Hey everyone, I'm new here and have registered because I need help trying to figure out what caused my rabbit to die... 
As it stands, I am convinced it was me... :'(
So here's the story. Last Monday night we noticed that our rabbit wasn't her normal perky eating crazy self... She had not excreted for a whole day and she was having problems keeping her left eye open. We cuddled her etc. and told her we would take her to a vet asap. The following day, we noticed her left eye was now bulging from its socket. I was terrified. She has always been a well rabbit and reeeeally chubby and we loved her that way, never off her food and always up for a fight with my husband... or my dog... lol. So first thing Tuesday morning we took her to the vets, we were told that she had a temp of 106 and was given an antibiotic injection and painkiller injection, we were also given eye drops to take home. Later that day, she became increasingly worse, her eye was now bulging red and the outer rim (top and bottom) was red. I rang the vets and they took her in, put her on an IV drip and we were told they would monitor her. I rang everyday, twice a day for 2 and a half days straight. Friday morning she came out and we were told she was being feisty and was told she was eating quite well. Upon picking her up, she looked incredibly worse than what she did when she had gone in. Her left eye was cloudy, even more bulgy and had developed an ulcer, I wasn't pleased... Anyway, we took her home with the following: Baytril in which I had to give her 2.8ml a day and Fucithalmic eye drops that I had to apply twice a day. At this point, she had lost about a 10th of her body weight and was still around 104 (temp). We made her as comfortable as possible. We noticed as the day went on that she wasn't eating anything. Concerned, I rang another vets and booked her in to see them to obtain a second opinion. In the meantime as well, I rang the previous vets back and asked what was wrong with her and why she wasn't eating. The vet there said he was sure she had Pasteurella, even though she didn't have any snuffles. He also said she had been eating Critical Care through a syringe. We then went and picked some Critical Care up and went home again to try it. She didn't take to it like we had hoped but instead starting eating dandelion leaves and plantain instead. We were still worried however as she would not drink, at all. We tried syringing it, but she just dribbled it out. She did, on the other hand, take her medicines very well. Upon seeing the other vet, she was given extra medicine to help fight the virus or whatever she had harder. She was given: Loxicom at 15kg once a day, Ranitidine Syrup 1ml three times daily, Cisapride 0.3ml three times daily and Viscotears (induce tear drops) that had to be applied to the eye three times daily also. This all happened on Friday, the day we brought her home.
Saturday, she went for a check up again at the second vets we had gone to the previous day. At this point, we noticed she had lost about an 8th of her body weight. She had eaten well in the night and actually drank from her water bottle on her own (she also had a bowl just in case). We did however notice that her eye looked a little less swollen. Her temperature had gone up to 105 at this point. The vet told me that she thought it was a case of the fact my rabbit had developed a bad eye infection and it made her very unwell and depressed. This is why she didn't want to eat or drink on her own (as I had to sit with her and pass her food in order for her to eat it). Feeling a bit more optimistic, we took her home again and agreed to have a check-up Monday afternoon (yesterday).
Upon bringing her home, her eye would just constantly leak puss, yellowish and smelly all day long. Her eye was a mess and I felt so sorry for her. Even so, she remained grooming herself and still aggressive with my husband. On Sunday, her eye looked very much the same but we spent most of the day wiping away puss. We decided Sunday night to trim the hair away around the bottom of her eye so that it didn't stick to her fur and it could breathe a bit better. My husband did that and managed to give her a bald spot just under her eye! She ate well and took in a lot of fluids and I felt really hopeful for her.
I would like to point out her poos were tiny, hard and dark brown. Not normal or healthy. They were like that for the few days we had her.
Then yesterday happened, I checked on her in the morning, She was okay and was grooming herself vigorously. I went into kitchen to chop her up some carrot, apple pieces and lettuce. I came back to her cage and noticed her left cheek was soaked in blood, loads of it. I hadn't noticed it before, but her cage was quite dark so can't be sure. I should have taken her to the vets there and then but I wanted to stop the bleeding. I rushed her upstairs and showered the blood away, I towel dried her and then blow dried the rest of her cheek and neck (every now and then the hot passing over her eye, I did do my best not to do that though). She tried to get away but I held her tightly to make sure she got dried thoroughly. Afterwards, I wrapped a bandage round her head to stop it bleeding any further. But it was just pouring. No puss, just blood. Afterwards, she just laid there, not moving and lethargic. Completely different to what she had been before the shower and blow dry.
