Sudden death of Netherland dwarf bunny

[momof2cowboys]

Hi. I am a new bunny owner, or was a new bunny owner. We purchased a Netherland dwarf female bunny last Thursday from a breeder. She came into our home and stole our hearts. She ate well, drank well and was extremely tame. (even with the kids). We kept her inside. We fed and checked on her this morning about 9:30. We had to leave town for the day and when we returned she was lying in her Timothy hay dead. We have she'd lots of tears and just can't figure out what happened. She was drinking fresh water and eating pelleted feed we purchased from the breeder. She had begun to have a few bites of apple just to tame her a bit more. This morning when we said goodbye to her there was no sign of diarrhea or runny nose.
Any suggestions as to what may have happened?

 

[JBun]

I'm so sorry for your loss. How heartbreaking for you. It sounds like whatever it was that caused her death, was very sudden. With no sign of illness, it's possible she choked on a pellet, or maybe was startled and frightened by something and had a heart attack, or could have even injured her back while jumping around playing. Rabbits tend to be a bit fragile, so sadly these things do occasionally happen. Again, I'm so sorry you lost your sweet little bunny.

 

[ladysown]

it's impossible to say what happened unless you do a thorough exam of the body. I am sorry you lost her. Bunnies sometimes die for no apparent reason.

 

[missyscove]

I'm sorry for your loss. How old was she?
If you must know the cause of death, your veterinarian can perform a necropsy, but even then sometimes results are inconclusive.

If you do decide to get another rabbit (for some people it's too soon but, for others, only another bunny can fill that bunny-sized hole in your heart), be sure to thoroughly clean everything, preferably with bleach, in the event that you were dealing with an infectious cause.

 

[Azerane]

I would also recommend contacting the breeder that you purchased her from. There may be something contagious that they will need to be aware of so that they can get their other rabbits checked out by a vet.

I'm so sorry for your loss, it does sound very unexpected.

 

[geekgirl101]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Without having been there at the time or having her around long enough to spot any signs of weakness it's hard to diagnose what could've resulted in her passing. Like Azerane said it would be wise to contact the breeder to be alert of any contagion that might've caused her death so they can take any precautionary measurements to ensure the safety of the remaining litter.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

As others have said, please contact the breeder. It does help for them to know that this happened - maybe the rabbit was just weaned a little too early, or maybe they've had another rabbit showing symptoms and it would help with knowing how to treat.

More importantly, most breeders will refund the price of the purchase or offer a replacement bunny. Be sure to contact them right away. Most people have a 1-2 week limit on guarantees because, after that, it's difficult to be sure that the ailment came from the breeder.

 

[ex097]

my 2 norweigen dwarf rabbits were found dead in their hay today,both! they are female and we have had them for around 5 months. There was so sign of illness's or symptoms that would lead to a illness they were normal last night. we have a feeling it could be poison.:runningrabbit:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sometimes it just happens with no discernible warning signs. Our oldest is over 16 now, but we have had very young ones that were fine one minute and gone the next. A necropsy may be the only way to know for sure. I know there was a note about a food recall in Utah, but it's not anything we use so I didn't pay any attention. So sorry for your loss--we just lost our avatar bunny after more than ten years and we are totally devastated.