Questions about very quick passing

[Yogerz]

About 1.5 years ago I spotted a white / gray rabbit running around a neighbors yard at night. I took him in and babied him up until his untimely death late Saturday. His cage was always clean, his water bottle never empty, and he was always fed timothy hay, fresh veggies, and pellets. He actually had an entire room to himself, where he slept in the middle of a rug laid over a hardwood floor. A baby gate separated him from the rest of the house. He lived in this setup for about a year.

On Saturday night at around 10pm I noticed diarrhea in the cage, which I know is a very bad sign. He was then rushed to the emergency clinic, where he died about 45 minutes later. He looked fine throughout the day and tested negative for both stool parasites and intestinal blockages. His weight also looked OK at the time.

About a week before his death, I had to switch the type of food pellet from the one with timothy hay as the first ingredient to one with alfalfa because it was the only type available at the time and PETCO was closed.

Has anyone experienced this before? Do you think it was the food switch that killed him? I have come to terms with the fact that the switch probably did it and I feel horrible.

 

[Maureen Las]

I am very very sorry and even more sorry that youare laying the blame squarely on yourself.

ideally we all say that foodshould be switched over slowly from one brand to another....

but informally many of us (particularly those who work at shelters) know that this is often impossible.
Ivolunteer at a shelter and have switched food with the shelter buns because we take what is donated and it changes.
I have never never seen a case where a pellet food switch killed an adult rabbit ir made the bun ill ...
that doesn't mean that it couldn't ..
I don't know what upset your rabbits's gut
any changes in veggies?????

Sorry I cannot be helpful but if it was common for a pellet switch to kill an adult bun I would have been responsible for many deaths.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

The pellet change likely caused the diarreah. However, I would put my money on the fact that he died from dehydration. Changing a pellet won't hurt them (theoretically), but the illness that follows can have drastic affects.

Just a tip for anyone else who finds themselves in this situation-

Rabbits CAN survive on just hay. So if you ever find yourself needing to go a night or two (even a week) without pellets until you can get to the store again, just feed unlimited hay and a few pinches of rolled oats. This fiber from the hay will keep their system going and the oats will provide protein for energy.

In the same light, if you need to do a sudden pellet switch, take away pellets completely the first night and just feed hay and oats. Then gradually add in pellets, 1/8 cup at a time to desired amount.

I hope that helps in the future! I'm sorry about your little guy.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Anytime I add anything new to my buns' diet/s I add oats. It prevents diahrrea and they love them. Often if they are added to pellets they are picked out first thing.

I am sorry for you loosing your bunny. Are you going to have a necropsy(spelling?) done?

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree that a pellet switch probably in itself would not have caused death. In fact, I would expect a too-fast pellet switch to cause stasis, not diarrhea. It is, however, possible that these new pellets were bad (ie contaminated). The rapidity of his death makes me think it could have been a bacterial contamination of something he ate, such as greens or perhaps the pellets. Could he have gotten into something he shouldn't have as well, such as chocolate or a possibly toxic houseplant?

It sounds like Yogi had a wonderful life with you and I don't think you caused his death at all. In fact, you did exactly the best thing to do--take him to the vet ASAP. I'm so sorry he died, and in such a stressful, sudden way too. [[hugs]]