I rushed her to the vets and he said her eye would have to come out. She laid on the vet table and just wouldn't move, I was shaking with fear and was worried beyond words. I asked if she had mixy, and was told most likely no, I then asked if it was pasteurella, he said he couldn't be sure but she hadn't shown signs of it. He said that the bleeding could have been caused by an abscess above the tooth on her left cheek. But her teeth had been looked at constantly and I had been told by three vets now they were fine. I couldn't work out what was going on. At this point, she continued to bleed.
I took her home and she was laying in her animal box tilting her head, the side of the bleeding. I was crying at this point. I just knew she was going to die. At home, I put the box on the floor and opened it up, usually she would jump out, but she didn't. She laid there, still and had began breathing hard. I put her in her enclosure (indoor rabbit) and she just kept changing her position, every 30 seconds or so. I put a blanket on the floor and laid with her. I then answered a phone call and sat up, she jumped out of her enclosure, hopped across the floor to the mat, flopped down on the floor and continued breathing vigorously. I rang the vets as I feared for her life, at this point she started to twitch and did so about 3 or 4 times. I cried as I explained that I couldn't move her and she was too weak. She then hacked, but nothing came out. They said she would have to come in as there was no treatment to give her in her condition that could be done on a home trip. I ran upstairs to use the toilet and heard her hack again. I screamed for her and ran back down. She was stretched out on the mat, I grabbed her, she shook a few more times, looked at me and died in my arms.
I rushed her to the vets and cremation was sorted out. They said they just didn't know what had finally taken her, all she could say was that something had popped, gone into the brain and took her. But I am not convinced. I have done research and found that abscessed in the teeth cannot burst themselves in rabbits, but can in dogs and cats. I feel like it was me blow drying her that finally did it. Not only did it add to her stress, but it perhaps overheated her (hence the rapid breathing later on and with her being lethargic), the head tilt, and the convulsions. All of the things that happen when a rabbit gets overheated. I feel like I could have dried her eye out too much by accident and made something pop? I don't know. She was okay up until that point and then it was as if she just gave up. I feel angry that neither vets had done any x-rays and now I will never know. I honestly feel like I overheated her, she was already dehydrated and had a high temperature and stressed.
Someone please help. Has anything else gone through anything similar? Are any of you vets or know vets that can help? Anyone I can go to, to relay the story? I just cannot find what it could be. I am distraught and have been crying constantly feeling like my actions took her.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.
As it stands, I am convinced it was me... :'(So here's the story. Last Monday night we noticed that our rabbit wasn't her normal perky eating crazy self... She had not excreted for a whole day and she was having problems keeping her left eye open. We cuddled her etc. and told her we would take her to a vet asap. The following day, we noticed her left eye was now bulging from its socket. I was terrified. She has always been a well rabbit and reeeeally chubby and we loved her that way, never off her food and always up for a fight with my husband... or my dog... lol. So first thing Tuesday morning we took her to the vets, we were told that she had a temp of 106 and was given an antibiotic injection and painkiller injection, we were also given eye drops to take home. Later that day, she became increasingly worse, her eye was now bulging red and the outer rim (top and bottom) was red. I rang the vets and they took her in, put her on an IV drip and we were told they would monitor her. I rang everyday, twice a day for 2 and a half days straight. Friday morning she came out and we were told she was being feisty and was told she was eating quite well. Upon picking her up, she looked incredibly worse than what she did when she had gone in. Her left eye was cloudy, even more bulgy and had developed an ulcer, I wasn't pleased... Anyway, we took her home with the following: Baytril in which I had to give her 2.8ml a day and Fucithalmic eye drops that I had to apply twice a day. At this point, she had lost about a 10th of her body weight and was still around 104 (temp). We made her as comfortable as possible. We noticed as the day went on that she wasn't eating anything. Concerned, I rang another vets and booked her in to see them to obtain a second opinion. In the meantime as well, I rang the previous vets back and asked what was wrong with her and why she wasn't eating. The vet there said he was sure she had Pasteurella, even though she didn't have any snuffles. He also said she had been eating Critical Care through a syringe. We then went and picked some Critical Care up and went home again to try it. She didn't take to it like we had hoped but instead starting eating dandelion leaves and plantain instead. We were still worried however as she would not drink, at all. We tried syringing it, but she just dribbled it out. She did, on the other hand, take her medicines very well. Upon seeing the other vet, she was given extra medicine to help fight the virus or whatever she had harder. She was given: Loxicom at 15kg once a day, Ranitidine Syrup 1ml three times daily, Cisapride 0.3ml three times daily and Viscotears (induce tear drops) that had to be applied to the eye three times daily also. This all happened on Friday, the day we brought her home.
