Did I do something wrong?

[PtboBun]

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?

 

[Yield]

[align=center]This is so odd.. I'm sorry for your losses =(

Were you feeding them any types of veggies? How much? What kind of pellets had you been feeding them? Also how much? What was their exact diet?

 

[PtboBun]

Matilda didn't like veggies other than the occasional piece of carrot. Her food was a generic mix and she got about half a cup per day.

For Fiona, she had a generic mix called Cuni Nature Balance (http://www.versele-laga.com/NUTRI/N...sp?ran=20644&pro=20669&fam=224&ani=5335&rac=0) that she was eating at the pet store. I was in the middle of transitioning her to a plain timothy pellet made by Martin. She was getting about half a cup per day (half and half of each). I also let Fiona have about a 1 inch by 1 inch piece of romaine lettuce per day to start her off on fresh veggies. I did a lot of research after Matilda passed away to make sure that Fiona was getting the best diet as I wanted to make sure she stayed healthy...

Both bunnies had unlimited access to timothy hay.

 

[Flash Gordon]

were they house bunnies? or were they outside..?..do u have plants that they could have gotten into?.there are alot of toxic plants that buns cant eat..if they were outside could they have gotten into any poisonous chemicals or pesticides ..there are so many things that could have happened but since the same thing happened twice u really gotta retrace ur steps with them ...i really think u might want to investigate a little more before u get another bun..i dont think u did anything wrong with their diets ...could ur hay have been moldy?

 

[tonyshuman]

How old are these bunnies? Young bunnies are especially prone to digestive upset.

 

[PtboBun]

Both buns were House buns. I don't have any house plants and I never used any household cleaners anywhere near them or in rooms where they played.

I had worried about the hay having gone off, which is why I bought new fresh hay for Fiona.

Matilda was 2.5 years old when she died, and the pet shop thought Fiona was at least seven months old.

 

[tonyshuman]

I cannot say what happened. It sounds like you have ruled out the most likely communicable GI diseases, like parasites. It is possible that their diarrhea was not caused by the same thing. Often bunnies can get GI upset when something stressful happens to them, sometimes it is a sign of something else being wrong.

 

[kuniklos]

Ok, I pulled out some of my rabbit books and am looking at non-parasitic rabbit diseases.

Cysts: there are two types of cysts in rabbits. One is found in the liver and one is found under the skin. They are caused by rabbits eating green food that has been fouled by dogs. The liver cyst often proves fatal and within 24 hours. Symptoms include diarrhea, lack of eating, unusual stool, and lethargy. Skin cysts are non-fatal and can be removed by a vet.

Listeriosis: disease resembling influenza caused by an infection with a backteria (listeria) from contaminated food. May cause miscarriages and contagious to humans.

**I think I remembering a recall on spinach in some of the North States having this bacteria recently.

Mucoid Enteritis: a serius form of bloat, scours or diarrhea. This infection is very common and result in a high percentage of deaths in young rabbits, although it can affect rabbits of all ages. Rabits appear listless, lose their appetite, have dull, squinting eyes, grit and grind their teeth, and their stomachs slosh. Youngsters may be contipated or excrete a jelly-like substance from their anus. Prognosis not good.

Pseudo-tuberculosis: infected rabbits lose weight and have diarrhea. The infection is caught by eating greens soiled by wild birds and other rabbits. It can be spread from humans (who show no symptoms) to rabbits is hygiene is inadequate when dealing with birds or other rabbits who are infected. Humans remain carries for up to two weeks.

Pot Belly: gas build up that can be rememdied by a vet. Same symptoms as Mucoid Enteritis.

Hope this helps. It's a small list of the most common ailments of bunnies dealing with stomach issues.

I have alot more on each, I just took a brief blurb from one of my books. But I have a veterinary book with more details on each should you need any more info.

 

[PtboBun]

Thank you everyone for the information; after a lot of research I don't think the two deaths are related. I have talked to a number of people in town and they suspect it may have been that the pet shop was a little sketchy as people have reported they used to sell puppies that were likely from a puppy mill.

Thank you again.

 

[tamsin]

A digestive upset is often a secondary sign of the primary condition. Any time rabbits are unwell, or even sometimes if they are just stressed, their guts are prone to upset. The change is poop (or lack of it) is an obvious sign and rabbits are very good at hiding any other symptoms. I think you are probably right that the two are unrelated and what you were seeing was just a common symptom of many illnesses. You're second buns reluctance to eat hay would have made her much higher risk of gut problems on their own or when triggered by something else.

If you are thinking of another bun in future you could try a rabbit specific rescue or house rabbit society. That way the bun is usually neutered and has had a vet check, they also be on a good diet already so you don't have to wean them away from the usual pet shop fair.