Ask the Vet to Judge Size Against the Flemish Giant Frame
Ask the vet to weigh your Flemish Giant and tell you honestly where it sits for its frame. Flemish Giants are one of the largest rabbit breeds, so a number that would be alarming in a small breed can be normal here — and the reverse is also true, because a giant rabbit carrying extra weight puts heavy loads through its joints and feet. Ask the vet to show you how to feel for ribs and spine under the coat so you can judge condition at home between visits.
Ask whether this rabbit's hips, spine, and gait look sound. Flemish Giants grow quickly, and a first appointment is the right moment to establish a baseline for how this individual moves before any stiffness or reluctance to hop appears later.
Ask About Feet, Flooring, and Sore Hocks
Ask the vet to examine the underside of the hind feet. A Flemish Giant's sheer weight presses on the hocks, and heavy rabbits are more prone to sore, reddened hocks when they live on hard or wire flooring. Ask what surface the vet wants under this rabbit — deep bedding, mats, or grass — and how much resting area it needs so its weight is spread rather than concentrated.
Ask whether the nails are the right length and how often they should be trimmed. Long nails change how a heavy rabbit's foot lands, which adds to hock pressure, and Flemish Giant nails grow thick enough that many owners prefer the vet to demonstrate the technique once.
Ask About Teeth, Hay, and Daily Quantities
Ask the vet to check the front teeth and, as far as a conscious examination allows, the back teeth too. Then ask the question Flemish Giant owners most often get wrong: how much should this rabbit actually eat? Ask for quantities in terms you can use — hay available constantly as the bulk of the diet, a measured amount of pellets rather than a full bowl, and greens introduced gradually. A giant breed's larger gut does not need proportionally richer food, and overfeeding pellets is a common route to a heavy, picky rabbit.
Ask which vegetables the vet is happy for you to use regularly and which changes in droppings — smaller, fewer, or strung together with fur — should make you phone the practice.
Ask About Vaccination, Parasites, and Neutering
Ask which vaccinations the practice recommends for rabbits in your area and whether this Flemish Giant's breeder or rescue paperwork shows any already given. Ask about parasite prevention for a rabbit that may graze outdoors, including flystrike risk in warm weather — a large rabbit that cannot reach to groom its rear end easily deserves a specific conversation about keeping that area clean and checked daily in summer.
Ask when the vet advises spaying or neutering for a Flemish Giant, given its slower maturation than smaller breeds, and what weight or age they want to see first. Ask also what aftercare looks like for a rabbit of this size, including how you will keep it eating in the first day after surgery.
Ask What Counts as an Emergency in a Giant Rabbit
Ask the vet to define the red flags plainly: a Flemish Giant that stops eating, produces no droppings, sits hunched and grinding its teeth, or cannot move comfortably should be seen the same day, and rabbits deteriorate faster than most new owners expect. Ask which number to call outside practice hours and whether the out-of-hours service sees rabbits or refers them elsewhere.
Leave with the weight, the feeding quantities, and the vet's findings written into one record, because KinsLe Pet Passport holds a Flemish Giant's health paperwork together, ready for the next vet visit, boarding stay, or handover.