Saturday, she went for a check up again at the second vets we had gone to the previous day. At this point, we noticed she had lost about an 8th of her body weight. She had eaten well in the night and actually drank from her water bottle on her own (she also had a bowl just in case). We did however notice that her eye looked a little less swollen. Her temperature had gone up to 105 at this point. The vet told me that she thought it was a case of the fact my rabbit had developed a bad eye infection and it made her very unwell and depressed. This is why she didn't want to eat or drink on her own (as I had to sit with her and pass her food in order for her to eat it). Feeling a bit more optimistic, we took her home again and agreed to have a check-up Monday afternoon (yesterday).
Upon bringing her home, her eye would just constantly leak puss, yellowish and smelly all day long. Her eye was a mess and I felt so sorry for her. Even so, she remained grooming herself and still aggressive with my husband. On Sunday, her eye looked very much the same but we spent most of the day wiping away puss. We decided Sunday night to trim the hair away around the bottom of her eye so that it didn't stick to her fur and it could breathe a bit better. My husband did that and managed to give her a bald spot just under her eye! She ate well and took in a lot of fluids and I felt really hopeful for her.
I would like to point out her poos were tiny, hard and dark brown. Not normal or healthy. They were like that for the few days we had her.
Then yesterday happened, I checked on her in the morning, She was okay and was grooming herself vigorously. I went into kitchen to chop her up some carrot, apple pieces and lettuce. I came back to her cage and noticed her left cheek was soaked in blood, loads of it. I hadn't noticed it before, but her cage was quite dark so can't be sure. I should have taken her to the vets there and then but I wanted to stop the bleeding. I rushed her upstairs and showered the blood away, I towel dried her and then blow dried the rest of her cheek and neck (every now and then the hot passing over her eye, I did do my best not to do that though). She tried to get away but I held her tightly to make sure she got dried thoroughly. Afterwards, I wrapped a bandage round her head to stop it bleeding any further. But it was just pouring. No puss, just blood. Afterwards, she just laid there, not moving and lethargic. Completely different to what she had been before the shower and blow dry.
I rushed her to the vets and he said her eye would have to come out. She laid on the vet table and just wouldn't move, I was shaking with fear and was worried beyond words. I asked if she had mixy, and was told most likely no, I then asked if it was pasteurella, he said he couldn't be sure but she hadn't shown signs of it. He said that the bleeding could have been caused by an abscess above the tooth on her left cheek. But her teeth had been looked at constantly and I had been told by three vets now they were fine. I couldn't work out what was going on. At this point, she continued to bleed.
I took her home and she was laying in her animal box tilting her head, the side of the bleeding. I was crying at this point. I just knew she was going to die. At home, I put the box on the floor and opened it up, usually she would jump out, but she didn't. She laid there, still and had began breathing hard. I put her in her enclosure (indoor rabbit) and she just kept changing her position, every 30 seconds or so. I put a blanket on the floor and laid with her. I then answered a phone call and sat up, she jumped out of her enclosure, hopped across the floor to the mat, flopped down on the floor and continued breathing vigorously. I rang the vets as I feared for her life, at this point she started to twitch and did so about 3 or 4 times. I cried as I explained that I couldn't move her and she was too weak. She then hacked, but nothing came out. They said she would have to come in as there was no treatment to give her in her condition that could be done on a home trip. I ran upstairs to use the toilet and heard her hack again. I screamed for her and ran back down. She was stretched out on the mat, I grabbed her, she shook a few more times, looked at me and died in my arms.
I rushed her to the vets and cremation was sorted out.
They said they just didn't know what had finally taken her, all she could say was that something had popped, gone into the brain and took her. But I am not convinced. I have done research and found that abscessed in the teeth cannot burst themselves in rabbits, but can in dogs and cats. I feel like it was me blow drying her that finally did it. Not only did it add to her stress, but it perhaps overheated her (hence the rapid breathing later on and with her being lethargic), the head tilt, and the convulsions. All of the things that happen when a rabbit gets overheated. I feel like I could have dried her eye out too much by accident and made something pop? I don't know. She was okay up until that point and then it was as if she just gave up. I feel angry that neither vets had done any x-rays and now I will never know. I honestly feel like I overheated her, she was already dehydrated and had a high temperature and stressed. Someone please help. Has anything else gone through anything similar? Are any of you vets or know vets that can help? Anyone I can go to, to relay the story? I just cannot find what it could be. I am distraught and have been crying constantly feeling like my actions took her.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.
