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How did my rabbit die

dalerhodes83

New Kit
Is it normal for a rabbit to die on its side with its eyes open.

My bunny (1 and a half years) died during the night. He was fine most of the day but turned some food down on the evening (which is normal for him) he did grind his teeth a little bit before bed but then less than 6 hours later he was dead. Any idea what could cause this?
 
It isn't normal for a rabbit to turn down food. If they are not eating then it is a sign there is some underlying illness going on. Grinding teeth is a sign of pain so I expect your rabbit wan't eating because it was in pain. Rabbits which do not eat go into gut statis very quickly and usually die within 24 hours as rabbits are grazing animals so need to keep their gut moving. Did you take your rabbit to a vet previously for him being off his food and if so what did they say?
 
He is a regular to the vets due to a respiratory problem. He used to go once a month and they always said he was completely healthy other than his lungs. He had been eating all day as normal and turned down some greens at about 10 pm then found him dead at 6am
 
was he on any medication when he died? Also did he previously have any treatment for his snuffles? Rabbits do tend to hide illness well. They are prey animals so it's natural for them to do this. They go down hill so quickly so sometimes we never know the cause. You could have a post mortem done by your vet but then they cannot always give you a definite reason. Sorry for your loss. When they die suddenly it's very hard to take sometimes and understand how it can happen so quickly.
 
He was treated for snuffles in his early days and we paid for an x-ray on his lungs to make sure he was over it. We haven't heard him sneeze since Christmas, he was the healthiest he has ever been since we had which made it strange

He was on no medication at all. He was on his side as though he was asleep when I found him this morning
 
Thanks for your help, I know it was quite a strange way. The vets couldn't give me anymore info. We just have to concentrate on getting the other bun a new friend
 
Sorry for your loss. It does sound strange, I guess these things just sometimes happen :( Good luck with finding a new friend for your other bun.
 
So sorry to hear about your bun. I hope your other bun is doing fine and you can find a friend.

Welcome to RU :wave: I hope you will stick around ..
 
Several years ago I went to bed after playing with a very bouncy, healthy rabbit. In the morning he was looking for his food when my spouse checked him before getting ready for work. A short while later my spouse found my lovely bunny boy dead. He woke me and told me my friend was 'gone'. I thought he meant I forgot to put him back into his run or he escaped from his run--only to be told he died. We did not want to have a post-mortem done (I did it twice before when other pets had a similar illness to the deceased bunny and I needed a COD to try to save the others); so we never knew the cause of his seemingly sudden death.

While you may analyze what you could have done differently, you may never know for sure.
 
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