Very fat rabbit

I have just had a rabbit dropped off to bond and I have never in my life seen a rabbit so fat! I believe the owner who says she gets no more than an egg cup of pellets a day and no carrots, just greens and lots of exercise, free roam of house and garden when supervised. This rabbit is obese. I am recommending reducing pellets to nothing, just hay and reduced greens. Are they any health problems that can cause such weight gain when there is no significant overfeeding or lack of exercise?

Ask what hay she's feeding and how much, she might be feeding readigrass or alfalfa hay. Recommend decent quality hay and a small amount of herbs each day.

Ask what treats the bunny has and what enrichment.

Ideally if neutered the bunny could benefit from a more active friend to encourage them to move around more.

Its not unusual though, we have several that have needed to lose over a kg and it is doable.

Apparently one egg cup of SS pellets a day, normal grass hay and no carrots, just leafy greens. I am currently bonding her with an incredibly active boy. The owner is adament she is not over feeding so was just wondering about any underlying issues that cause weight gain. She needs her bum cleaning twice daily as she can't reach it or eat ceacotropes

Bellatrix15 said:

Apparently one egg cup of SS pellets a day, normal grass hay and no carrots, just leafy greens. I am currently bonding her with an incredibly active boy. The owner is adament she is not over feeding so was just wondering about any underlying issues that cause weight gain. She needs her bum cleaning twice daily as she can't reach it or eat ceacotropes

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I have a very overweight bun too. Similar thing but she only has a hay diet (and the odd treat now because supposedly dandelion roots are a natural diuretic.. Idk if I believe but won't hurt so yea [emoji38] she has issues emptying her bladder, probably because of the weight) anyway! My vet said there are some conditions that cause weight gain.. She should probably discuss this with a vet though, I wouldn't want to suggest she changes her diet without discussing it with her vet first. The bum thing sounds rough, mine manages that fine but I have a different bun with different issues (he isn't over weight at all, he's perfect weight wise actually) and he needs cleaning frequently [emoji849] it's so nasty [emoji38]

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Graciee said:

I have a very overweight bun too. Similar thing but she only has a hay diet (and the odd treat now because supposedly dandelion roots are a natural diuretic.. Idk if I believe but won't hurt so yea [emoji38] she has issues emptying her bladder, probably because of the weight) anyway! My vet said there are some conditions that cause weight gain.. She should probably discuss this with a vet though, I wouldn't want to suggest she changes her diet without discussing it with her vet first. The bum thing sounds rough, mine manages that fine but I have a different bun with different issues (he isn't over weight at all, he's perfect weight wise actually) and he needs cleaning frequently [emoji849] it's so nasty [emoji38]

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Yes, I am hating it! If it was my bunny it wouldn't be quite as bad but it feels even worse that it is someone else's XD

I have advised that they take her to the vets and cut out pellets!

Poor bunny! Could she have a slow metabolism as it doesn't sounds as if she is overfed? I would b concerned that no pellets at all might be a bit drastic, especially if she is being bonded and this causes stress.

How well do you know the owner? Have you seen the set up she has? Does she have access to large exercise areas 24/7? Quite often people don’t believe they are overfeeding, but everyone has a different view on how much is too much, dependent on their knowledge.

It could be that you are being told porkies because the owner is embarrassed about having an obese rabbit in the face of someone who knows the rabbit is obese. That would probably be the best case scenario because it would be the most fixable, although I've known ex-fat rabbits who end up with folds of skin around the genitals who continue to need cleaning down there or even cosmetic surgery.

I don't know how often "when supervised" is- technically that could be for an hour or two once in a blue moon. I can only let my guys out on grass "when supervised" which means they not only have to take it in turns (not bonded pair) but the weather has to be ok for me to sit out, has to be a day off work etc. It may not be that often and could be poorly timed for a period when bun wants to doze instead of rushing around like a maniac.

Obviously if there is not a dietary or situational cause, the issue presumably is veterinary. My first thought was thyroid- my cat had an overactive thyroid and lost weight fast, I assume an underactive one would have the opposite effect. I'm not a vet though. Hopefully they will take her and they get to the bottom of it.