Hello all Im new here and would hope that you all could help me achieve some closers.. my bunny Delilah that I was only able to have for 3 months has passed. I dont understand as to why. She was fine the day before energetic as always and today she was withdrawn and also had a cage full of diarrhea. Unfortunately I Was forced to go to work and was only able to clean her up and try to give her some water. But it turns out she didnt live much time after I left.. I feel guilty like maybe my neglect is why shes gone and that she passed alone and possibly in pain hurts my soul.. I just hope that she knew how much we loved her and that she didnt feel abandoned. Any advice would help thank you
Help with grief
- Thread starter Mishello2
- Start date
Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:
Rabbits are fragile creatures. They can live very long lives but when they get ill, it's often sudden and it generally doesn't leave you much time to react because they hide the symptoms so well. Sometimes, when it begins to show, it's already too late and it's very possible your bunny already had a problem when you bought her. Unfortunately, baby rabbits get deshydrated really quickly and diarrhea can kill in a matter of hours. If you want to learn more about the issue and maybe get some answers, you can look this up (I would but I can understand if that's not your case):
http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-diarrhea.html
I lost my first rabbit very suddenly as well - he looked a bit weird one night after being normal all day and by the time I got him to the vet the next day, it was too late to save him. It's a hard lesson to learn and I felt very guilty thinking maybe I could have saved him if I reacted sooner. Maybe, maybe not, I'll never know. But now when I notice something weird or wrong, I call the vet immediately and ask for an emergency appointment. My rabbit's first aid kit is also a lot fuller than my own - I keep syringes without needles to give water, critical care to force feed, mobility drugs for the guts and pain meds ready all year and it saved my current bunnies' lives a few times. It's a small consolation, but has my first rabbit not died, I probably wouldn't have been able to save the rabbits I had afterwards when they got ill for the first time because I just wouldn't have researched as much as I did trying to understand what went wrong. But like always, even when you try your best, it's not always possible to save your rabbit. Don't beat yourself up. Your bunny was ill and she went quickly. It's awful, but it happens and sometimes it's just rotten luck. I don't know where you got that rabbit but petshop bunnies are a lot more at risk to have problems and die before reaching adulthood so that might have been the root of the issue if you got her in that kind of place.
http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-diarrhea.html
I lost my first rabbit very suddenly as well - he looked a bit weird one night after being normal all day and by the time I got him to the vet the next day, it was too late to save him. It's a hard lesson to learn and I felt very guilty thinking maybe I could have saved him if I reacted sooner. Maybe, maybe not, I'll never know. But now when I notice something weird or wrong, I call the vet immediately and ask for an emergency appointment. My rabbit's first aid kit is also a lot fuller than my own - I keep syringes without needles to give water, critical care to force feed, mobility drugs for the guts and pain meds ready all year and it saved my current bunnies' lives a few times. It's a small consolation, but has my first rabbit not died, I probably wouldn't have been able to save the rabbits I had afterwards when they got ill for the first time because I just wouldn't have researched as much as I did trying to understand what went wrong. But like always, even when you try your best, it's not always possible to save your rabbit. Don't beat yourself up. Your bunny was ill and she went quickly. It's awful, but it happens and sometimes it's just rotten luck. I don't know where you got that rabbit but petshop bunnies are a lot more at risk to have problems and die before reaching adulthood so that might have been the root of the issue if you got her in that kind of place.
I'm very sorry you lost your bun. Like Aki said, rabbits are fragile, and there's no way to know if you got to the vet right away, if your bun could have been saved.
Just for future knowledge, true diarrhea in rabbits is considered an emergency because not only can they go downhill quickly from dehydration, but the form of diarrhea caused by the clostridium sp. bacteria, can be fatal very quickly so needs immediate correct treatment to have any chance of saving the rabbit. And to make sure the correct treatment is being done, you want to make sure you've picked out a very knowledgeable rabbit vet to go to, as not all 'rabbit' vets are good ones.
What might have caused the diarrhea is also something important to consider. Diarrhea in rabbits is usually caused by bacteria and/or improper foods. Foods like iceberg lettuce, and sometimes rabbits can be sensitive to other veggies causing problems. With the bacteria, it can be caused by diet as well, disrupting the rabbits microflora where the bad bacteria takes over. This can be from an excess of starches/sugars in the rabbits diet, especially for young bunnies as their digestion is more susceptible to these problems. Keeping the rabbits environment clean is also important to prevent the spread of bad bacteria. Mold is another cause for diarrhea, and that has to do with bad feed or hay.
Unfortunately many of us have also lost rabbits to sudden health issues, and it is a learning experience. The important thing is to learn as much as you can so that if you have rabbits again, they can benefit from your increased knowledge. I lost a rabbit several years ago, from a health issue that I didn't understand at the time. Now I have another rabbit with the same condition and because of what I learned after losing that first rabbit, I've known what to do to help him remain healthy. Most of us have felt the same way, as you always wonder what you should have or could have done differently. If you feel like there was something you should have done differently, then all I can say is learn from that, set the guilt aside, and learn as much as you can so that you can better help if you have another rabbit in your life.
Just for future knowledge, true diarrhea in rabbits is considered an emergency because not only can they go downhill quickly from dehydration, but the form of diarrhea caused by the clostridium sp. bacteria, can be fatal very quickly so needs immediate correct treatment to have any chance of saving the rabbit. And to make sure the correct treatment is being done, you want to make sure you've picked out a very knowledgeable rabbit vet to go to, as not all 'rabbit' vets are good ones.
What might have caused the diarrhea is also something important to consider. Diarrhea in rabbits is usually caused by bacteria and/or improper foods. Foods like iceberg lettuce, and sometimes rabbits can be sensitive to other veggies causing problems. With the bacteria, it can be caused by diet as well, disrupting the rabbits microflora where the bad bacteria takes over. This can be from an excess of starches/sugars in the rabbits diet, especially for young bunnies as their digestion is more susceptible to these problems. Keeping the rabbits environment clean is also important to prevent the spread of bad bacteria. Mold is another cause for diarrhea, and that has to do with bad feed or hay.
Unfortunately many of us have also lost rabbits to sudden health issues, and it is a learning experience. The important thing is to learn as much as you can so that if you have rabbits again, they can benefit from your increased knowledge. I lost a rabbit several years ago, from a health issue that I didn't understand at the time. Now I have another rabbit with the same condition and because of what I learned after losing that first rabbit, I've known what to do to help him remain healthy. Most of us have felt the same way, as you always wonder what you should have or could have done differently. If you feel like there was something you should have done differently, then all I can say is learn from that, set the guilt aside, and learn as much as you can so that you can better help if you have another rabbit in your life.
RavenousDragon
Well-Known Member
Like everyone said, you did your best and I bet your bunny had a great life (even if it was short) with you. Don't downplay how much care you gave her when she was still here. <3
Please don't beat yourself up about your rabbit—
I wish rabbits were more like dogs, but they are not, they are way more fragile.
With my dogs if they get diarrhea I usually don't panic- I just feed rice and boiled chicken and 9 times out of 10 they are better the next day.
With rabbits diarrhea is like an emergency vet situation. They must be hydrated immediately, and given medicine or else they die very quickly. And hardly anyone knows that until it happens to their rabbit.
I wish rabbits were more like dogs, but they are not, they are way more fragile.
With my dogs if they get diarrhea I usually don't panic- I just feed rice and boiled chicken and 9 times out of 10 they are better the next day.
With rabbits diarrhea is like an emergency vet situation. They must be hydrated immediately, and given medicine or else they die very quickly. And hardly anyone knows that until it happens to their rabbit.
