I lost my Rabbit :-(

I haven't posted on here since i got my rabbit nutty a year ago.
well him and millie bonded great instantly, spent every minute together,
the other day i came home from work and gave nutty a cuddled and realised he lost a lot of weight so took him to te vet and his teeth were growing into his cheek and cutting it all and his tongue therefore he couldn't eat or clean himself!

He had an op to file his teeth down on wednesday and came home friday, he was being fed by stringe and bathed and up until today he was fine, then he refused he syringe feed today and then this evening passed away

I know rabbits are not good woth anesthetic and my vet said 40% of rabbits don't wake up, do you think he just never recovered form the anesthetic?

Aww not sure, but so very sorry for your loss xxx

I'm sorry to hear that you've lost your bun. The only way to be sure of cause of death is a post mortem, I'm afraid.

was he all up to date on vaccs? in otherwise good health?

I would be worried, though, about your vet telling your 40% of rabbits don't wake up from the anaesthetic. For your remaining rabbit I would consider looking at a different vet.

So sorry for your loss

Binkie free Nutty

Sorry to hear you lost him x x how much were you feeding him syringe wise. Was he drinking on his own, going to the toilet etc?

to be honest its quite difficult to see how much he was going to the toilet because he shares his cage and garden with millie.
he was being fed about an egg cup of food and drinking loads, but sunday he refused to eat a thing.

my vet said its a general statistic and that rabbits just don't cope well with anesthetic.

we are getting a new male for millie, but he isn't tame so not the big cuddly teddy bear nutty was, i will have to tame him

So sorry to hear of your loss, Sleep well Nutty!

I also would have a look around for a different vet as that 'statistic' seems quite high and may be that they are not completly rabbit savvy.

so sorry to hear about nutty, 40% isnt alot :? i would think about looking for a savvy vet in your area for your other bunny, i dont think you will know wha happened o nutty withou a post mortom, binky free nutty xx

I'm so sorry to hear about Nutty We have a section called Rainbow Bridge where we remember lost pets if you'd like to make a post.

40% seems like a very high percentage to me, it could have been that he never quite picked up from it or he could have died from something else entirely. A rabbit who won't eat can go downhill very quickly from something called GI stasis as they have pretty sensitive digestive systems. The only way to know what's happened is to have a post mortem done I'm afraid.

How satisfied are you with your vet treatment in general? Depending on other treatment you've had I personally would be looking for another vet. I'm glad to hear you're getting another friend for Millie as I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

thanks everyone, I have just taken him up to the animal shelter to be cremated, it was very emotional.

I am extremly happy with my vet, he treats the animals very well and has always been very good, we have had him for years. He told me 40% of rabbits don't make it through anesthetic when i took millie in to be spayed, he said he personally would never take the risk with a female rabbit

40% mortality is absolutely appalling. I seem to remember reading around 1-2 % mortality in healthy rabbits and maybe up to around 5% in clinically ill animals is more like the norm, although I can find the piece of research where I have read this at the moment. It sounds like you need to find another vet xx

lilbun said:

40% mortality is absolutely appalling. I seem to remember reading around 1-2 % mortality in healthy rabbits and maybe up to around 5% in clinically ill animals is more like the norm, although I can find the piece of research where I have read this at the moment. It sounds like you need to find another vet xx

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I'd tend to agree.

I am so sorry for your loss.. It must have been very painful for you..I felt the same way when my little Princess died..they will see each other in the rainbow bridge..

Sleeptight Nutty..

amyandmillie said:

I am extremly happy with my vet, he treats the animals very well and has always been very good, we have had him for years. He told me 40% of rabbits don't make it through anesthetic when i took millie in to be spayed, he said he personally would never take the risk with a female rabbit

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I don't want you to feel bad for your choice of vet but I definitely wouldn't be happy with that figure.
Having a female rabbit spayed shouldn't be a huge risk, when I was looking for my vet I was told ask what their mortality rate is on spays and if it's higher than 2% then ask the reasons behind the deaths to decide whether to look elsewhere.
40%, unless he's had an awful lot of elderly or unwell rabbits, is actually quite a frightening figure.

I know it's a difficult time and you probably want to stay with a vet you feel comfortable with and know, but I would seriously look at another vet for the sake of your bunnies.

