Can anyone shed any light PLEASE?! :( *U/D Post 60*

As some of you may know, we found 3 of our bunnies dead on Saturday morning. We last saw them at 3.30am on Saturday and they were fine but by 9am they were dead.

We called the vet out who examined them and could see no immediate physical signs although we were all leaning towards the prospect of VHD. She did PM's on all of them and the only *slight* abnormality was that their lungs and livers were slightly pinker than normal!

The vet sent tissue and organ samples to DEFRA. The VHD test came back negative! She really doesn't know what it could be and is going to research some more stuff tonight.

Does anyone have any similar experience or any knowledge that could help shed light?

The background:

- 2 rabbits were 5 months old and living together.
- 1 rabbit was approx 18 months and living with another who seems fine (touch wood!)
- None of them were fed anything different to any of the other buns.
- Their wendy houses are fairly close together and all the other buns are on the other side of the garden (so these 3 are in a seperate part of the garden - don't know if that's relavent)
- All 3 have medical histories of illnesses/abnormalities. Norman was very ill when with Kris at Starlights but she nursed him back to health. He was a REW. Joseph and Charlotte were both disabled in the back legs and had aggressive eye infections that have been near impossible to clear.
- All 3 were due their VHD vaccs either this week or next (had just had their myxo's)

Any ideas would be really helpful. I think I would have rathered the tests came back positive as at least we would know what happened At the moment we have no idea what the hell could have gone wrong and the future of the rest of our bunnies is just blurry I am even concerned for our guinea pigs

No advise im afraid, i just wanted to let you know im thinking about you during this difficult and worrying time xx.

ShazzaBunny said:

No advise im afraid, i just wanted to let you know im thinking about you during this difficult and worrying time xx.

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Thank you. x

Thinking of you x

Some weird carbon monoxide poisoning? Any chance anyone could have done this?

I think the fact they were in close accommodation is probably the most relevant thing if nothing else happened to any of your other buns.

Coccidiosis :?

Did Vet send off contents of GI tract ?

Any possibility of them ingesting a toxin ?

It's still so tragic but thank goodness it wasnt VHD.

really doesn't make sense:? i hope your vet can come up with something to - hopefully - put your mind at ease after such a terrible loss x

Sky-O said:

Some weird carbon monoxide poisoning? Any chance anyone could have done this?

I think the fact they were in close accommodation is probably the most relevant thing if nothing else happened to any of your other buns.

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Probably a naive question but how would someone have been able to do it?

And wouldn't Luna (Norman's wife) have been affected?

<<1 rabbit was approx 18 months and living with another who seems fine (touch wood!)>>

does this surviving bun have any previous health problems?

Jack's-Jane said:

Coccidiosis :?

Did Vet send off contents of GI tract ?

Any possibility of them ingesting a toxin ?

It's still so tragic but thank goodness it wasnt VHD.

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Would Coccidiosis show any symptoms and would death have been that sudden?

I really can't see how they could have ingested any toxin as they were fed at the same time as every other bun and fed the same stuff. There are no plants near them and they have been living there for about 3 months now. Plus, it would have been highly likely that Luna would have ingested some too as she is greedy!

Buuny_Friend said:

Probably a naive question but how would someone have been able to do it?

And wouldn't Luna (Norman's wife) have been affected?

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I dn't know how someone would do it, it would depend on the set up, for example, if you had a neighbour conflict and the accommodation was easy to throw things in, or something, then they could throw in poison or whatever.

In terms of Luna, if it was CO, then it would depend on the metabolism, but probably (although she may feel the side effects badly), and with poisoning, it would depend if she had eaten it, etc. I'm very suspicious of people, and was just throwing out ideas that even though they are unlikely, I wanted to say anyway because of the heartache and worry you are struggling with.

poppymoon said:

<<1 rabbit was approx 18 months and living with another who seems fine (touch wood!)>>

does this surviving bun have any previous health problems?

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Not as far as I know (she is a rescue). She is a strapping girl who is about 4-5 years old.

Sky-O said:

I dn't know how someone would do it, it would depend on the set up, for example, if you had a neighbour conflict and the accommodation was easy to throw things in, or something, then they could throw in poison or whatever.

In terms of Luna, if it was CO, then it would depend on the metabolism, but probably (although she may feel the side effects badly), and with poisoning, it would depend if she had eaten it, etc. I'm very suspicious of people, and was just throwing out ideas that even though they are unlikely, I wanted to say anyway because of the heartache and worry you are struggling with.

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We only have 1 direct neighbour who is attached to our house on the other side of the garden. There are 'halfway houses' on the side of their wendy houses but they are not directly attached to our garden. However, it would be *possible* possible for someone to throw something from one of the upstairs windows. BUT the back of the wendy houses are facing them, not the front and the fench is taller than their houses.

I *guess* somone could have entered our garden but we were in bed which faces the garden and I have the window open.

How long do things like that take to kill?

Buuny_Friend said:

Would Coccidiosis show any symptoms and would death have been that sudden?

I really can't see how they could have ingested any toxin as they were fed at the same time as every other bun and fed the same stuff. There are no plants near them and they have been living there for about 3 months now. Plus, it would have been highly likely that Luna would have ingested some too as she is greedy!

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Coccidiosis can cause sudden death, but usually in babies :?

I think Sky-O's thoughts re Carbon Monoxide are a possibility

Is Luna a big Bun in comparison to the three who passed away ?

I *think* lung and liver haemorrhages can be found at PM in cases of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. If Luna is bigger it may just be that she got away with it.
Do you have heaters in the sheds ?

Jack's-Jane said:

Coccidiosis can cause sudden death, but usually in babies :?

I think Sky-O's thoughts re Carbon Monoxide are a possibility

Is Luna a big Bun in comparison to the three who passed away ?

I *think* lung and liver haemorrhages can be found at PM in cases of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. If Luna is bigger it may just be that she got away with it.
Do you have heaters in the sheds ?

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The coccidiosis would make sense with Joey and Charlie as they were young (5 months) but Norman was 18 months (although it is highly likely that he was immuno-supressed).

Luna is a large bun, yes...about 1.5 x the size of Norman and 3 times the size of the babies.

No, we don't have heaters in the wendy houses.

Jack's-Jane said:

Coccidiosis can cause sudden death, but usually in babies :?

I think Sky-O's thoughts re Carbon Monoxide are a possibility

Is Luna a big Bun in comparison to the three who passed away ?

I *think* lung and liver haemorrhages can be found at PM in cases of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. If Luna is bigger it may just be that she got away with it.
Do you have heaters in the sheds ?

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Their lungs and livers were normal apart from being slightly pinker than normal

Is there any vent near where they live? Either on your land or neighbouring gardens? Any chance of a gass leak?

Sky-O said:

Is there any vent near where they live? Either on your land or neighbouring gardens? Any chance of a gass leak?

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Not sure on that one...will have to check

Did someone have a bonfire and the smoke came in your garden perhaps?

Really sorry to hear about your poor buns x

Buuny_Friend said:

Not sure on that one...will have to check

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was going to suggest maybe a gas leak? or could it be they were scared todeath as in thier hearts siezed up due to a fox in the garden prehaps? could it be a sudden heart attack? what about something ingested slug pellets etc a poison (sorry maybe this would show up in pm?
to be safe i would move any outdoor pets indoors until the cause can be found if possible? x