Lost a Bun

[Baxy]

Hi everyone. it’s been a very sad time for me. Last night one of my sweet boys passed away. He fell ill on Wednesday night, vet diagnosed him with respiratory issues and gave us some antibiotics. However, our wee Baxter did not recover. Both my partner and I did a lot of research online, I chatted to another bunny mother on a different forum (not a pet related site), she gave me some info about wry neck (head tilt) as the symptoms I described fit with that. My partner and I did our best to keep our bun comfy and cosy… but we watched him decline and the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.

Bit of background; my partner and I decided to get the kids some rabbits for Christmas (knowing we’d be responsible for caring for the rabbits, but figured the kids would love having them around). My partner and I immediately fell head over heels for our two 2 month old flemish giant x mini lops, we weren’t expecting it! They became a part of the family rather then just pets. We couldn’t stand the thought of them being in a hutch (nice sizable one, but still!) we made the yard fully secure and house trained them as well, but they are a lot more happy outside.

Wobert (white with brown patches) is our sweet boy. When I go outside, he often hops over and drops a leaf at my feet. Always melts my heart!

Baxter (sandy)… he was clever! He figured out how to climb our fence!! Lucky we have a lovely neighbor who didn’t have a dog! He was the alpha male.. poor Wobble, had to separate them when Baxie was feeling friskie! 

The loss of my sweet boy is why I’m here. We called all the vets in our area when we first got the buns (to have them fixed), none of them have much experience with rabbits and I feel dissapointed with the diagnosis we got the other day (I don’t blame the vet, but…). I’m in fear of losing Wobert! And my partner and I do want to get another bun at some stage, but I want to be more confident in their health and care!

I’m hoping to learn a lot here and look forward to getting to know other buuny parents 🙂

Decided to use the forum name Baxy, in memory xx

There’s some hay in that box, lol, so cute how they were helping each other

Brother love, aww

[Bam]

I’m very sorry for your loss of Baxter. He seems so great. Their bond seems to have been very special.

If he had head tilt, the cause that comes to mind is e cuniculi, Encephalitozoon cuniculi. In recent years, knowledge of this disease in rabbits have been greatly expanded. Here is article, it’s from the UK, it has good info though:
http://www.vetsonline.com/publications/vn-times/archives/n-09-10/e-cuniculi-in-rabbitsa-a-aetiology-treatment-and-infection-control.html

There is a possibility that your other bun has caught it as well, and it could be possible to treat him before he shows symptoms (he may never show symptoms though). Here is an article about early (pre-symptomatic) treatment with fenbendazole:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/fenbendazole.pdf

You would have to discuss this with a bunny-savvy vet. If you’re not happy with the vet you’ve got you could try and find another one.

[Baxy]

Thank you for your kind words Bam, and the links! Extremely helpful.

Our poor Wobert isn’t himself since Bax passed away, he spends most of his time in his hiding places. A couple times when we’ve gone out to see him, he runs off and STOMPS  I also catch him chinning Bax’s grave and hanging around it. It’s so so sad to see!

[Bam]

Wobert probably misses his bonded partner. If you like advice on how to deal with this you could start a new thread exclusively on that subject. That way you’ll get more answers from people familiar with this type of situation. I have no experience with bonded bunnies, but from what I’ve heard and read, it’s important that the surviving bunny gets extra attention from his humans because he will be feeling very lonely. But I’m assuming you are doing that already, you seem like such a loving family.

I forgot to say wellcome in my first post, so I’m saying it now: Wellcome to the BB forums =)

[LittlePuffyTail]

I just read your post in the Rainbow Bridge. I’m so very sorry.

Please give Wobert a hug from me and lots of extra attention. Bunnies are like people, in that they do grieve for their lost partner. He will need the support of his family to get through this.

[LongEaredLions]

I am sorry for your loss. Sending my love.
Is there any way you could bring Wobert inside? I am sure he is grieving and being around you guys a bit more might be good for you both. You might also want to try giving him a stuffed bunny to cuddle with.

[Baxy]

Posted By LongEaredLions on 7/20/2015 1:48 AM

I am sorry for your loss. Sending my love.
Is there any way you could bring Wobert inside? I am sure he is grieving and being around you guys a bit more might be good for you both. You might also want to try giving him a stuffed bunny to cuddle with.

Thanks for the advice, Wobert is sleeping inside tonight 🙂 (his bedding etc is to the left, but he’s never shown interest in assigned sleeping areas, he always ends up off to the side instead lol)

[Author]

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