Yesterday we got a very fat (supposed) dwarf lop ear rabbit (5 year old female, not desexed) and I have questions!! I say supposed as when she's lying down she almost fills a cat litter tray so I'm thinking the 'dwarf' part is wrong!
She's always been a house rabbit, fed on very brightly coloured rabbit mix which I understand isn't ideal, so we've taken that off her during the day and she only gets a bit at night - I don't want to change her diet too quickly in case it makes her sick. She is used to eating grass, but not much. She loves veggies and has been happily munching through kale, red cabbage and mixed lettuce leaves today.
We've currently got her in a hutch and run outside (have a very handy FIL who built this with half a days notice!) outside on the grass. We can't let her have free run of the garden because of snakes and I don't want her inside so she's now an outdoor rabbit!
She's so overweight she's got a large fat roll round her neck that she rests her chin on when she snoozes.
How much weight should we be looking at her dropping each week/month? I don't want her to lose too much too quickly but she really needs to lose about 1/3rd of her body weight - if not more. You can't feel her ribs at all and she's a short haired bunny.
She's used to being handled every day (was a pets as therapy bunny) but we're leaving her in peace for a few days to settle in before we handle her too much.
As she's 5 are there any health issues we need to be aware off as she gets older? Ideally I'd like her desexed but she's not fit enough for the anaesthetic at the moment.
Finally - does she need a friend? The local rescue centres have desexed rabbits for adoption - if she needs a friend would another female be better?