proper feeding

Question
Dear Dana,
I have a 2-year old spaded Holland Lop.  Due to ignorance on my part, she became obese.  She is now about 5 1/2 pounds.  She resembles a warm, furry water balloon.  I now have her on 1/4 cup timothy-based pellets per day, all the timothy hay she can eat, and fresh water.  She also gets 3 small shredded wheat biscuits, as per advice from a local rabbit breeder since she tends to get a poopy bottom.  I think she has some trouble cleaning herself because of her considerable size. Do you think that she also needs furball meds, or papaya?  I have papaya in tablets, or the dried stuff that tastes like it is mostly sugar.  She sort of runs around the house for several hours a day. Another question I have is can a bad diet cause fur to fall out?  She was shedding badly, and I was pulling it out and feeding it to my vacuum cleaner, when I noticed that she now has a bald spot the size of a golf ball above her tail-but this was all loose hair that I pulled out.  Her skin does not seem to be irritated, just naked.  I have had her on the new diet for just a week or so, so I wonder if the rotten way I was feeding her could cause this. Thanks for any advice you can come up with.

Answer
Dear Lyn,

It's a good idea to reduce her pellet intake to help her lose weight.  Some vets even suggest removing pellets *entirely* when bunny is on a weight-loss regime.  With her reduced intake, it's now even more important that she get plenty of fresh leafy greens, as this will fill her up and keep her intestinal contents well hydrated.

The shredded wheat biscuits are *definitely* not recommended for weight loss.  They may be good fiber for a human, but they are fully digestible (and fattening!) for a bunny.  Substitute fresh herbs such as cilantro, parsley, basil, tasty mints, and other fragrant treats.  Kale is a big favorite!  :)

No papaya tablets (they're just candy) or furball meds are necessary.  Rabbits generally don't *get* hairballs, and you can read more about this here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

You can also read more about a healthy diet here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

As with humans, exercise is key to weight loss. The more active you can keep her (within reason--you don't want to give her a heart attack from too much too soon, if she's out of shape), the faster she will lose those unwanted bulges.

The shedding is probably not related to her diet.  It's shedding season, and sometimes a bunny will shed so suddenly that bald spots result if you "help" the shedding along.  Just keep her well groomed (wetting your hands and stroking her will really get that loose fur off; just roll the fur stuck to your hands into a wad, then do it again and again until all the loose fur is off), and eating lots of timothy hay and fresh, wet greens.  That will keep her from having any problems passing hair.

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana