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Why did my netherland dwarf bunny die?

stephno

New Kit
My boyfriend bought her just 5 days ago at the flea market after she caught my attention seeming so happy and healthy, joyfully hopping around her cage, unlike the others who were sitting and sleeping. The guy we bought him from didn't give us much information about her other than that she would grow a little over 2lbs. He sold us the food and the cage with her. When we got home my boyfriend did some research and found out she was a netherland dwarf, and he carefully researched how we should care for her as well. The seller never told me what age she was, however I'd assumed she was a baby since she was so small. She fit into the palm of my hand. I bought her Timothy hay to eat, a tunnel made of straw for her to play in and chew, a water bottle, litter box, and cage liners, since I had found that it bedding is not necessary all over their cage, but just in their litter box. Anyway, last night around 3am I woke to the sound of my bunny making noises sounding almost as if she were a baby kitten. (light, quiet meowing). I turned my light on to find her laying on her side in her cage, and her feet twitching. Not sure what was wrong, I picked her up to try and comfort her as her body flopped over my hand, her head especially, almost as if she were a rag doll. She also has poop pellets stuck on her belly. My first thought was that she had broken her spine, like I had read about while i was doing research. I figured it must have been painful for me to hold her, so I laid her back in her cage, got a small towel and covered her. Then i looked around her cage and saw that she had had diarrhea behind her straw tunnel. I was relieved at the thought that she perhaps just had an upset stomach. I began doing more research on what could be wrong with her, and realized diarrhea in bunnies is much more serious than i thought. I tried to put her water bottle near her mouth to see if maybe she was dehydrated, and she began moving her jaw in a repeated biting motion. I left her alone for a bit, and moments later, I heard her feet scratch against her cage floor, so I looked up, and she was sitting up! So at that moment I realized she probably hadn't broke her back, but was even more confused now that i really had no idea what was wrong. I covered her again with the small towel. I heard her feet scratch again, only to find her on her side again, with all four feet moving like she was trying to run somewhere. I petted her and picked her up again, and her body was not floppy this time, but her back was arched and would not relax. I woke my mom, who told me there was really nothing I could do. I was incredibly sad, and thought what could I have done to thing poor bunny to kill it, and how I wish it would have a fast death rather than to lay suffering for who knows how many hours. This morning I woke up, and it was clear that my poor bunny was dead, I picked her up to make sure and sure enough, her body was ice cold and stiff as a board. Please help, I am so confused. Why did my bunny die? I also need to know what went wrong for the future if I decide to get another bunny.
 
Poor poor you horrible thing to have happened. without a post mortem(autopsy) we can only guess what was wrong with her. Can you take her body to a vet and ask for one????

This is in no way any criticism of you but buying rabbits from markets and even pet shops is not ideal as you have no idea of their history or breeder and she could have had many things wrong with her including that she had been too young to take away from her mother. Baby rabbits need special diets.

I am sure someone on here will be able to tell you more about what might have been wrong with her.

Do you have any rescue centres around you that you could get preferably a bonded pair of rabbits from??? Not sure where you live or even which country???

I am sure you did nothing wrong, sending you hugs as you had a horrible experience.
 
*Wondering whether you are in the UK, as you said you got your rabbit from flea market?*

My first thought, from the size you describe, is that she was too young to have left her mother, but I'm not sure on that point.

Rabbits go downhill extremely quickly and need immediate vet attention if they are ill. Diarrhoea is particularly dangerous and she may have already been ill when you bought her.

The only way to determine what happened is, of course, a postmortem.

Sleep well little bunny.:cry:


*ETA Have just seen that you are in the USA.*
 
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i'm so sorry for your loss. :cry:

baby rabbits can have a hard time adjusting to moving to a new home. their tummies are so so delicate. this sounds very much how my smudge passed away. he was floppy and biting his teeth together. :(

we were told he may have had bloat, or there was another reason that i can not think of now - but it's basically floppy bunny syndrome. there is a reason for it.

your bunny may have already been ill though and the stress of a move brought it out.

it really could be a number of reasons. it doesn't sound like anything you did. you gave hay and water, researched etc. sometimes these things just happen unfortunately. :(

i am very sorry x
 
I am so sorry to hear this, like the others said it sounds more like the stress brought on something rather than it being something you did wrong. By the sounds of it you gave her the best possibly home so she'd probably have had a worse time somewhere else.

I'm so sorry you had to witness this all, she's at peace now and you know that for those few days at least you gave her a comfortable and safe home.
 
im so sorry, she maybe had coccidiosis which signs are diareah and young baby rabbits tend to get it, also that due to possble stress etc :cry:
 
Thank you all for your help. I'm relieved to hear from all of you that I most likely did nothing wrong. I spoiled her the 5 days I had her, and though it was a short amount of time, I grew very attached as I do to all animals I meet. I hope she enjoyed all the cuddles and love in living with me but is happy where she is now as well, especially after watching her suffer that way absolutely broke my heart. I will be burying her later tonight, I can't find it in myself to do it alone now :( so my mom will help me later. Again, thank you all for your responses and may you enjoy your own pet bunnies and may they live happy healthy lives xxx. R.I.P. Lola Bunny, you will be missed.
 
I'm so sorry :cry: It sounds like coccidiosis, and that she was taken from her mum too young. If you're going to get another bunny can you find out where the nearest vet is in case of emergency? Binky free Lola xx
 
Its quite likely she was too young. She sounded very small, even for a dwarf (if she even was a purebred dwarf, which kind of seems unlikely given that the owner didn't even know what breed she was.)
Many backyard breeders simply send their bunnies of as soon as they look like they're eating, but being taken away from their mom that early means their immune system isn't properly developed. Even if she didn't die now, chances are higher she'd get sick later because of it:(

Or it may be she simply had some other disease already. Rabbits are good at hiding diseases and babies are especially fragile.
 
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