quick update for anyone that was interested.
Alfies stool test came back clear and was booked in for blood tests today at 11.
I went to feed him this morning to find him dead in his cage :cry2
I am so heart broken. His brother wouldnt let me near him for a while.
Now I will never know what was wrong with him.
Thankyou for your replys though guys. :bunnyhug:
I'm so sorry! Poor little guy... sometimes even when we do everything we can, we lose them anyway
If you really want answers and still have his body, it's possible to get him necropsied (animal version of an autopsy) through the vet... though ideally, you would've wanted to have the body refrigerated if it couldn't be taken immediately. It may still be possible to determine a cause of death even if his body hasn't been kept cool.
I lost one of my sugar gliders very suddenly last June, which also caused us to lose her first joey who was 4 weeks along in her pouch (they stay in for nine) a couple minutes before we got to the emergency vet and I had her necropsied (which is considered an absolute must in the glider world if you lose a pedigreed glider that was part of a breeding program - a necropsy could potentially reveal a genetic issue that other breeders (who have related gliders) need to know about). Tabitha's COD was a liver infection, which raised as many questions as it did answers... but at least I was able to learn that there was really wasn't anything I could've done differently.
On a side note, if he and his brother were bonded, then it's good that his brother was able to see the body - it helps them understand why their companion is suddenly gone, which aides the grieving process. When I lost Tabitha, I made sure to show her body to Lemmy (her mate). He grieved as hard as I did, often clinging to the side of his cage and barking in the middle of the day (they're nocturnal)... calling out for his missing family. I felt SO bad for him! Of course, I felt a little less bad for him once I took him out of his cage to keep him company and he took advantage of the freedom to be a little b*stard, lol.
For everyone at RO, our rabbits are a HUGE part of our lives and our families; we all feel your pain over discovering that poor Alfie had passed away, as it makes us think about having to face the same heartbreak some day with our own bunns. Bunnies are so much more to their owners than "just an animal" - they've got personalities far too huge for such tiny bodies and are often better company than most people! I hope you and Alfie's brother are able to give each other some solace in your time of mourning - having another bunny to snuggle with won't make it all better, but it'll surely help a little to know that you're not going through all this alone.
Binky free, Alfie - may you be free of your health issues on the other side of the rainbow bridge! :rainbow: