west nile

[jujub793]

does anyone know if west nile disease affects rabbits? within the last two weeks i have lost two perfectly healthy rabbits for no apparent reason. we have recently moved from the city to the country where mosquitoes are HORRIBLE, and although i have my bunnys in the garage, there are still lots of mosquitoes that get in there. they were both perfectly nfine in the am and just 3-4 hours later they were dead. they were not exposed to any chemicals or anything poisonous that i could see (and beleive me i have checked and double checked) i have been torturing myself wondering what could have happened and i am scared to death that something bad is going to happen to Walter. any thoughts?

 

[Imbrium]

I have no idea... very sorry to hear about your bunnies, though!

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

jujub793 wrote:

does anyone know if west nile disease affects rabbits? within the last two weeks i have lost two perfectly healthy rabbits for no apparent reason. we have recently moved from the city to the country where mosquitoes are HORRIBLE, and although i have my bunnys in the garage, there are still lots of mosquitoes that get in there. they were both perfectly nfine in the am and just 3-4 hours later they were dead. they were not exposed to any chemicals or anything poisonous that i could see (and beleive me i have checked and double checked) i have been torturing myself wondering what could have happened and i am scared to death that something bad is going to happen to Walter. any thoughts?

another blood sucking insect,-advantage will protect the bunz,-condolences are in order for the other two,sorry,--the problem is definetly worth investigating,--isolate them in a known safe area-i donot think west nile would kill so fast,-even myxi takes time,--my guess is something ingested fluid or otherwise,--sincerely james waller

 

[christinebunnies1]

Iam very sorry for your tragic loss. Take little walter into the house and make him part of your family - It is then you will truly see his personality blossom and shine. Rabbits can be litter trained very easily - take a litter box line it with newspaper and put lots of fresh good quality hay on top - they love to nibble and munch while they lay their raisins. Let him have run of your house - he will be such a happy bunny - you will fall in love with him and your life will never be the same again.

 

[christinebunnies1]

oh I am thinking there might be a carbon dioxide buildup in your garage perhaps - it is odorless and very dangerous - bunnies are even more sensitive than humans - take walter out of there and let him live with you - I dont know but perhaps Your two bunnies had a high percentage of carbon dioxide in their blood. Walters system might have been able to tolerate it a bit more - just like us humans - some of us are more sensitive than others - A few years ago my husbands friend whom he worked with was found dead in the morning - he was a perfectly healthy guy - he lived in a travel van - my husband knocked on his door in the morning to go to work and he didnt answer - my husband looked in and he was lying dead on his bed - it was a horrendous shock - he had a propane heater and died of carbon dioxide poisioning.

 

[Mariah]

I agree with the above posters. Take Walter in the house. Something is in the garage that caused your other two buns to pass.

I am so very sorry for your losses

 

[jujub793]

thank you all so much for responding, my bunnies WERE house bunnies until we moved, they have just recently been in the garage for maybe the last month or so. We don't park in the garage or anything could there still be carbon monoxide? i never thought of that. there is nothing there for them to injest they have a closed up/fenced area where they cannot escape and havent escaped,and its very protected, but i wonder, there may be like a gas can or the like in there but its not by them....? Walter is litter trained but my boyfriend doesn't want them in the house (hence the garage compromise). I would twist his arm a bit more about it except Wally is a wire chewer and there are ALOT of wires that would be very difficult to keep him from. That and all the fur because wally sheds alot. Do any of you know what creates carbon monoxide that i should be looking for in there?

 

[woahlookitsme]

if it were me I would have the rabbits necropsied to find the COD. It isnt always helpful but usually can give a clue to why they passed so suddenly. A university or research lab through your local vet should be able to perform them. The bodies must have been on ice and not frozen but if they are already buried then you can only wonder why they passed with a bunch of possibilities but no real answers.

