Hello. It's Belinda.
Happy Father's Day to everyone who celebrates. I hope you get to relax with your favorite snack.
I don't remember much about my dad. Or about my early days back in New Zealand.
My roommate always says "It's a small world." So you never know. I might run into my family somewhere.
TO MY DAD: If you're reading this, don't worry about your little kit (me). I'm fine. I have a job and a best friend. Her name is Little Fang.
Speaking of bestie. My work BFF Abigail wrote an A+ blog the other day.
It's about "Bun Dad Day" at her house. You can read it here.
Back to business.
Last week I wrote "Part 1" of my answers to the "Ask Me Anything" blog. I hope you had a chance to read it.
Today I have more excellent questions from my friends.
The first is from Kimberly and it's a doozy:
"I have 2 buns that are a bit overweight.
Diet: SPS select 2nd & 3rd cuts, occasionally oat hay.
They only get 1/4 cup Timothy pellets split between them once a day. 2 cups veggies once every evening (split between them).
They get out to play/free roam every day for approximately 4-5 hours. Rarely give treats.
What can I do to help them lose some weight? Is 3rd cut fattening? Thanks, Belinda"
Those rabbits are living the good life as far as I'm concerned. "Way to go" Kimberly.
But this "diet" topic is one of my biggest worries if you want to know the truth.
If I had to lose weight I don't know what I would do.
I have to eat for my job. Plus I like to do Healthy Snacker tastings. Just for fun.
Enough about me.
I'm not allowed to give medical advice. So keep in mind this is just one rabbit's opinion. "Not professional."
First of all, ask the vet how much weight your rabbits need to lose.
Then ask how much they should lose each month. "Maximum."
You don't want to lose weight too fast. Especially if you are a rabbit.
As for 3rd cutting hay being fattening, I don't know.
I looked it up in the Small Pet Select guide to hay. It gives you some basics about the different cuts of Timothy. Plus info about oat, orchard and alfalfa.
Sounds like 1st cutting is good for rabbits who need to "firm up the dewlap," if you know what I mean. And 3rd cutting is the opposite.
So try adding 1st cutting to their stash and cut back on the 3rd cutting.
Also hide goodies on the steps. If they go up and down the steps looking for "treasures" that's extra exercise.
My roommate does this. Sometimes it's just a little pile of pellets Nothing fancy.
Let me know how it goes. Thanks for the great question.
Kelly sent the next question. It's perfect for the first day of summer.
"Hi Belinda! As we enter summer, Rosie would like to know ways to keep cool.
She stays inside all the time but sometimes in the house it can get hot even with AC.
Thank you! - Kelly and Rosie"
She included this nice photo of Rosie relaxing with "breakfast in bed."
The good news is I found an excellent blog about hot weather tips in the "library."
https://smallpetselect.com/stay-cool-this-summer/
You are smart to look for ways to keep cool in the summer. Rabbits can get sick really fast on hot days. They can get something called "heatstroke."
If you suspect heatstroke you have to act fast. So I hope you will have time to read this blog about what to watch for and what to do to help your rabbit:
https://smallpetselect.com/heatstroke/
Well I am running out of space now. I have to end this blog here.
I still have more questions to answer so I'll work on those for next week.
I hope you like this "Ask Me Anything" series. I never did this before but I think it's fun.
Plus I'm supposed to try new things.
Have a good week.
Sincerely,
Belinda
SpokesrabbIt, Small Pet Select
Belinda@smallpetselect.com
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Would you like to read more of Belinda's weekly blogs? See them all HERE.
