Bonding causing death?

[bun-mommy]

We lost our rabbits this past year. Jake (a girl) died in May and we had to put Roy down on Christmas Eve. Those two had been together for about seven years, ever since they were babies. After about a year and a half, we separated their enclosure, but it was just a wire wall. We did try to keep them separate though whenever we would get them out. After Jake died, I did notice a change in Roy. Is it possible that those two had bonded and Roy died from heart break? Jake died from some sort of seizures and Roy had difficulty breathing, eating and drinking on his own, and loss of stability/mobility. :brown-bunny:bunny19

 

[Imbrium]

I'm so sorry for your losses... especially losing not one but two bunnies, and the second on a holiday, no less

if they could see/smell each other, there's a good chance they bonded and I've heard of rabbits becoming severely depressed or even dying after their bonded mate dies... but at the same time, both qualified as "senior" rabbits so it could just as easily have been health issues that were completely unrelated to losing Jake. it could also have been both - depression can weaken the immune system, after all. there's really no way to know which one it was or if both were contributing factors.

 

[Watermelons]

There is the thought that yes bonded bunnys can miss their mate and die from depression. But think too, if a pair of rabbits was bonded, odds are they had the same lifestyle as each other. Ate the same stuff, did the same stuff, etc. So if one rabbit got sick and died, odds are the mate would get the same illness. If it was something like Kidney failure, well maybe it was kidney failure due to parasite or diet, well odds are the mate would end up with the same fate sooner or later due to eating the same food and living in the same envoronment. Even if they dont look sick sometimes one can be, they just hide it well due to the nature of the species.
So while it could be depression, there is more then likely a more logical reason behind it.