 

[Imbrium]

you can buy a carbon monoxide detector at home depot or something dirt cheap, would be faster/easier than searching everywhere for potential sources

 

[christinebunnies1]

Carbon Dioxide usually comes from exhaust fumes from cars and faulty furnaces - the thing with garages is that there cauld have been anything stored in there before you moved there - like pesticides, insecticides, oil or gas, or mouse or rat poison - Some people store dangerous and toxic things in their garage. Carbon dioxide is a silent killer. I dont know but I am just wondering what could have gone wrong. I know it can be hard but your boyfriend should love your bunnies as much as you love them. Perhaps you could make arrangements for him to live in the garage and have Walter move in with you. Well I wish you all the best and hope you all find a solution where you all can be happy.

 

[christinebunnies1]

Also I am thinking you mentioned that there are a lot of mosquitos - bunnies are super sensitive and can get sick from mosquito spray especially if it has deet in it - I have heard of humans getting sick of it. I dont know its just a thought. I am very sorry about your two little bunnies and wish you all the best.

 

[missyscove]

There seems to be some confusion here between CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CO (carbon monoxide). Carbon dioxide is perfectly safe to breathe in. It's carbon monoxide that is put out by cars and known as the "silent killer."

For peace of mind I personally would have had a necropsy done to determine the cause of death. If you recently moved then there would have been a lot of environmental changes. Could there be something in the food or water? How hot does it get in the garage?

 

[majorv]

In our area, many houses have the hot water heater in the garage, as well as the washer and dryer. Do you happen to have either of those in your garage and would theybe gas? The only thing that comes to my mind would be if you did and there might possibly be a small gas leak. Other than that, I don't really know what could've caused both bunnies to die in the garage.

 

[christinebunnies1]

Oh dear, I am very sorry I meant carbon monoxide.

 

[jujub793]

christinebunnies1 wrote:

Carbon Dioxide usually comes from exhaust fumes from cars and faulty furnaces - the thing with garages is that there cauld have been anything stored in there before you moved there - like pesticides, insecticides, oil or gas, or mouse or rat poison - Some people store dangerous and toxic things in their garage. Carbon dioxide is a silent killer. I dont know but I am just wondering what could have gone wrong. I know it can be hard but your boyfriend should love your bunnies as much as you love them. Perhaps you could make arrangements for him to live in the garage and have Walter move in with you. Well I wish you all the best and hope you all find a solution where you all can be happy.

i literally laughed out loud about moving Walter in and the boyfriend out!! some days that might be a plan lol. however, i have come to the conclusion that it was definately carbon monoxide, afer googling it the items listed that produce CO were definately present in the garage. we removed the obvious items, such as motocycles, vehicles etc., but other items included charcoal, wood, oil, propane cans, and weed whips and powerwasher and other combustion engine lawn maintenence equipment, (my boyfriend owns a lawn maint./landscape company), all those items were in my /his garage. Needless to say all have been removed promptly. We both feel horrible and so responsible for these needless deaths. he loves my rabbits almost as much as i do. So please let this be a lesson to any who for whatever reason cannot let their buns live in the house. my precious babies were sacraficed because of my ignorance and i live now with that guilt dont let it be you. however, Wally still has to live in the garage with limited inside supervised play times. thank you all for your help and suggestions

 

[Imbrium]

so sorry about the harsh lesson you were forced to learn, it's always so hard to lose a cherished pet, let alone two!

I totally recommend a carbon monoxide detector in the garage, for peace of mind if nothing else. I got one for maybe $15 at home depot (came with a smoke detector, too) a while back because I've got a gas heater, stove and oven in my house.

oh, and I know you're going to anyway because any of us would... but seriously, try not to beat yourself up too much!! you loved and cared for your bunnies and no one can predict every single bad thing that could potentially happen.

 

[eclairemom]

So sorry for your loss. Were the items in question being run in the garage I don't think it would be an issue if there isn't an ignition source. Please make sure you get a detector for your garage and home, the gas is odorless so you have know way of knowing its around. Also you might call the local fire department to see if they have a meter to check levels in the garage and house in case it's coming from a furnace, heater or hot water heater.