My rabbit is a little fat she has dewlap. Is exercise going to make it disappear? How do i get my rabbit to exercise?
2007-02-04 02:59:17 · 7 answers · asked by sushi_girl105 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Firstly you need to find out if she is overweight or not.
Rabbits have dewlaps. Female ones tend to be larger than males but having one does not equate with being fat.
The ideal weight of your bunny depends on the type of bunny.
Many vets will do a weight check for free and this would be the better option for you.
Rabbits do need plenty of exercise and a good diet. The link below will hopefully help you check to see if the diet and the amount of exercise is correct. It can also give you some idea to make exercise fun for your bunny and games you can play with her.
BTW don't use an harness on a rabbit. It's totally unnatural and often results in injury even death. It's a very bad idea.
May I suggest you join a rabbit group such as etherbun. It's as 5000+ members dedicated to the welfare of rabbits and can answer any questions you may have accurately. It is one (if not the) best place to get advice concerning rabbits.
2007-02-04 04:17:28 · answer #1 · answered by jessie 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Just because a doe has a dewlap doesn't mean she is fat. The size of the dewlap however in relation to the rabbit's size can help determine if the rabbit is fat. Normally the larger the dewlap is in relation to it's size, the fatter the rabbit is.
The way to determine the fatness of a rabbit is by grabbing the hide on either side of the rabbit just behind the neck. The more loose hide you can grab, the fatter your rabbit is. Most of the fat on a rabbit collects right underneath the hide. When there is more fat underneath the hide, the hide is looser.
Weighing the rabbit does no good. A rabbit can weigh a lot and not be fat due to the way the muscle is distributed on the rabbit. For instance, I raise New Zealands and I've seen 12 pound senior bucks that are too big to show be not fat at all while I've see 8.5 pound senior bucks that were underweight to show be as fat as can be. The difference in weight is due to the width and length of the muscle in the rabbit's loin and the size of its hindquarters.
It's kind of like comparing a 230 pound body builder with a 230 pound guy with a beer gut. Just because the body builder weighs the same as the guy with the beer gut doesn't mean the bodybuilder is unhealthy.
Avoid feeding fruits, vegetables, oils, and corn. These can increase the energy of the rabbit's diet and increase the production of fat. Feeding roughage or increasing the fiber in the rabbit's diet can help. Some good things to help are orchard grass hay, straw, or timothy hay. Also feed your rabbit just what it will eat in 24 hours. The bowl should just be completely emptied by the end of the day.
Also remember that fat goes to fat. So look for a rabbit feed that has only 2-3% fat.
Excercising really doesn't do much to help to reduce fat. But there are a couple of ways you can excercise your rabbit which breeders use to build muscle in their rabbits. One way is by raising the feeders. This makes the rabbit stand on their back feet to feed and drink, strengthening the hindquarters. Some also will put a jumping board in the cage. This is mainly done for running or full arch breeds though. Be careful though. The rabbit can hit it's feet or toenails on the jumping board which could lead to a white toenail turning black on some breeds and that could lead to a disqualification in show competition.
One last note, make sure that in your efforts to keep your rabbit from getting fat that you don't under nourish your rabbit. Run your hand over the back of your rabbit at least once a week. If the backbone ever starts to feel bony, then you know it is not getting the nourishment it needs or it is sick.
2007-02-06 05:55:53 · answer #2 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you keep your rabbit in a hutch, then take her out every day for an hour or so, and she'll hop around when your working or somthing, just make sure there are no wires around because she'll chew them, and no stairs, Watch her but you don't have to follow her where ever she goes, just let her loose. Also the dewlap will not go away but just get smaller. Be sure to close doors you don't want her to get into
2007-02-04 03:06:06 · answer #3 · answered by cyanosis 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this might work......get your rabbit's favorite food and make it chase it (tie it to some kind of string) when it attempts to hop for it...... move it to another spot....then let it have it after 3 min. or just buy some more rabbits **that are active** meaning that they are not lazy and soon your rabbit will see their behavior and he'll want to fit in :)
2007-02-04 03:08:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Make it fun, get a bit creative, make some paper tunnels and stuff like that, and i found my rabbits love to play with old kitchen roll tubes. Make alot of fuss out of her and encourage her to play and it should work. good luck!
2007-02-04 03:08:56 · answer #5 · answered by billie.is 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
you can take her for walks on a rodent harness, we did that to our male ferret, since he pretty much just wanted to sleep!
2007-02-04 03:15:57 · answer #6 · answered by ferrets4ever 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
harness a harness around its middle and dangle a carrot in front of his nose, just out of reach, and he will try and chase it around the place getting excercise
2007-02-04 03:04:02 · answer #7 · answered by hulmejane 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