One of my rabbits has died suddenly

[DannyBoy]

We’ve had Gus for a month now. He’s been healthy and fine for the whole time we’ve had him. He was reliquished at a pet store and we adopted him.

Today he suddenly died. He was fine and all of the sudden after getting fed he started to tilt his head back and had a green discharge from his nose. He started to throw up and run around frantically. Within a minute he died.

I have no idea what happened. It’s 12 at night. I have 5 others. I’m taking some to the vet for a check up to see if anything was transferred.

I hope all is ok, the internet was not help. It could have been pneumonia. He could’ve choked. I don’t have the money for a necropsy. Idk what to do

[Bam]

I’m very sorry that you lost Gus. Your description of what happened points to choking. We have had several similar stories here and it happening directly after feeding, the tilting of the head back and the green discharge are all typical signs.

It’s a very sad accident, but it’s obviously not something that’s contagious, so your other buns should be safe.

To prevent choking you can scatter the pellets in stead of serving them in a bowl. If the the rabbit has to search for its food it slows the eating down. Another method is to serve pellets in a treat ball.

Thank you for taking Gus in. I’m very sorry you didn’t get to keep him longer.

[kurottabun]

I’m sorry for your loss. If it was this sudden, it was most likely a choking incident. Like what bam said, try scattering the food to prevent choking. In the event of a choke, some people do manage to dislodge the food by using the Heimlich Maneuver shown here:

https://rabbit.org/the-heimlich-maneuver/

It’s used in absolute emergencies only if you notice that the bunny has trouble dislodging the food on its own.

[sarahthegemini]

I’m so sorry to hear about your poor bun. If it was a choking incident, then your remaining fluffies aren’t at risk. Give them some extra loving ad hopefully they can offer you some comfort at this time xxx

[CinnamonPearl]

If you want to know for absolute certain what happened, your vet could probably perform a necropsy. I’m so sorry about your poor bunny. :'(

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

This is so tragic, I’m so sorry that he was torn from your lives by such an accident Binky free sweet Gus!

[Gordo and Janice]

So sorry DannyBoy. Just not right to have had such a short life. It was wonderful of you to take him in and give him a home and love for this past month.

Binky free little {{{Gus}}}

[Author]

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