Need a word of advice please

[Wendyyy]

Hello I recently purchased a dwarf bunny from my local pet store. She was the smallest bunny out of the bunch there was about 15 rabbits in a glass cage. The lady at the pet store said that she was about a month. When we brought her home my boyfriend and I instantly started doing our homework and researched what she needed. We discovered that she was way too young to be away from her mother so we went out and we bought kitty formula. When we got home we noticed that she had diarrhea. Looked up medicines and treatments for her we did everything, we followed all the rules she was doing so good. The very next day she was pooping normal. She was constantly drinking water. Always ate hay and her pallets. She took naps during the day and always kept me up at night. She seemed super happy. She was very spoiled had a really big cage with a slide. At first we weren’t very sure about the slide but she loved it. It was very low so it wasn’t dangerous or anything. On June 5 I woke up to check on her, I found her laying on the slide with her head twisted back her back legs fully stretched out. She kept making this sound with her mouth. I didn’t want to move her I didn’t know if she was in pain. She hadn’t been laying there for long I had woken up at around 5 o’clock to check on her I could hear her running back and forth. I dipped a cotton ball in her water and let it drip over her mouth she drank the water then like 2 minutes later her chest started pumping up and down her front legs kept moving her back legs didn’t flinch once. She stopped breathing shortly after that. i was devastated I just sat there waiting for her to get back up and play with me but she didn’t. My question is, why did she die so suddenly ? The position she was in was so unnatural. Has anybody’s bunny ever passed away with their head touching their back and legs stretched out ? If yes what does it mean ? I haven’t been able to find answers. We really loved and cherished our bunny. Please let me know of your experiences or advice. Thank you.

[Bam]

I’m so very sorry you lost your sweet bun.
It’s not really possible to say what took her. Since she was the smallest of all the buns in the store, she could have had some congenital/genetic internal flaw, sth with her hearts or kidneys. There is also the possibility of rabbit stroke, caused by a type of parasite (e cuniculi) that’s very common in buns but that most don’t get sick from.
Rabbits often seize just before they go. The reason why her head was against her back and her hind legs stretched out is that when all the muscles in the body contract, the muscles in the backside of the body are stronger, so they “win” over the muscles on the front.
I’m so sorry this happened to you and her. It sounds like you really loved her a lot and tried hard to give her the best care.

[FloppyBunny]

Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, she probably passed away because she was too young. Ideally rabbits shouldn’t be weaned before the age of 8 weeks, and she was half that age when you got her, and you don’t know how long she had been at the pet store. I have read a while ago that wild rabbits that lose their mother at 3 weeks of age rarely survive, even if taken in by shelters because they are too young to be weaned. Most rabbits are weaned around 6 weeks, but from my readings, 8 weeks is ideal and helps prevent many different health issues (same thing with human babies). In my province, it is illegal for pet stores to sell rabbits, because the breeders usually do not follow humane methods. If you still want a rabbit, I would recommend adopting one from a shelter. Not only are you saving a life, but also they are often spayed/neutered, which saves money. If you want a young rabbit, they do sometimes have them, especially during spring/summer.

[LBJ10]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Bam is correct. How she looked when she died doesn’t really mean anything. Their muscles contract, as Bam said. You said she was young and she had diarrhea. It could have been coccidia. Diarrhea can actually come and go with it, so it isn’t unusual to witness a break. If she wasn’t being treated for it though, it would not have gone away on it’s own. Otherwise, I agree with Bam. She may have been the runt of the litter and had a congenital condition. It isn’t uncommon for there to be something wrong with their kidneys or heart. Sometimes people witness seizures. Unfortunately, this is just something that happens, especially since bunnies are not bred to have certain traits or lack certain defects. They are mostly bred for color. Speaking of which, can I ask what color she was? The broken gene has been associated with GI disorders.

[Wendyyy]

Thank you for replying. I was so worried that I had done something wrong. She was just a baby and I couldn’t save her. I was also wondering if she did happen to have a virus is it okay for my other pets to roam around by her cage ? My bunny spent a lot of time in my room as I read that other animals can make her go into shock. She loved my bed always took naps there, I’ve been worried about my dogs getting on my bed can it be contagious ? She was a Netherland dwarf bunny she was very puffy with white sandy fur. A very light tan color. Her eyes were black and her nose was pinkish. If I do happen to get another bunny I will definitely adopt from a shelter.

[Bam]

She probably didn’t have a virus, it doesn’t sound at all like sth virus-like took her. The viruses that affect bunnies are very rare in the USA. In any case, those viruses (myxo and RVHD are rabbit-specific and wouldn’t affect you or your other pets.

She’d been separated from her mum too soon, that can weaken the immune defense (or rather prevent it from developping normally), so the bun becomes very vulnerable. I’m confident that nothing you did caused this. As for other pets – bunnies tend to get along well with other pets once the introduction-phase is over. An unknown dog barking or pursuing and acting predatory can of course be very scary for a prey animal if they’re cornered and have no place to run, and a bunny can be scared to death – but that doesn’t seem like the reason why your little one passed.

She sounds like a beautiful little girl, she must’ve been so amazingly cute. I hope you’ll one day find it in your heart to adopt another bunny.

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