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Getting older?

Dollie

Dollie

Warren Scout
My rabbit Fred turned six this year. The 28th of january, he was neutered. The past few weeks I noticed his fur is different, his skin seems to be 'looser' and he feels different too, he hasn't lost a lot of weight but he feels.. Less 'firm'.. He has had a health check last week, he eats like I never feed him and he definitily seems happy:

IMG_5185.JPG


So I'm not really worried, but I'm just curious. I know with dogs that neutering them could have influence on their muscles and fur, but I never heard of this in rabbits.
 
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Sorry I can't answer your question ....... just wanted to say wow, what a fab pic of Fred - very handsome boy! x
 
Love the piccie! :lol:

I haven't noticed any change in my boys, but then they were neutered at 6 months. As long as he's happy you don't have to worry!
 
Dollie said:
My rabbit Fred turned six this year. The 28th of january, he was neutered. The past few weeks I noticed his fur is different, his skin seems to be 'looser' and he feels different too, he hasn't lost a lot of weight but he feels.. Less 'firm'.. He has had a health check last week, he eats like I never feed him and he definitily seems happy:

IMG_5185.JPG


So I'm not really worried, but I'm just curious. I know with dogs that neutering them could have influence on their muscles and fur, but I never heard of this in rabbits.
Click to expand...

How cute! He looks like a spring lamb! :love:
 
Neutering does tend to make bunnies fatter apparently! Maybe he is less firm because he is building more fat than muscle since his neuter? Not sure though. He is gorgeous though, and such a great picture x
 
Fantastic photo:love:

My FILs dog is slightly under weight but otherwise healthy. The vet suggested castrating him to help him put on weight.

Did the vet weigh him to see if he has actually lost weight?

Has he gone from an inside to outside bun or vice versa? Maybe he just had a huge molt?

I have never had the pleasure of owning a old bun so I don't know sorry.
 
At the moment he is going through a molt yes, so I think his fur will be looking lots and lots better in a few weeks from now.

He has not gained (or lost) any weight since he's been neutered, but the last year I changed a lot in his diet. (I had two rabbit, Fred (2004) and Indy (2003), about a year and half ago, Indy started to get all kinds of problems, with his teeth, he had EC, with his bowel and calcium related urinary problems.. Turned out their diet wasn't really healthy.. Unfortunately Indy died last february. Maybe now you understand my concerns, Indy was about the same age as Fred is now when all the troubles started..)

I'm not English and I have no clue what you call it, but I used to feed them the stuff that's in Joy's bowl on this picture (as you can see, Joy was suffering from EC, he died in October 2008..) so too much fat, too much proteins, too much calcium.. Too much of everything..

But when Indy got sick, february 2009, I started feeding them SS, and more veggies, Indy refused to eat hay, Fred barely ate it either so I worked on that as well.. It took me months to sort all that out and I think he has a very healthy diet now, but you can understand his weight has been unstable for quite some time. He weighed 1600 grams last december, and now he's around 1500/1550.

The only thing changed in the past six months is him getting neutered and him getting a girlfriend.. He has been living outside his whole life. Although, his hutch is twice as big as it used to be.. And because I don't have to switch (I couldn't let him and Indy at the same time), he can walk around the garden twice as long.. But all this already changed when Indy got sick (november).
 
Some buns can look awful when they molt, so I guess there is nothing to worry about there.

His weight sounds good, in that it has been stable since January, I would assume that's his ideal weight on a healthy diet:) Also if he has more free range time, then his fat will tone up into muscle, which maybe the change in his skin you can feel:?

I am sorry you lost Indy and Joy:( Joy was gorgeous:love:

I completely understand your worries about Fred being the same age as Indy when she got ill, if you find out how to stop worrying please let me know.

I genuinely think if a rabbit specialist vet gave the all clear, and his weight has not dropped, and (as the photo shows) he is happy in himself with no other signs then.... You are just a paranoid bunny owner like the rest of us:D
 
Hahaha, I'm afraid Fred isn't the problem, but I am!

Before his molt started, his fur already looked different. It used to look perfect and then it just looked good, but we'll see in a few weeks, maybe it'll get better again. But I'm pretty sure he did loose muscles, even though he gets more exercise. Maybe I'll let him do some weightlifting hahaha..

Luckily I finally found a rabbit specialist, I lost Joy and nearly lost Indy because I didn't have one.. Joy was misdiagnosed, Indy wasn't diagnosed at all.. The vet claimed he was healthy! Sure, he was skinny, couldn't eat properly and peed on his hind legs, but he was just old! He turned out to have molar spurs and EC.......... Thank God I already was a paranoid bunny owner back then, otherwise Indy would have died in february '09 instead of '10..
 
Before Sky was neutered he was pretty tense when held and almost vibrated because of the energy and his need to run and mate and such (he was nearly 2 when neutered, so we knew him as an adult before he was neutered). After he was neutered he relaxed more and so could be held easier and was more comfortable. I wonder if your bunny maybe was tenser because of the hormones and the need to move and mate and now is more relaxed?

Neutering slows down the metabolism, so he may be more inclined to put on weight.
 
your bunny looks very happy, I wouldn't worry too much about old age as long as they are eating well and having fun and 6 is not very old. My little boy died in April just before his 12th birthday, but I never felt he showed any ageing of any kind till last summer, give plenty of love and you will have many more years of love back:love:
 
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