Rescued a starved rabbit: How to help him gain weight and health?

Thank you for using Boop by Petco! It is important to make sure that there is no other reason for Egg to be losing or not gaining weight such as issues with his teeth or chronic hair balls. He should be eating mostly a pellet diet that you can find in pet stores as well as free access to hay. As far as additional treats, there are various treats sold in stores. Fruits and veggies should be offered in small amounts. You can try carrots, green beans, green leafy veggies, apples, pineapples, and bananas. I recommend staying away from fruits with seeds. I hope this helps!

It's actually quite normal to feel some bones on a rabbit with a normal body condition, so I would check the body condition using the link below as a guide: https://research.unc.edu/files/2012/11/Body-Condition-Scoring-Rabbit.pdf If she is a body condition of one, then it's best to have Lulu evaluated by a vet, because it's possible that she has a medical condition that is causing her to be thin. If it's in-fact due to a lack of nutrition, then I recommend feeding a diet of free-choice Oxbow pellets, high-quality hay and grass. It will also be good to feed fruits and vegetables about twice a day. When she gets to a more normal body condition, the fruits and vegetables should be no more than 10% of her diet and the diet should be mostly grass and hay. Diet changes with Rabbits should be gradual. Changing the diet too quickly can alter the normal gut flora significantly and cause major problems. If she has a lack of appetite or loose stools at any time, then I recommend taking

You are doing all the right thing it seems, this means he must be suffering from a medical condition. i would recommend to take him to the vet in order to get him dewormed. he might also be suffering from a gastrointestinal infection that is causing this. upper respiratory infections are also know n=to cause weight loss. the vet will check him and treat him accordingly.

You should not be able to feel the whole spine so it sounds to me like the bunny is underweight. She should be on a diet of mainly hay and some rabbit pellets. Occasional fresh fruits and veggies are good too. If she is eating well but still underweight I would recommend having her checked out at the vet. She may have an intestinal parasite or something else causing her to lose weight.

In my experience the most common reason rabbits gain weight is due to over feeding pellets. Rabbits only need about 1/4 cup or less of pellets a day. If you are feeding more than this, I would suggest slowly decreasing the amount over several weeks. Bunnies should always have very slow diet changes to avoid gastrointestinal problems. Thanks for using Pet coach and I hope this was helpful!

Hello, I would completely stop the pellets for Flopsy, hay & water only. Increasing exercise is very important, too. This may mean feeding the 2 rabbits separately, but there can be so many health problems associated with an obese rabbit, that it is important to try & get some weight off of him. Make sure that you are very careful with the treats he gets. He should only receive good greens, no fruit or high-calorie rabbit treats. Get a good food scale where you can weigh Flopsy weekly & monitor his progress. As he reaches a more normal weight, you can begin to add a few pellets back into his diet. Good luck & thank you for using Boop by Petco.

A rabbit that is not eating normally should be considered a veterinary emergency. If the GI tract slows or stops, a dangerous buildup of bacteria and toxins could endanger Bun Bun's life. Given his age and weight loss, he needs to be seen by a veterinarian...any veterinarian. If necessary, a specialist can be contacted by phone or online by your vet. Veterinary reference labs may provide consultation services as well. For now, offer as much timothy hay as he will eat. Offer some Oxbow Critical Care for Herbivores as well. You may be able to find it in pet stores or in the local vet clinic. Keep Bun Bun warm and as stress free as possible. The link below leads to a list of veterinarians experienced in treating rabbits locate din Wisconsin. http://wisconsinhrs.org/local-vets/

Rabbits really should be able to exist on a diet of hay alone, often when pellets are added they become lazy and favour these. I would try increasing her hay intake, feed a good quality grass hay such as Timothy grass, but avoid legume hays such as alfalfa as they are higher in fat. I would only offer the pellets once a day to try and encourage her to eat more hay. Increasing exercise will also help. You could build her an outside run to play in, invest in toys or train her to walk on a harness. A companion could help with activity but it can be difficult introducing​ a new rabbit. Females can fight, so you could try a neutered male.

Poor Rose. The head tilt most likely caused Rose to not eat properly. I would highly recommend getting Rose to a vet as soon as possible. Typically, when a rabbit is loosing weight it can be life threatening. I would recommend starting to force feeding every 1-2 hours with critical care or a proper feeding for rabbits. Most likely Rose needs hospitalization for supportive care. I hope Rose feels better soon.

Feed as much timothy hay or similar grasses as possible. Limit or discontinue feeding commercial pellets. Offer about a cup of fresh greens daily. Avoid fruit and "sweet" vegetables such as corn or carrots. Try to increase Bun Bun's activity.