My bunny just died suddenly :(

[Tartanteddy71]

Hi I'm looking for advice if possible. We rehomed two lovely Netherland Dwarf rabbits last week, a mother and daughter pair, and the daughter has just died. She wasn't showing any signs of being unwell at all, maybe a little less spritely this morning but I just thought the pair of them were feeling a bit sleepy as they were in the night hutch when I tried to get them to come out for a bit before school.

When I got back from the school run and tried again, the younger one was laid on her side and couldn't get up. I tried to lift her up but she just couldn't get up at all. My dh works shifts and wasn't at work til this afternoon so I ran in to say we need to take her to the vet now and got the carrier out, quickly put some hay in it and when I went to get her she'd gone.

The lady we got her from had 5 adult dwarfs that she needed to rehome due to relationship breakdown. They were all pedigree and she seemed to really know her stuff and care for them. I stupidly forgot to ask her about any medical info though. I really hope that the other one will be ok. Should I get her checked over?
I also hope it's not something we have done to her, my daughter is a bit over zealous in feeding them grass and dandelions and I would be horrified to think that we have killed her.

I feel so sad and my girls will be inconsolable as they do really love them although we've had them less than a week.

I'm really sorry I'd take the other one to the vet for a checkup ASAP, to be on the safe side.

Agree that you should see your vet. Perhaps phone first. I'd be worried about the possibility of Viral Haemorrhagic Disease. It kills quickly and often, in the case of Type 2, without apparent symptoms. You can vaccinate against it but it is highly infectious. See rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/rabbit-vhd/.

for you and your girls.

We had this happen op. We think our gorgeous boy had accidentally eaten some ivy which we hadn’t realised was growing in our garden. I would def got the other bunny looked at ASAP just in case.

Thank you very much, everyone.

Bramble I read your link, thank you. I do wonder if we've put her at risk because our hutch is second hand even though I cleaned it well and let it dry in the sun well before they went into it.

I also wonder if like yours Dinosaur she could've eaten some ivy as we have it growing up one side of our fence. I haven't seen her there, but could easily have happened as we have a bunny-proof garden and she wasn't restricted from going there. We didn't allow them to be unsupervised out there but it only takes a second I suppose. Awful that we could have caused it.

I rang the vet and made an appointment to take the other one in. I will also message the lady and ask about her vaccinations etc. So silly of me not to have done so at the time.

Oh poor bunbun :( good luck at the vets! I would sadly put my money on the RHD virus, both strains (there are two which need two different vaccinations) are really really bad at the moment. The second strain isn't as instant as the first strain. If the lady was having relationship issues and had five of them it may be that they weren't vaccinated as they can cost £15-20 per jab, it mounts up when you have more than two buns.

A vet can do a post mortem on the deceased bunny to find out exactly what happened.

Fingers crossed your remaining bun is ok.

We lost one of our rabbits this morning too - it’s heartbreaking. My 17 year old let out this awful wail when she was told and has cried for almost the past 16 hours :(

Like your bunny ours was young (13mths) and it was very sudden and unexpected.

Please keep an eye on mum and if she starts getting depressed you’ll need to seriously consider getting her a friend. Bonded pairs don’t do well as single rabbits.

Could be vhd, or bloat/impaction due to stress of move.

Poss also uterine adenocarcinoma if not spayed and aged 3+
Buns often don't Show obvious clinical signs and illness can’t be tricky to see

Rabbits are prey animals and rarely show signs of anything being wrong until it kills them. Definitely take the other bun to the vets and research thoroughly what plants are poisonous and how to watch out for health problems in rabbits. Outward symptoms they show are so subtle and their health deteriorates so fast.

There's some information about which plants are safe and dangerous in the RWAF On the Hop guide here and elsewhere on their website. They also sell two books about plants in their shop.

MaitlandGirl so sorry you lost yours also, it's very sad. I will definitely get a new companion for mum but will wait to make sure she has a clean bill of health.

Thank you veterinari She is not spayed and the lady said she was around 2 but it could be that she's older.

I will definitely read up on the plants. I had rabbits growing up so didn't feel like a total novice but I will research everything now thoroughly. I will take the other bunny to the vets and hopefully, she'll be fine too.

I take on board what you're saying about vaccinations bunnygeek it's very possible that they perhaps weren't done.

@Tartanteddy71

How is mum getting on? We unfortunately lost our other rabbit last night. She was perfectly healthy when she went to bed last night and wasn’t fretting about losing her friend on wednesday so we weren’t worried about her.

She was 8 years old so I think it was just her time but it bloody sucks.