I am so sorry about your loss.....but I do thinki knowhy your rabbit died. Since he always gnawed on the cageI think your rabbit might have caught zinc or lead poisoning from thecage wires. Below, there is a story about a bird that died from leadpoisoningfrom cages. Hope the story helps....and gives you alittle more info about why Cheeks died.
Cassandra
New Alert Received March 2004:Cage Causes Zinc and Lead Poisoning! I am writing you thisemail in the hopes that its posting may prevent other pets fromsuffering as ours has.
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InFebruary 2002, my husband and I purchased a wonderful Moluccan Cockatoofrom a family who could no longer keep her due to respiratory problems.The Cockatoo, Spike, was being housed in a one-year-old cage which wecontinued to house her in ourselves. In November 2003, Spikeself-mutilated her preen gland. At the time it was thought that she mayhave done so due to an infection. She was treated with antibiotics andI kept an extremely close eye on her. A short time later she appearedto suffer a "neurologic episode". She was uncoordinated, blind, anddeaf for approximately 45 minutes. It was most likely a petit malseizure.[/font]
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After routine blood workcame back normal I decided to have her cage tested for heavy metalsjust for peace of mind. I honestly did not expect the tests to showanything. You can only imagine my shock when the results came backshowing that the cage contained 20,000ppm of lead and 147ppm of zinc. Ijust couldn't believe that in this day and age any company would stilluse these materials in the metal and paint of an animal cage. Aftergetting this information, I took Spike back to the vet for heavy metaltoxicity tests. The vet determined that Spike had most likely sufferedboth lead and zinc poisoning. The lead poisoning had somehow resolveditself, unfortunately, the zinc poisoning had not. Four months later weare still making frequent vet visits and medicating our beloved petwith oral doses of Cupramine in an attempt to get the zinc out of hersystem. I cannot emphasize enough how emotionally and financiallydraining this ordeal has been![/font]
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Spike's cage had nomanufacturer information on it whatsoever. The only marking was anengraved rabbit on the latching mechanism of the cage door.[/font]
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Through a great deal ofresearch, I eventually found the company that sold Spike's cage. Anemployee of Parrot Playstands in Florida said the cage I described wasone of theirs and that he did alot of business in Tennessee where thecage was purchased. When I asked him who the manufacturer was he saidhe made them himself. I told him about our bird getting lead and zincpoisoning from the cage. He then said he didn't actually make thecages, but rather imported them from China. When I asked if he had thename and/or contact information for the manufacturer he said no. Hetold me that the owner of Parrot Playstands goes through a broker whogoes through another broker that works for the othercompany.[/font]
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We are extremely fortunatethat we still have our Too. Please, please, please be careful whenpurchasing a cage for your bird! Beware of generic, "no name," andimported cages sold at bird fairs and stores. Buy a high quality cagefrom a reputable manufacturer only. Spending a little extra money nowcan save you alot of money, as well as heartache, later.[/font][font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]
Karen & RoySmith
Paducah, KY[/font]
