jane posted, so I think you would need to take her for a weigh in at your vets if you can.
 
We have a lop and a chinchilla rabbit. The chinchilla (Billy) is similar size to the one in Jack's-Jane's post, short fur and quite lean. Out lop, Poppy looks quite chubby next to him and I started to get convinced Billy was underweight and not eating, but when we took him to the vet 2 days ago, he was fine. He'd lost nothing, and the vet said he looked perfectly healthy - it was just distortion from being next to Poppy. She didn't seem to think Poppy was overweight either, she only weighs 300g more than Billy, but she looks almost twice as wide, and I think it's just that her breed is generally a bit broader and fluffier. When I feel her spine and pelvis, the bones are all easy to feel, just like Billy's. I can't judge her weight using the guide Jack's-Jane posted, so I think you would need to take her for a weigh in at your vets if you can.

:thumb: They're all so different ...
 
She's been for her nail clip recently and forgot to get her weighed. She looks plump but she has really thick fur. I can feel her ribs and spine etc without a problem. I'll be at the vets on Monday with George for his neuter so I'll ask then. She's due her vaccs mid Feb anyway so I'll ask them to weigh her.
 
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If you're going anyway, then definitely worth taking her too. Once you know her weight, you can just step on the scales at home holding them to monitor them.

In case you're new to bunnies like me, bunnies weight changes massively throughout the day, when I first took Billy to the vet after work (5.45pm) he weighed 1.8kg. When I dropped him off at 8am to be neutered 6 weeks later, he weighed 1.35kg and i was alarmed that he had lost so much weight! The vet said this was just normal weight variation throughout tne day. When I took him back 2 days ago at 5.30pm, he weighed 1.76kg again. I still can't believe his weight differs by 1/3 as the day goes though...
 
I'm new hence all the Q's. Lily and George haven't been bonded yet so I'd rather take them separately tbh. I had no idea their weight changed so much.
 
Although it obviously isn't ideal for a rabbit to be overweight, even if she is slightly overweight it shouldn't cause too much of an issue in the short term. As long as she can still clean herself and move around normally then I wouldn't be too concerned as she will be weighed in February when she has her vaccinations so they will tell you for definite then. Obviously if she is overweight then you will have to manage her weight so that it doesn't cause any health problems but for the time being as long as it doesn't look like she has mobility issues then I would have thought she would be ok until February.
 
If you're going anyway, then definitely worth taking her too. Once you know her weight, you can just step on the scales at home holding them to monitor them.

In case you're new to bunnies like me, bunnies weight changes massively throughout the day, when I first took Billy to the vet after work (5.45pm) he weighed 1.8kg. When I dropped him off at 8am to be neutered 6 weeks later, he weighed 1.35kg and i was alarmed that he had lost so much weight! The vet said this was just normal weight variation throughout tne day. When I took him back 2 days ago at 5.30pm, he weighed 1.76kg again. I still can't believe his weight differs by 1/3 as the day goes though...

I'm far from new to bunnies & I've never heard this (it would explain a few things though). Has anyone else experience or knowledge of this? I'd test the theory out myself if my baby scales hadn't gone all wonky.
 
I'm far from new to bunnies & I've never heard this (it would explain a few things though). Has anyone else experience or knowledge of this? I'd test the theory out myself if my baby scales hadn't gone all wonky.

The vet herself owns 7 rabbits, so it was personal experience... She said their weight varies massively! But he had also knocked off his water bottle in the night, so was probably a little bit dehydrated too. It's just a good idea to weigh them at the same time of day, so as not to panic yourself!
 
The vet herself owns 7 rabbits, so it was personal experience... She said their weight varies massively! But he had also knocked off his water bottle in the night, so was probably a little bit dehydrated too. It's just a good idea to weigh them at the same time of day, so as not to panic yourself!

Ohhhh, I like a vet to own lots of bunnies ...it always inspires confidence for me as you they know rabbits in a holistic sense rather than just medically.

I hope i didn't come across as rude - its just something I've never heard of & wondered if it was new for anybody else too
 
Ohhhh, I like a vet to own lots of bunnies ...it always inspires confidence for me as you they know rabbits in a holistic sense rather than just medically.

I hope i didn't come across as rude - its just something I've never heard of & wondered if it was new for anybody else too

Oh no, don't worry, it's a fair question! I was very pleased when she mentioned her own rabbits, I know what you mean with the holistic knowledge. Felt a bit jealous about little she must panic about her buns health!
 
I'm far from new to bunnies & I've never heard this (it would explain a few things though). Has anyone else experience or knowledge of this? I'd test the theory out myself if my baby scales hadn't gone all wonky.

I've never heard of this either :D
 
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