PtboBun
New Member
I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I need some advice about my recently deceased bunnies. I'm sorry it's a bit long...
I had a Netherland Dwarf named Matilda who was very well loved, happy, and healthy for two and a half years. Suddenly one day I came home from work and found she had diarrhea (that morning and the night before she was perfectly happy and full of energy and was definitely eating and drinking normally). I rushed her to the only vet that was open in the area and they kept over night, but unfortunately she passed away. I could not afford the extra costs of an autopsy, so I'm not entirely certain what caused her condition but the vet was able to confirm that there were no parasites present. I can say that I kept her on the same food and she had plenty of fresh hay and water that she definitely took part in, so there were no changes in her environment.
A few days later, I decided to get another bunny. I missed Matilda too much and I believe in getting new pets (if you're going to get one) right away to minimize the time they have to spend at the pet shop as I doubt they are very happy there. My new bunny was a Lionhead named Fiona, she was already a full adult (the pet store thought she might be as old as seven months!). Since I didn't know how Matilda died, I was extra cautious with my new bun -- I cleaned the cage thoroughly, making sure there was nothing from Matilda and that all the soap was thoroughly washed off, too. I even got all new hay, food, and toys. Nothing that was Matilda's was shared with the new bunny except the litter box, which was thoroughly washed along with the cage.
I only had Fiona three weeks before she also passed away in the exact same way as Matilda -- I came home from work and she had diarrhea, only this time the vet was not open! I spent the night with her trying to keep her warm and comfortable while trying to get her to drink without stressing her out too much. She passed away in the early morning, earlier this week, though. Since then, I can't get it out of my head that I've done something wrong to cause both of my buns to die -- especially so close to one another.
The only clues that something may have been going on with Fiona was that, about a week ago, she didn't poop for about 12 hours and then had very small (almost hamster sized) poops. I did a lot of research and article reading and nursed her back to regular poops within a day and she was fine again so I thought we were better -- her eating, drinking, and pooping were all normal! The one exception is that, no matter what I tried, she never once would eat hay for the entire time she was with me. I bought her every different brand and type I could find! I went to every pet store in town and even caved and gave her alfalfa instead of timothy but she wouldn't touch it. Part of me thinks this is what caused her diarrhea but part of me is worried that somehow I didn't protect her from whatever Matilda may have died from.
I guess what I'm posting about is trying to find out if there was anything else I should have done? I am afraid to get another bunny in case I did something wrong -- I don't want to make another bunny sick if there is some sort of contagion that connects the death of both of my bunnies. Does anyone have any advice or ideas on what could have happened?
I had a Netherland Dwarf named Matilda who was very well loved, happy, and healthy for two and a half years. Suddenly one day I came home from work and found she had diarrhea (that morning and the night before she was perfectly happy and full of energy and was definitely eating and drinking normally). I rushed her to the only vet that was open in the area and they kept over night, but unfortunately she passed away. I could not afford the extra costs of an autopsy, so I'm not entirely certain what caused her condition but the vet was able to confirm that there were no parasites present. I can say that I kept her on the same food and she had plenty of fresh hay and water that she definitely took part in, so there were no changes in her environment.
A few days later, I decided to get another bunny. I missed Matilda too much and I believe in getting new pets (if you're going to get one) right away to minimize the time they have to spend at the pet shop as I doubt they are very happy there. My new bunny was a Lionhead named Fiona, she was already a full adult (the pet store thought she might be as old as seven months!). Since I didn't know how Matilda died, I was extra cautious with my new bun -- I cleaned the cage thoroughly, making sure there was nothing from Matilda and that all the soap was thoroughly washed off, too. I even got all new hay, food, and toys. Nothing that was Matilda's was shared with the new bunny except the litter box, which was thoroughly washed along with the cage.
I only had Fiona three weeks before she also passed away in the exact same way as Matilda -- I came home from work and she had diarrhea, only this time the vet was not open! I spent the night with her trying to keep her warm and comfortable while trying to get her to drink without stressing her out too much. She passed away in the early morning, earlier this week, though. Since then, I can't get it out of my head that I've done something wrong to cause both of my buns to die -- especially so close to one another.
The only clues that something may have been going on with Fiona was that, about a week ago, she didn't poop for about 12 hours and then had very small (almost hamster sized) poops. I did a lot of research and article reading and nursed her back to regular poops within a day and she was fine again so I thought we were better -- her eating, drinking, and pooping were all normal! The one exception is that, no matter what I tried, she never once would eat hay for the entire time she was with me. I bought her every different brand and type I could find! I went to every pet store in town and even caved and gave her alfalfa instead of timothy but she wouldn't touch it. Part of me thinks this is what caused her diarrhea but part of me is worried that somehow I didn't protect her from whatever Matilda may have died from.
I guess what I'm posting about is trying to find out if there was anything else I should have done? I am afraid to get another bunny in case I did something wrong -- I don't want to make another bunny sick if there is some sort of contagion that connects the death of both of my bunnies. Does anyone have any advice or ideas on what could have happened?