Pez's Autopsy

[irishmist]

This may sound a little cold and unfeeling, but it is matter of fact and the farther I stand back from it the better... A t least for the moment.

Pez died officially of heart failure caused by extenuating conditions...

Those conditions were:

An infection (unknown species/cause) in the back of this throat. They thought that we had it under control... Apparently not.

An abscess probably caused from a slightly overgrown tooth and the spread of the infection, which in turn turned into a secondary infection, which is one of those 10 dollar words.

The necrotic spots on his tongue and cheeks, still unknown in orgin till the second culture series comes back.

The probable cause of death was that the back of his throat had swollen because of both infection the abscess had also spread in just a since yesterday. The swelling caught a mass of hair at the back of his throat and kept there and was preventing it being ingested thru his system (he had lots of loose hair because he was wet all the time and he would pull out what I didn't)

I had had difficulty feeding him the last couple of days.. Now I know why. The hair slowly cut off his breathing. Rabbits do not breathe from the mouth so therefore he suffocated. While trying to breathe with all his strength that he had left his heart just stopped.

There was nothing that could have been done because the mass did not show up until the autopsy was done. Had he been put under anesthesia, because of the blockage (had they known about it) it would have killed him anyway.

That is it in a nutshell and at least we know what happened and possibly another rabbit will be saved if they run across the same problem.

As FreddysMom so aptly said to me... Pez is now with Cleo his cohort in crime. Now, that is a heart warming picture!

 

[Pipp]

So sorry. . . :sad:

But thanks so much for doing this and sharing the information. :hug2: It does a world of good for current and future generations. I wish more people would make this kind of effort (although I can understand why manydon't).

Have they ruled out the 'bug' issue? Susan at Etherbun also sent me an article about Blister Beetles very occasionally found dead or alive in hay in certain areas being very poisonous to livestock as well as rabbits. I'm not sure if you ever found the species of beetle that Pez wasbiting, although pretty sure that wasn't it, though. Still, it's possible other species are also at least somewhat toxic.I'm going to make a topic about this in the Resource Center when I get a chance.

Again, thanks so much for sharing your info at such a sad time. And yes, the thought of Pez and Cleo (and Perry)hanging out in bunny heaven makes mesmile. A sad smile, but definitely a smile.

These little furry things give us so much pain when we lose them, but somuch joy when we remember. :tears2:



sas

 

[pamnock]

Poor Pez . . . I hope it can bring you a small amout of comfort and peace to know what happened.

Pam

 

[naturestee]

Thanks for sharing the info, Susan. I'll put this in the Abscess thread so it can be easily found by others.

:hug2:

Pez and Cleo, causing a ruckus at the Bridge!