House Rabbit Connection, Inc.

Hi, Bob.

I’m so sorry that you had this bunny die on you this suddenly. Unfortunately, rabbits are very fragile creatures (which is part of the reason they breed so prolifically — nature tries to keep her own numbers up). This is a sad truth that brings together all of us who love the fuzzy little guys.

Was your bunny eating right before she died? Rabbits get what’s called gastric stasis, which means their gut just stops cold and that can kill them pretty quickly. You said she always ate her hay and water and pellets, but did that include the 12 or so hours before she passed away?

When you picked her up to clean her off, was her tummy soft or hard? Soft tummies with gurgly noises are good. Hard tummies can mean there’s a big gas bubble in there and often bunnies can’t get rid of it themselves, which can put them into stasis. Tummy rubs and infant gas drops usually do the trick with a gassy bunny, but only if you catch it in time.

I commend you for looking into the reason for your bunny’s death. Education on the common ailments can only make you a better owner in the future. We’re here to help…

–Dana

Hi again, I thank you both for responding. The day the bunny died I noticed she was acting a “little” strange but NEVER figured it wound come to this. She usually would be in her cage in the corner with her back to the wall. That afternoon she was facing the wall. Then I seen her licking the side of the box for the cage(!?). She acted somewhat despondently even when I opened the door to the cage, she was first to want to get out but not that afternoon. Again if I ever knew! She was eating normally (which was a lot!) and drinking her water from her bottle. She has her normal poop (again which was a lot and they were hard and round as usual) She never seemed to like to chew anything other then her Timothy hay, even her toys. She went into her cardboard house and at first was quite a long time since she normally goes in then out and slept on top of the house. The second time she went in she would not come out. I am not sure of the time that passed because we were outside but figured about an hour or so. When we lifted the house she was on her side breathing shallow. The eyes were opened and she would follow my finger but her front and rear legs were twitching at times. Fast forward 5 minutes. Her breathing became less frequent and would stop at times. I would rub her head and the breathing resumed until it stopped again which I did for a few minutes. Then I carefully picked her up and laid her on the other side to clean her up (bedding and poop balls in the fur) that’s when she died, stopped breathing and her eyes dimmed. I did notice a pinch of like, crust in the corner of the eye lids and her eyes did appear to have some type of “film” on them. We got her at 9 weeks and had her for 3 1/2 weeks.
Ok if your still with me, Thanks. Now — What might have happened? Is it something we did? I was under the impression that she had some type of stroke or something. Is that possible? Something toxic she ingested but everything was clean. We always held her gently too. I am a total loss. So before we adopt a new bun, I just want to make sure if we did something; we don’t do it again cause it just plain sucks having her die in your hands and burying her is not something I am fond of really.
Thanks for letting me ramble.

The sad and unhappy campers in CT
Bob

Hi, Bob.

Rabbits are fragile creatures. That is the sad fact. They breed rapidly because, in the wild, they don’t live all that long. We take them into our homes, and they get away from predators and are fed well and they live longer, but sometimes nature just catches up to them too quickly. It really sounds like you did everything you could for her. She may have had a stroke. Bunnies do have them. She may have also had about a dozen other things go wrong with her. Unfortunately, unless you get an autopsy done, there’s no real way to figure it out. Even then, they don’t always come up with a reason for a death.

I’d say just make sure you’re up-to-date on the latest know-how before you get another rabbit, and don’t be too discouraged (I know, it’s difficult now). I’m glad to hear your daughter and you are doing a bit better.

–Dana