Bunnies passed away :(

Lulubooboo · Aug 29, 2023

I'm not really sure what happened, but this morning I woke up to Lulu flopped in their litter box and she was dead. Goose hasn't been well all this week but not enough to take him to a vet, but he was unable to walk this morning and within an hour of finding him he passed too. Lulu though was perfectly normal and has been totally fine for months and months. She felt a little skinnier a couple days ago when I clipped her nails, but not concerning kind of thin, just a little smaller than normal which was probably actually a healthier weight (she was a bit spoiled but not overweight). Yesterday morning she was absolutely normal, ran around my feet and exploring my room while I was getting ready for work, then I was gone for most of the day with work and then friends and I got home late and forgot to feed them. But they have access to hay 24/7. I have no idea what happened and it was super concerning. I think Goose had some seizures a few months ago but I wasn't in a financial position to be able to take him to a vet for them and they stopped so I assumed he was ok. I feel horrible but I genuinely don't know what happened to both of them. It's so awful and I wish I'd given Lulu one last kiss last night before she passed. Anyone know what might have happened?

Preitler · Aug 29, 2023

With two rabbits dying in a short time, RHD is a possibility.

JBun · Aug 30, 2023

If they had hay and water and were acting normal the day before, with both of your rabbits suddenly dying, like Preitler mentioned, RHDV is a possibility. Other possibilities could be an environmental toxin or toxin in their food, or heat stroke if they were in an excessively hot environment.

https://rabbit.org/resources/rhdv/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Rabbit_hemorrhagic_disease
If there's any chance it was RHDV and you haven't buried your rabbits, contact your vet or state agriculture department, to report the sudden deaths.

I'm very sorry for your loss

Lulubooboo · Aug 31, 2023

JBun said:
If they had hay and water and were acting normal the day before, with both of your rabbits suddenly dying, like Preitler mentioned, RHDV is a possibility. Other possibilities could be an environmental toxin or toxin in their food, or heat stroke if they were in an excessively hot environment.

https://rabbit.org/resources/rhdv/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Rabbit_hemorrhagic_disease
If there's any chance it was RHDV and you haven't buried your rabbits, contact your vet or state agriculture department, to report the sudden deaths.

I'm very sorry for your loss

We've already buried them. The most confusing part is Lulu showed no symptoms at all, but Goose was definitely unwell, he wasn't as energetic as normal and kept having accidents on the mats in their enclosure. It's not very warm here right now, they're indoor bunnies, regular hay and water. Their hay is kind of yellow compared to what it normally looks like but we're about half way through a large bale of it so I think if that was the issue they'd have had issues sooner. Probably won't know what happened to them, but I'm glad that Goose isn't in pain anymore even though it was so sad and tragic losing both of then like that

Preitler · Aug 31, 2023

I'm so sorry.

RHD doesn't always show symptoms, and it often does kill pretty quick.

Sometimes it's a rollercoaster with rabbits, this year I guess my vet starts to suspect that I'm just desperatly looking for social interaction or that I have a crush on her, but it is as it is, Fury was terminally ill and died rather peacefully on my lap, Chantal had/has EC (just finished treatment), and now Reds blind eye starts tearing excessivly, not to mention that she sheds all her fur at once.

There can be so much going on with us not noticing, I take all of that as a lecture on how life actually is.