Rabbit - sudden death?

[HamCob]

Just looking for a bit of advice for my sister.
She bought a baby rabbit approx 6 months ago.
It spent much of the day in the house with them but they put him in the hutch outside at night. He seemed in perfect health as far as she was aware. This morning she went out to fetch him in and he was lying lifeless in his cage. He then had a fit and passed away in her arms. She is devastated as he was such a beautiful bunny with a lovely nature. At bedtime the previous night he had seemed fine.
Does anyone have any idea what could have caused this or any experience of this? She would like to get another but is worried it might happen again.

Was it vaccinated?

Any foxes in the area? They can die from shock if the hutch has been terrorised by a fox or predator. Or possibly had congenital problem that caused the seizure.

If not vaccinated I'd say rhd2

No he wasn't vaccinated as she (naively perhaps) thought that as he was mainly living in the house and not kept with other rabbits it wasn't necessary.

I did also wonder about foxes - they did cover the cage with a fleece type thing

Sadly it was very likely that it was VHD, there's two variants. VHD1 kills much more quickly than VHD2. VHD is transmitted by insects and by contact (i.e. you go for a walk in the fields with wild rabbits, come home and it will be on your clothes and shoes). Myxomatosis is transmitted by biting insects mainly like mosquitos which are EVERYWHERE at the moment. This is why rabbits living alone or living indoors still need to be vaccinated :(

If she decides to get another, just in case she would be best getting new housing just in case. There's lots of good care advice here: rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

Thank you. It does sound likely it's RHD. I shall pass that information onto her.

If your sister gets another rabbit it would be better to get a pair of rabbits. They also need to be kept either outdoors or indoors so they don’t have dramatic changes of temperature. Not suggesting either of these were the cause of death though. Definitely get rabbits vaccinated and buy from a good breeder who can advise on rabbit care.

Or a good rabbit rescue - where rabbits will already be neutered, properly bonded (two babies are not bonded) and up to date on vaccines, plus a lifetime of rabbit advice :)

My last two rabbits both died suddenly within the year. Rabbits hide their illnesses very well until it's often too late to save them.

They also need to be kept either outdoors or indoors so they don’t have dramatic changes of temperature.
I think this could be the reason OP. Rabbits don't cope well with extreme changes in temperature and if it's gone from a warm house into the cold - which it is now, suddenly - then this is probably why.

She sounds like she needs to do a lot more research before thinking about getting another one.

Could also have been something like gut stasis, they are prey animals and go downhill quickly. I also agree, either keep indoors or outdoors not both, and definitely if she gets another it needs to be vaccinated, neutered and have a friend. I would advise getting guinea pigs Instead though

Oh poor thing :( To be honest, like a pp I think guinea pigs are probably better pets - having had a rabbit for some years I’m no longer convinced they should be kept as pets at all. They aren’t an animal that’s terribly happy or healthy in captivity even with the very best care and attention, sadly.

Our bunny died suddenly, he was vaccinated & well looked after. He was a mini lop house bunny. He was from PAH & I wonder if there is something to do with the breeding, our last 3 hamsters have not lasted long either.