LlamaJenn
New Member
Hi, I am new here. I have been caring for my mom's rabbit while she's been on vacation the past 4 days. To give a little history, he is a lionhead rabbit that she's had for the past 3 years (is about 4 years old). He had some medical issues a year ago (can't remember what...he wasn't acting himself, his eye started looking weird, the vet thought possibly a tumor & he'd need lots of money in testing and treatment) then it seemed to clear up. Still, he never eats much. Daily he gets some sort of feed (guinea pig), rabbit treats, a baby carrot, and usually a little grass or clovers. (Since I've been trying to reading up on rabbits tonight, it seems to be a problem as the diet is too low in hay and possibly fiber?) He doesn't seem to ever eat much. He'll eat some of the colored pieces of the feed and leave the rest. This is how he's been for as long as I've remembered. My mom just keeps giving him more feed even though he never eats the majority. And treats of course (rabbit treats, almonds, raisins, etc.) ...not sure how much, but I think she tries to limit? He always feels thin to me -- I can feel his spine when I pet him (not sure if this is normal).
Behaviorally, he is EXTREMELY ATTACHED to my mom. It's actually unhealthy for her, as she spends hours a day sitting in her bedroom petting the bunny and watching t.v. or otherwise zoning out (she suffers from depression). The dependency has worsened over the past couple years. She lives for this rabbit. She spends far more time with him than anyone in her family or any other person. Meanwhile he has become increasingly attached to her. I don't want to sound like I'm judging or dodging blame, but I do think the relationship and recent separation was part of what happened.
So for the past 4 days I've been coming over in the morning, turning on the AC for the bunny if it's going to be a hot day, coming back at night to turn it off, feeding him and giving fresh water daily of course, offering a couple treats as she does, trying to pet him a little, etc.
This morning I forgot to go over and turn on the AC.
Tonight he was dead.
I can't express how awful I feel.
Of course my first thought was "What an idiot I am!!!! How on earth did I forget to come over?!?!?!"
It was 83 degrees in the house when I came over tonight. I'm sure it got hotter earlier.
I tried to see if there were any other signs of what could have happened. He was just laying on his side under her bed near the wall. There was some pee and poop in the litter box as usual - except some of the poop was in weird, larger sized pellets, and the rest was the normal tiny-sized poop but it looked a little clumped together.
I called the on-call vet right away. She said it's hard to pinpoint what happened. Heat can raise the stress level, so can separation from my mom, and not eating much can worsen it.
I noticed last night (AC was on that day) that he didn't want a carrot or yogurt treat that he normally loves. I think he ate 1 almond though(?) Could this be a sign that something was wrong already?
Honestly I feel horrible. Every day I went over I was a little nervous because I was afraid that this could happen (not because of me messing up something, but because of the separation from my mom). Well this time I messed up and he was probably stressed already. I can't believe I forgot to turn the AC on this morning. It was a busy day & I have 2 little kids and a husband who's been working almost constantly, but I had really thought I did it (I was surprised to see it off when I went over).
Anyway, I am looking for any answers.... I have to tell her in the morning. I know she will be crushed, her vacation will be ruined, I will probably get blamed (I do think it's my fault), it's not going to be good.
Any advice is appreciated. Ideas of what happened, ways to tell her, anything.
Thank you
Jennifer
Behaviorally, he is EXTREMELY ATTACHED to my mom. It's actually unhealthy for her, as she spends hours a day sitting in her bedroom petting the bunny and watching t.v. or otherwise zoning out (she suffers from depression). The dependency has worsened over the past couple years. She lives for this rabbit. She spends far more time with him than anyone in her family or any other person. Meanwhile he has become increasingly attached to her. I don't want to sound like I'm judging or dodging blame, but I do think the relationship and recent separation was part of what happened.
So for the past 4 days I've been coming over in the morning, turning on the AC for the bunny if it's going to be a hot day, coming back at night to turn it off, feeding him and giving fresh water daily of course, offering a couple treats as she does, trying to pet him a little, etc.
This morning I forgot to go over and turn on the AC.
Tonight he was dead.
I can't express how awful I feel.
Of course my first thought was "What an idiot I am!!!! How on earth did I forget to come over?!?!?!"
It was 83 degrees in the house when I came over tonight. I'm sure it got hotter earlier.
I tried to see if there were any other signs of what could have happened. He was just laying on his side under her bed near the wall. There was some pee and poop in the litter box as usual - except some of the poop was in weird, larger sized pellets, and the rest was the normal tiny-sized poop but it looked a little clumped together.
I called the on-call vet right away. She said it's hard to pinpoint what happened. Heat can raise the stress level, so can separation from my mom, and not eating much can worsen it.
I noticed last night (AC was on that day) that he didn't want a carrot or yogurt treat that he normally loves. I think he ate 1 almond though(?) Could this be a sign that something was wrong already?
Honestly I feel horrible. Every day I went over I was a little nervous because I was afraid that this could happen (not because of me messing up something, but because of the separation from my mom). Well this time I messed up and he was probably stressed already. I can't believe I forgot to turn the AC on this morning. It was a busy day & I have 2 little kids and a husband who's been working almost constantly, but I had really thought I did it (I was surprised to see it off when I went over).
Anyway, I am looking for any answers.... I have to tell her in the morning. I know she will be crushed, her vacation will be ruined, I will probably get blamed (I do think it's my fault), it's not going to be good.
Any advice is appreciated. Ideas of what happened, ways to tell her, anything.
Thank you
Jennifer