First of all i am very sorry for your loss i recently lost my boy Trev due to very similar circumstances and its awful. They go in for a pretty routine procedure and you think they will be fine but unfortunately life is cruel Binky free boys xxx

But i would have to agree with the other posters about the high mortality rate 1-2% is generally the normal rate so 40% is a huge figure :shock:
And as for not taking the risk with female rabbits theres is a higher risk than with bucks due to it being invasive but it should not really be considered 'major' surgery which is best to avoid :?
Around 80% of unspayed does develop cancer, i would rather 'risk' the spay than have them die of a horrible painful disease. It seems your vet needs to go back to bunny school.

thank you everyone for your advice, My vet has an extremly good reputation here in jersey but i may have to go and see them again and have a talk about millie being sprayed, and if i get the same response from the woman (i saw a man. well mu husband did, he prob got it all wromg anyway lol) then i will take them to a new vet.

In regards to millie being done, would you suggest i wait for them to be 100% bonded and then do it?

amyandmillie said:

thank you everyone for your advice, My vet has an extremly good reputation here in jersey but i may have to go and see them again and have a talk about millie being sprayed, and if i get the same response from the woman (i saw a man. well mu husband did, he prob got it all wromg anyway lol) then i will take them to a new vet.

In regards to millie being done, would you suggest i wait for them to be 100% bonded and then do it?

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Im no expert but i think that generally most people leave them seperate, then spay, then bond. Because if you bond them now then you will have to seperate them when the time comes for her to be spayed and then rebond them again after she has recovered. I also think that it is less stressful on the buns as they are not introduced then separated then introduced again; but thats just my opinion.
Im sure a bonding expert will be along soon :lol:

R/e Highly recommended vets: my vet was one of the best recommended around me but he mis diagnosed my trev and as a result he passed away needless to say i changed vets immediately! Some people can be highly recommended but still be wrong :?

I am sorry for your loss.

I have to agree with the sentiment on the above posts.

40% is a ridiculously high figure. Most rabbits if healthy do absolutely fine under GA in good rabbit savvy hands.

Your vet saying he wouldn't spay is absolutely not the message he should be giving out to his clients - it's not the general feeling amongst vets who know anything about rabbits. A female not spayed will most likely at best suffer dreadfully from uterine cancer (and cost you a lot of money for treatments) or at worst will die an agonising death. That stats for uterine cancers are set at around 80% in 3-4 years and above. So the risk of a GA to spay in GOOD RABBIT HANDS, versus not spaying is very worth taking.

True, some rabbits in good hands don't do well and can pass away, but they normally have underlying health issues anyway,

As far as bonding, you really have to ensure both rabbits are neutered before introducing them for the safest outcome and easier bond.

There are some Jersey members on here so why not see who they recommend as the best on the island for rabbits - I do remember one member having problems with one practice a few years ago I think.

One thing I'd say to anyone thinking about choosing a good rabbit vet, it's not always the 'nicest' or 'most approachable' vet who does the best job. I have heard lots of people recommend their vet because they are 'lovely', but the rabbits don't really care about lovely, they need competant and knowledgeable. I know one very rabbit savvy vet who is not great with humans but knows her stuff - people wouldn't necessarily say she was 'lovely' as she's very matter of fact to the point of being downright blunt at times but I bet she would rate very high on skills level.

I am really sorry you've lost your bunny and hope that you are able to have the lovely relationship you had with Nutty with your next buns too.

Hey, just thought I'd let you know that I asked about anesthetic when I was at the vets yesterday, deciding whether to get my boy done. He said that in a healthy rabbit with no respiratory infection, 1 in 2000 dies from anesthetic. So that would be 0.05% (I think). Havent been with him long, but I know he studied/looked after the rabbits when he was at uni, so I'm guessing he knows his stuff.

He did say though that respiratory infections and old age increase the percentage a lot.

Your little one may have just been one of the unlucky ones, but I'd say at least go and look at other vets if yours are quoting 40%. They might be able to give you better percentage.

please change your vet if poss......my vet has NEVER lost a bun to anaesthetic.....and he is very honest about things. theres a high chance of losing a bun but not if they use the right gas and do the right things..
im so sorry for your loss we have our little ones cremated then we put the ashes in a cuddly toy