Riza is overweigh. suggestions?

[Rabbit Hero]

Hi Guys,

I recently posted a topic where I had come home to find large mushy poops around Riza and a poop covered bum. Not able to find anything that might suggest illness I started looking at threads to see what I could find. Someone mentioned that they once knew a rabbit who was over weight and so could not reach her bum to eat her cecals. I just now saw her struggling to do so

Due to my recent promotion and length of time I spend on the bus my time at home has decreased until I was able to move. My landlord would not allow me out of my leas until now. And so I think this is why her weight gain has gone unnoticed by me.

I know I need to reduce the amount of pellets she eats, I have the feeling that she is eating more than her fare share as I feed both rabbits at the same time. I wil have to seperate them for their meals from now on but I also need to encourage her to exercise. I have never seen her show an interest in any of the toys she's been presented with. She's also still quite skittish of me and doesn't approach me very much.

Does any one have any suggestions on how I can encourage her to excercise?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

What is your cage set up like?
You can add a level/shelf to the cage and put something she wants up there to get her to go up and down. You may need a ramp at first, but most rabbits should learn to jump up.
Putting a run around the cage can help as she would have more room to move around. Since you rent, you should put something over the floor to protect it. Foam puzzle mats or something similar should work. Put a cat tunnel and other toys in the run.
For pellets, try hiding them in hay or trying a toy that she has to work on to get the food. This gets them to move around to eat rather than just sitting at the bowl. Also try to get her to eat more hay. If she fills up on hay, she will have less room to fill up on pellets. Different hays can help keep her interested.
When you are home, make sure she gets out to run around. Try getting her to go over low jumps or through a tunnel. You should make sure that she is getting to run around a bit to burn off some calories.

Weight loss does take some time. Too quick and it can be unhealthy. It is a good idea to get a weight on her now and weigh her weekly so you can see any changes.

 

[Rabbit Hero]

She and my other rabbit shino share an X-pen. They have mats (made of the same material the puzzle mats are made of) underneath. I have been considering getting an NIC cage set up for them to increase the amount of space they have. I guess it's time to get started.

I like the idea of hiding the pellets, I think I may have success with a tunnel as well. She is a hay monster, she eats a lot of it already, but possibly since she does so I'm giving her to may pellets. I'll have to balance her diet better.

Thank you!

 

[SOOOSKA]

Lindsay, is that one of your bunnies in your avitar. VERY CUTE.

Do they get alot of out time when you are home? To run around? I know what you say about amount of time you are away, I leave for work around 7:15 am and don't get home till about 5:30 - 6:00 pm. Then I have to get their breakfast and dinner ready (greens) then I have to eat. In between all of this I have to let Daisy Mae out for a bit, put her back in her cage then let Buttercup out. Winston & Vega have a small pen around their NIC cage. I really have to start getting them out in the living room more. As I just moved from a house to an apartment, I still don't have everything down pat yet.

Then I have to clean their cages and litter boxes... You see why I don't have a Social Life? Maybe one day I will.

Do you have a Bunny Blog about them? If so what's the title?

Susan

 

[Rabbit Hero]

Hi Susan. I'm on my blackberry so forgive me if my writing stinks. I don't have a blog for them right now. I've been wanting to but I just don't have the time. I'll tell you a bit about my day. I wake up at 4:30 am and leave at 5:25. I work in retail and we receive our truck at 7:30. If I leave any later than I'm late. I won't get home until 6:30 on a good day. My rabbits are both free range and so they both get let out as soon as I get home. Then I eat, do my work out, and tuck in for the rest of the night to look after the pets. I usually stay up till about 12 or so. If I'm closing I get up around 7, let the rabbits out, do all the cleanning and food prepping. Do my workout and leave for work by 11. On a good day, I'm home by 11:30. I try to spend as much time with them as possible. Especially since before the promotion they had a lot more "Lindsay" time. I move in two weeks time. I'll have a bigger place and I'll be only 5 minutes away from work.
So I guess they get about 5 hours out of the cage on a good day. On my days off they get much more than that. And yes! Thank you that is Shino in my avatar. He's my strong little man. He is much more active than Riza is. I had hoped he would rub off on her. I find that having them in the living room is the perfect place to have them as they get more attention this way.

 

[Rabbit Hero]

It's only been a few days and I can already see some improvements in Riza. Turns out she ADORES tunnels and even though she's still weary of approaching me she dashes in and out of them with so much enthusiasm my heart hiccups. Both She and my other rabbit Shino are eating more hay since I introduced a mix. I was shocked, I didn't think they would really notice a difference in only two days.

I think we're off to a healthy start! Thanks Kate for the suggestions!