Shocked and Confused

[mandapanda573]

This month has been rough – somehow I have lost both of my bunnies this month, suddenly and unexpectedly, and with similar symptoms both times. I’m a new-ish bunny parent only having adopted my first bun in Sept 2019 and my second one this summer to try to bond them while I worked from home during the pandemic (they never ended up bonding, but were respectful of each other’s territory/space). I have owned/cared for all kinds of animals: dogs, cats, rats, horses, etc. so felt fully equipped to handle bunny ownership and figured what better way to use my skills and knowledge than to help rescue some cute little buns. My first bun, Tilly, or crazy bun as I also called her, got sick and stopped eating all of sudden last month. Got her to the emergency vet and while she had a 50/50 prognosis, she ultimately survived and was back to her sassy self pretty quickly! Three weeks later exactly, almost down to the hour even, she got sick again. Got her to the emergency vet to stabilize and then my regular vet for additional treatment. She needed surgery and unfortunately her heart stopped right at the end of the surgery and I lost her. Within 24 hours of visible symptoms starting she was gone. Three and half weeks later after we’re all finally getting used to our new normal (my other bun and two dogs), my other bun, Olly starts showing similar symptoms. I immediately go into nurse mode, monitoring, trying to get some fluids and critical care in since he was still pooping. A few hours later he’s in worse shape and I get him to the emergency vet just down the road. Almost as soon as he gets inside and they are taking vitals his heart stopped. Within 8 hours of visible symptoms he was gone. That was this morning. Obviously this is all recent, but I’m at a complete loss for how two healthy bunnies all of sudden get sick and ultimately pass away in a similar fashion and so, so fast. I mean 8 hours?! Both stopped eating/drinking for a while, but were otherwise acting normal, running around, etc. then both had promising poop/pees which made me think we were headed in the right direction, but then everything went downhill and they both stopped eating/drinking, going to the bathroom, having any energy whatsoever and then their hearts stopped and they were gone within a few hours. I am having a necropsy done on Olly to see if we can determine what happened and I’m inclined to believe whatever the cause for Olly was is probably the same for Tilly. I’m totally in shock and so confused. Of course whenever something like this happens you question the decisions you made: did I act fast enough, did I do the right thing, etc. and I’m certainly right there, but I also know I’m a good pet parent. I feed high quality hay and the recommended amounts of pellets and greens, and rarely any treats, so digestive issues typically shouldn’t be an issue, especially in two unrelated, different breeds/age/sex rabbits. I’m constantly on watch for signs of illness/injury given one of my dogs is fairly accident prone, and the other has seizures so I know the importance of recognizing the signs and springing into action quickly. While in retrospect I can probably identify some things I might have done differently, ultimately with the information I had at the time, I would still make the same decisions I made. What happened is just tragic – there is just no reason two healthy bunnies should have gone downhill and ultimately passed so quickly without there being some other factor. I can only think that maybe they both found something toxic that was the ultimate trigger or something. No idea what or where it could be, but that’s my best guess at this point. So just here to get some of my thoughts out, maybe get a little extra support from people that understand, and also see if anyone has experienced something similar at all? I’m just at a complete and total loss as to how I could have started this month with two healthy, albeit crazy, bunnies, and a few weeks later am ending the month with no bunnies 🙁

A couple pics for remembrance. Olly is the lionhead on the left, Tilly, the cute eared ball of fluff on the right.

[DanaNM]

I’m so sorry for your loss. 🙁 Your bunnies were adorable and looked very sweet.

Are you in or near an area with RHDV?  It is highly contagious and sadly causes sudden death with few symptoms or symptoms similar to other rabbit ailments.  The three week gap for the first bunny fits, but those two incidents may not be related. If there is any chance if could be RHDV you should mention it to your vet.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[mandapanda573]

Thank you, they were the best! Well maybe not Tilly, she was an absolute terror, lol, but I loved her for it 😉

No, not in an area with RHDV. Vet and I discussed that though. They’re going to test for it, but he didn’t think it was likely since it’s not common here and Olly’s symptoms weren’t in line with what they typically see with RHDV I guess. But still testing just to be safe. It will take a couple weeks to get the necropsy results back, but definitely anxiously waiting for those!

[DanaNM]

Ah, gotcha. Well I hope the necropsy gives some answers. Sorry again for your loss. <3

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope the necropsy will give you some good answers. RVHD is what I came to think of too, because it kills so rapidly.

Your buns were both beautiful ❤❤

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