Fizscy
New Member
Hello, I'm a newcomer to the forums. I must admit though that I had a specific purpose to joining.
My girlfriend and I have had two rabbits since December 2009. We were stupid and got them from a pet store. $1000 later in pasteurella treatments, and we had two cute bunnies that were now healthy bunnies none-the-less. We picked them up mid January and it turned out they were born December 14, so we ended up boycotting the inhumane practises of that aweful store (PJs Pets just for warning). Because they had a tendency to nip each others bums, we kept them next to each other in separate, but touching cages (fine mesh so they couldn't nip through it). Shaving were never used for bedding or litter; only newspaper. I figure these details are important to the present situation.
On Tuesday afternoon, our beloved Hendrix passed away. It has taken us both by surprise and I am finding it harder to recover from this than losing my dog of 9 years or my cat of 14. One of the hardest parts of the pain has been the complete loss as to why this happened. On Sunday I had yelled at him (not loud, but stern) as he had chewn a big hole into my pea jacket. He stayed in his cage overnight, and the next day was business as per usual - Bursting forth from his cage and running around, getting into mischief and seeking affection from our cat (he didn't like us touching him, but the cat was fine).
The next morning, as I ran out the door to work at 6:30am, I tossed the usual supply of hay and kibbles in. He was lying there, but I wasn't there long enough to take note of his eating or pooping condition. At about noon my girlfriend calls me in a panic as he is limp and unresponsive, wouldn't even eat papaya (normally a give-me-it-now! type of treat for him). She quickly took him in to an alternative vet, because our vet didn't have a rabbit doctor in that day (thanks for that lovely convenience, I will be unleashing a torrent of hatred towards them the next time I go for having the audacity to take people in as clients while not having someone on duty daily)
The vet took him in at about 1:45, sent out some blood tests. At 3:00 we got the call that he had died shortly after we left (!!!), and that the tests had come back with nothing out of the ordinary, except a slightly low blood sugar. He hadn't eaten any of what I gave him in the morning, so I think those two are directly related, but a symptom and not a cause.
Being so knocked out of the water by this and the suddenness, we had an autopsy performed. The vet that performed it told us she didn't have enough to make a solid diagnosis, but mentioned that there were small fat pockets surrounding his lungs, that his heart was confined / squished and that his liver had rounded edges.
I feel horribly to blame for getting mad a few days earlier and possibly stressing him and bringing this about... But he was completely fine all day Monday! All I know is that our house is much quieter and lonelier without our dear bunny, and that some kind of answer would at least bring some kind of closure.
My girlfriend and I have had two rabbits since December 2009. We were stupid and got them from a pet store. $1000 later in pasteurella treatments, and we had two cute bunnies that were now healthy bunnies none-the-less. We picked them up mid January and it turned out they were born December 14, so we ended up boycotting the inhumane practises of that aweful store (PJs Pets just for warning). Because they had a tendency to nip each others bums, we kept them next to each other in separate, but touching cages (fine mesh so they couldn't nip through it). Shaving were never used for bedding or litter; only newspaper. I figure these details are important to the present situation.
On Tuesday afternoon, our beloved Hendrix passed away. It has taken us both by surprise and I am finding it harder to recover from this than losing my dog of 9 years or my cat of 14. One of the hardest parts of the pain has been the complete loss as to why this happened. On Sunday I had yelled at him (not loud, but stern) as he had chewn a big hole into my pea jacket. He stayed in his cage overnight, and the next day was business as per usual - Bursting forth from his cage and running around, getting into mischief and seeking affection from our cat (he didn't like us touching him, but the cat was fine).
The next morning, as I ran out the door to work at 6:30am, I tossed the usual supply of hay and kibbles in. He was lying there, but I wasn't there long enough to take note of his eating or pooping condition. At about noon my girlfriend calls me in a panic as he is limp and unresponsive, wouldn't even eat papaya (normally a give-me-it-now! type of treat for him). She quickly took him in to an alternative vet, because our vet didn't have a rabbit doctor in that day (thanks for that lovely convenience, I will be unleashing a torrent of hatred towards them the next time I go for having the audacity to take people in as clients while not having someone on duty daily)
The vet took him in at about 1:45, sent out some blood tests. At 3:00 we got the call that he had died shortly after we left (!!!), and that the tests had come back with nothing out of the ordinary, except a slightly low blood sugar. He hadn't eaten any of what I gave him in the morning, so I think those two are directly related, but a symptom and not a cause.
Being so knocked out of the water by this and the suddenness, we had an autopsy performed. The vet that performed it told us she didn't have enough to make a solid diagnosis, but mentioned that there were small fat pockets surrounding his lungs, that his heart was confined / squished and that his liver had rounded edges.
I feel horribly to blame for getting mad a few days earlier and possibly stressing him and bringing this about... But he was completely fine all day Monday! All I know is that our house is much quieter and lonelier without our dear bunny, and that some kind of answer would at least bring some kind of closure.
