(RIP) Two Sudden Deaths

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Recently I had two rabbits suddenly die, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to why this happened. Both appeared fine a few hours before death. They were both a little over a year old. One was a holland lop. The other was a rex (regular size, not mini). They were on a diet of rabbit pellets. They were both kept outside in a hutch off the ground. Plenty of shade and ice during the day. High temps were about 80 F. Lows were about 60 F.

We performed a necropsy on the first one (the holland lop). There wasn't anything wrong visibly externally. She had a litter previously of 6. Only one survived. The surviving kit was about a month old and survived. When we opened her up and couldn't find anything wrong internally.

The second one (rex) died a week later. Checked on her in the morning and she seemed fine. Went out a few hours later and she was dead. Didn't check her internally, but she did begin bleeding from the nose after death.

I'm stumped as to what it could be. Any ideas besides "sudden death"? I've heard bleeding from the nose could mean something involving the heart or lungs, but it just seems odd that we had two deaths a week apart.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

How was their eating? Were they producing a normal amount of stools and did they look normal? Sometimes bunnies will end up with GI stasis and suddenly die with few symptoms.

 

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Both seemed to be eating and pooping normally. It was just odd because I didn't observe any change in behavior at all.

 

[curiouscarrot]

If they were in together, the stress of losing the "friend" might have contributed to the second one?

 

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There were separated. In fact, there was a rabbit between their cages, who seems to be fine. I assume if it was something contagious, then the middle one would have had a pretty high chance of contracting it. The two does didn't get along very well with each other at all.

 

[bluecherry28]

Hey there, so sorry you lost your buns I havnt been on here in a while but just logging on i noticed your post and it sounds very like VHD? I just had a case of this attacking a whole rabbitry in the north of the country i live in and am not sure if its even prevalent where you are but the symptoms and sudden death would all point towards it. There is a new mixo/VHD combi vaccine here but again not sure what are the current vaccines where you are. Mabye mention this to your vet, it would be too late i think to test for in the rabbits that have passed but im just thinking of your remaining ones. Hope all will be okay, Liz

 

[tonyshuman]

I am not sure what the cause is. Bleeding from the nose is pretty unusual except like bluecherry mentioned in VHD. VHD is not commonly found in the US. I wonder if there was a predator that came by the cages and caused them to freak out, maybe hurting themselves in the process of trying to escape.

 

[windryder201]

I'm assuming you performed only a gross necropsy (meaning that no samples were taken for microscopic examination). With that assumption, the lack of plain lesions to find a diagnosis from and the history you're giving, suggests something viral to me. I'd get a good solid check up on the other bunny and let the vet know what happened with the other two so they have an idea of what to look for. Make sure you let the vet know the situation when you make the appointment!! With something this out of the ordinary, the vet may want a heads up in case it's something they'd rather refer to a specialist, or if they just want some time to flip through some research to make sure they don't miss anything obvious. And it may be they prioritize your appointment differently as well.

 

[Azerane]

Bleeding from the nose to me indicates VHD (viral hemorrhage disease/calicivirus). It is highly contagious and can stay viable in the environment for long periods of time which could explain the length of time between the separate deaths, however it seems strange to me that your other rabbit was not affected. I'm not sure how common the disease is in the U.S because I know that native U.S rabbits aren't actually affected by the disease, it's only the european rabbit and domestic rabbits derived from it, but I should think it could spread through the domestic population on its own. Sorry for your loss.

 

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From everything I've read about VHD, it seems unlikely that my rabbits would have it. The only types of wild rabbits we have in the area are jackrabbits and cottontails, both unaffected by VHD, and we haven't had any other rabbits come in contact with our rabbits (or even myself). There also wasn't any bleeding internally, which I've read comes with VHD. My closest neighbor with domesticated rabbits lives a couple miles away. Is it possible an insect could have brought the virus all that way (assuming her rabbits even have it)? VHD seems to be pretty rare in the states.

However, I also don't have a better answer. Haha. The third rabbit still remains unaffected. If it was VHD or something else contagious, what's the best way to sanitize the area?

 

[JBun]

With a nose bleed and no other signs of illness or injury, I would be inclined to think heat stress. Even though your temp isn't very high, it could still be a possible cause of death.