Emergency Advice please (RIP)

[Bonnie Lee]

hi everyone so i have a bit of an emergency.

my family is taking care of my buns at the moment and my father has just emailed me that he thinks Harvey has the flu... which is his way of saying harvey seems really unwell. he said harvey has a wet nose and is panting... my dad said when he picked harvey up to give him a run this morning, harvey didnt really do anything but just stayed still in my dads hands.

i am in Japan and i dont get back to australia until early next week so i cant get to him to see for myself.

i have asked my dad to check if he is pooping and peeing and that if he isnt eating to wet some greens to encourage him to eat and because he is an indoor bun i asked him to get harvey away from any rooms that any other buns are in.

my dad isnt well financially and im hoping i dont have to make him take harvey to the vet but its probably going to have to happen but i just want to know what it could be as there arent rabbit savvy vets around my area and i dont want my dad going there clueless to be given something totally wrong for my bun.

some things im not quite sure about was a day before we took the buns to my dads house, my boyfriends mothers cats had fleas. could this be a factor at all?

what about myxo?

i have asked my dad to look out for any head tilting and all sorts but my dad hasnt replied yet so i dont know all the information.

i just want to know possibilities it could be to let my dad know. and as soon as my dad replies to my email i will get back here to give as much information as possible.

thanks for any help in advance.

 

[LakeCondo]

Getting fleas wouldn't help, but wouldn't cause these symptoms. I don't know anything about myxo, as it's mot a problem in the US. In fact, my first thought was, not seeing he was in Australia, was to think that heat was a factor, as it probably would be if you were in the US.

The only thing I can think of to add, is that when your dad takes him to the vet, he take a cell phone along & call you with what the vet says, so you can decide.

 

[Bonnie Lee]

uhm my dad just emailed back.
harvey passed. uhm im a bit confused.. my dad doesnt know rabbits but he said harvey was eating fine and everything was normal then this morning he had a runny nose and panting but he was still slowly taking in hay and what not so he was still fine digestive wise?

my dad said he tried to keep harvey room temperature but my dad said it looks like what he thinks is pneumonia like as in what you would see a human be like.

uhm the other buns and all the kits are fine but i dont understand what could have done this. his an indoor bun and goes out for a run from lunch time til late afternoon. and he has passed with in a few hours of symptoms? is this even possible?

uhm harvey is my first bunny so im a bit confused.

 

[cheryl]

Hey i'm so very sorry for your loss,especially as you are away which must be hard for you.


I lost my 10 beautiful bunnies last April 2011 due to myxi.. that freakin virus took my babies..i'm still angry and hurt over the loss makes me mad that the goverment won't allow us the myxi vaccine here.
Anyway just wanted to mention that just in case.

Again i'm sorry for your loss

 

[Bonnie Lee]

Thank you Cheryl.

my father has replied with more detail of everything so i really just want some answers now.

but he said last night harvey ate all his food, was running around fine. then today he was quiet and still in the morning but he was still eating and drinking just very slowly on his own. he said harvey was sniffling a lot and panting but still being himself... and then he said just before he died he swung his head back and acted as if he was having a fit...

all of the runny nose and panting and passing happened within a couple of hours.

do any of these symptoms add up? please if anyone has any idea it would be really appreciated to know.

R.I.P Sir General Harvington.

 

[ZRabbits]

I'm so sorry about Harvey's passing. And you being away, that makes it harder. Your Dad must be so upset.

My heartfelt condolences from the Z-Tribe to you.

K

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Oh dear! I am so so sorry to hear about your little Harvey boy's passing~I can't imagine what I'd do if something happend to one of my buns while I was away..I think I would die. :'(

In a way it sounds like heat exhaustion-was Havey outdoors?

 

[wendymac]

I am so very, very sorry to hear about Harvey. Unfortunately, I have no idea what might have been wrong with him. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Binky free, Harvey...

 

[Bonnie Lee]

thank you everyone. i think im more angry than i am upset. i cant explain it but im just really mad and its not even at anyone i just feel like its not right at all and it doesnt make any sense what so ever so i feel so frustrated as to why it would happen now. it was his 1st birthday 2 days ago.. so he didnt even get to live long at all...

@Mia, thats what it looks like.. but its winter in australia and i live in the hills so its been frost nights and my step mums car door was frozen shut the other night. but he couldnt have been too cold either because he is an indoor bunny.

thanks everyone. really it means a lot it is hard being overseas because i know my dad feels bad for me and he doesnt deserve that stress...

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I'm so sorry for your loss

*Big Hugs*

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm so sorry.

What a terrible thing to happen. The only consolation is that he didn't suffer & now is at peace. But it still has to be like hell for you.

Are the other rabbits all kept separately? I hope that's possible, if it's something that could spread.

Be sure to tell your dad it would have happened had you been there. There's only a very slight chance it wouldn't, but you might as well tell him no chance.

All the Australians with rabbits should threaten to emigrate if something isn't done. If you don't mind hot dry weather, you could all move to southern Arizona or Nevada, lol.

 

[Bonnie Lee]

thanks maria and orlena,
I am back in Australia now and the other buns are all fine.
I still dont know what could have caused harvey to pass so unbelievably fast but my dad had buried him under our orange tree now.

 

[Ape337]

Why are you not allowed the vaccine?

So sorry for your lossray:

 

[Bonnie Lee]

because if a pet bun is vaccinated there is a chance it can create an immune to the virus passing it on to its offspring and the off chance of it getting into the wild and spreading that immunity to wild buns ... i dont even really know because i heard that domesticated rabbits have 26 chromosomes or something and wild cottontails only have 25 apparently making it impossible for them to have live offspring. but i could be reading something bias...

 

[LakeCondo]

Ape337 wrote:

Why are you not allowed the vaccine?

That's a long story that goes back 50 years, but it has to do with the fact that the wild rabbits in Australia were imported, became a huge pest, the disease was imported to kill them off, etc.

Nothing in North America is comparable, but what if gypsy moth, Japanese beetles, emerald ash borers or Asian carp were sometimes pets. Pet ones who had an immunity to the disease that was keeping the wild ones under control could be released into the wild by mistake & the immunity could spread, etc.