“New Year, new me.” “Giving up for Lent”. “Diet tips for all”… Many of us are used to making lifestyle changes to lose weight, and many people want to get fitter. Dieting can be tricky for humans, and it can be harder still for pets. Obesity in rabbits is a common finding and it leads to all sorts of problems. So in this article, we will learn how you can get your rabbit healthier and happier.
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How Do Rabbits Become Overweight?
Rabbits become overweight in the same way as most animals and humans – their calorie intake is higher than their calories burned daily. This may be due to over- or inappropriate eating, under-exercising, or a combination of both. Very rarely medical conditions can increase the risk of obesity, but generally obesity is linked to husbandry or management problems.
An inappropriate diet may be the right sort of food, but your rabbit is having too much of it. It is also common that rabbits gain weight when eating unhealthy food, such as muesli, sugary treats like carrots, or other human foods. Insufficient exercise can be due to a lack of places to exercise, pain reducing movement, perceived fear of going to exercise (such as a garden where predators can look in), or obesity itself.
The actual figure of your rabbit’s weight isn’t necessarily too telling, as a normal rabbit’s weight in kilograms will vary depending on their age, sex, breed and other factors. Instead, vets will record your rabbit’s body condition score (BCS) – this is a measure of their fat coverage. Overweight rabbits tend to have obvious fat rolls, a bulging rump, difficult to feel ribs and hips, and a prominent dewlap. If you are unsure whether your rabbit is overweight or not, please ask your vet to check their BCS. Weighing your rabbit regularly is a good idea regardless, as trends over time can also help identify weight gain or loss.
What Are the Consequences of Obesity?
Obesity in rabbits is associated with a number of serious health conditions that compromise a rabbit’s welfare, and can even be life-threatening.
Being overweight can cause serious mobility problems in rabbits
Carrying all that extra weight around puts strain on a rabbit’s joints, leading to osteoarthritis. This makes it painful to move, leading to reluctance to exercise and even more weight gain. Arthritis is sadly progressive and incurable, so preventing obesity will go a long way to reducing the risk of arthritis. It can be managed with pain relief however. Obesity can also cause pressure sores (pododermatitis/bumblefoot) on your rabbit’s feet. These can become infected and result in serious damage. Living in dirty environments or a lack of grooming can make pododermatitis worse.
Obesity will also mean a rabbit struggles to groom themselves properly
This occurs as they cannot physically reach round or it is too painful to do so. As well as the previously mentioned pododermatitis, reduced grooming can lead to a dirty back end, urine scald and a serious condition called flystrike – this is where flies lay eggs on dirty fur. When the eggs hatch, maggots start to eat the rabbit’s skin. In extreme cases, it can be fatal. Prevention is critical – if your rabbit cannot groom properly, then you should clean them regularly instead.
Dental and gastrointestinal problems are also quite common in obese rabbits
Many rabbits on poor diets that cause obesity have dental disease, as their food is insufficient to grind their teeth short. This can lead to pain when eating, salivation, eye and ear infections, abscesses and tooth loss. Further down, a poor diet may result in dysbiosis (problems with the bacterial gut flora), which can cause diarrhoea, constipation, anorexia, ill-thrift and ileus (slowing down of the gut). In extreme cases, ileus can be fatal too. Often, these problems are made worse if a rabbit cannot reach round to eat their caecotropes (the first softer energy-rich stools).
There are many other conditions associated with obesity, including heart disease, liver disease, certain forms of cancer, gut blockages, urinary disease and more. An obese rabbit will likely have a reduced life expectancy, and will probably have compromised welfare. Helping your rabbit to lose weight will reduce the risk of these issues, but prevention is always preferable.
Managing Your Rabbit’s Diet
To reiterate, prevention is always better than managing obesity after, so all of the following tips should be followed for any rabbit owner. However, if you are going to help your rabbit lose weight, make any changes very slowly – rapid changes in husbandry can stress a rabbit out and could even put them off their food.
A rabbit’s diet should be predominantly roughage, around 80%+
This means fresh grass or hay provided at all times. Rabbits with litter trays should have hay placed there too, as many rabbits like to eat while toileting. Good quality roughage will keep their teeth the correct length, keep their guts moving, and create energy-rich caecotrophs. Around 0-20% can be commercial pellets or nuggets if desired– these are also high in fibre to help their guts. They can be more calorie dense than grass or hay, so ensure your rabbit has plenty of that before you put down anything else. Weigh them using a set of scales to ensure accurate dieting. Treats should make up 0-5% of their diet. Treats should predominantly be green leafy vegetables, like herbs, kale, broccoli, celery, lettuce and carrot tops. Try and avoid sugar-rich vegetables and fruit – carrots in particular are not especially healthy for rabbits.
Rabbit muesli was a common food available in shops
Thankfully, many pet stores are moving away from muesli, but it can still be found. Muesli is made up of various dried grains and vegetables. The trouble with muesli is that rabbits are clever and tend to eat only the sugary softer components while leaving the healthier grains. This means obesity and dental disease are much more likely when a rabbit is fed muesli. We do not recommend muesli in rabbits.
Increasing Your Rabbit’s Exercise Levels
Exercising an obese rabbit can be difficult when they have associated conditions like arthritis or pododermatitis. These will need to be managed at the same time. Non-steroidal drugs like meloxicam are commonly given. Pododermatitis may need antiseptics or antibiotics. Gabapentin can sometimes help for nerve-related pain too. Please speak to your vet to check if your rabbit has these conditions before attempting weight loss.
Space is important for a rabbit, both to exercise and graze
Ideally they should have free access to a secure garden area with plenty of grass to eat. However, this isn’t always possible for some households, so supervised outdoor exercise can be a good second alternative – some rabbits can even be taught to wear harnesses! For indoor-only rabbits, increasing exercise can be difficult – you could consider more free-access around the house, some safe vertical runs to increase the exercise area, or a rabbit-proof room to themselves. A rabbit in the wild will run miles each day, so please don’t keep them in a hutch 24/7 – they need space to stretch their legs.
You might want to get creative as well to increase your rabbit’s exercise level
You can create obstacle courses out of cardboard boxes, with pellets hidden inside. Or you can hide food in a toilet roll tube or puzzle ball, or even gently kick a small football around for those that like to chase them! Many rabbits can be trained to enjoy time with humans, especially if they learnt from a young age, so interaction is always a good way to encourage movement.
Final Thoughts
Dieting a rabbit is not easy, and slow consistent routines are critical. Work alongside your vet to help track progression, spot where improvements can be made, and identify and concurrent problems that may be addressed. Getting your rabbit down to a healthy weight is important, but even if they only lose a little weight, every pound will help.
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