two rabbits died within five days

the first bunny was bought on saturday from a local pet store. we bought two brothers, one for each of my children. they were both cared for and loved and fed correctly, with all the directions of the pet store being followed (we have previosuly had 2 bunnies that lived for 4 years). the following day my daughter's started going limp, then started spasming and suddenly died. ofcourse this was a huge shock to the family and we were all extrememly upset. the other bunny was completely healthy. then two days ago we went to a local rabbit breeder to try with a new bunny as my daughter has her heart set on taking care of one. the little girl bunny was adorable and perfectly healthy for two nights. we keep them inside. then this morning we walked to the box and found the bunny dead also. she had had diarrhea and looked wet all over. also the bone of her leg seemed to be showing slightly, as though she had scratched it. my son's rabbit has been completely healthy and shown no signs of any illness however my daughter has has two die.

lets just say that this christmas will be less jolly than usual.

is this common? we have googled everything and our local vet is not answering.

thankyou

What feeding instructions were you given?
Sadly pet shops are very often wrong in their advice.
Breeder buns can also be very ill due to genetic reasons, as well as poor advice on diet and care.


I'm very sorry you lost two bunnies in such a short space of time. It's never nice to lose a pet, no matter how short a time you've had them for

I am sorry to hear this.

Have you spoken to your vet about the bunnies as it would be a very good idea if your remaining bunny is examined to see if there is obviously something going on in particular prior to getting any more.

I am guessing that none of the rabbits had been vaccinated as you had only just gotten them and I imagine were quite young? If so, then sudden death could very easily have been something like VHD (haemorraghic disease causing internal bleeding with no outside signs necessarily although bruising or blleeding from the nose/mouth/anus can sometimes be seen postmortem), and if it were, then it is conceivable that a second could catch it (VHD stays active for up to about 6 weeks outside the body but can be caught and cause death withing 2-4 days). Bunnies need to be vaccinated for this in addition to Myxomatosis as soon as old enough and then repeated annually for VHD and 6 monthly for Myxo.

It could also be something like Coccidia which is common in young rabbits and is a killer. This is also highly infectious, so in both causes it is necessary to totaly disinfect any area to prevent any further animals catching it. This could potentially fit with a bunny doing runny poo.

The spasming you saw could actually be unrelated to cause of death but could be the Cheyne Stokes, which is the name given to the respiration pattern associated with the related process of the body shutting down immediatly prior to death, which does look like spasms and gasps for breath.

My best advice would be to get the vet to check your other bunny and describe everything that has happened. If you haven't already chosen a vet, it would be advisable to choose one who is very familiar with rabbits to ensure that you get the best answers and future treatment.

Good luck with your existing bunny.