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Death of a rabbit

SREwaller

Young Bun
Hello everyone.

I sadly lost on of my rabbits last Monday. I'm unsure what to do about this. He lived in a trio so I have two rabbits left but I know they have been quite sad since his death and have been actively looking for more attention from me. What should I do...? Do I get another rabbit or should I not?

many thanks
 
Hello everyone.

I sadly lost on of my rabbits last Monday. I'm unsure what to do about this. He lived in a trio so I have two rabbits left but I know they have been quite sad since his death and have been actively looking for more attention from me. What should I do...? Do I get another rabbit or should I not?

many thanks

I am very sorry for your loss :cry: Personally I would not rush into trying to introduce a new Rabbit to your remaining pair. They may not accept any other Rabbit as they will see him/her as an 'intruder' to their Warren. This may cause aggression not only toward the 'intruder' but also between your remaining pair.

I would make a few adjustments to your Pair's environment, add new toys and tunnels and things to provoke interest and distraction.

Do you know the cause of your poor Rabbit's death ? Was he fully vaccinated ?

RIP Bunny xx
 
What sad news. I'm really sorry. Personally I'd leave your pair as they are for the foreseeable, they have each other & I don't think when grieving is a good time for anybun (esp you) to have to go through bonding - which lets face it can be super stressful at the best of times

Sleep tight little bunny xx
 
Thanks guys! I wasn’t thinking of getting a rabbit nowish but start looking anyways for the “ right” rabbit for them. Okay yes i’ll try and shake things up a bit in their cage and run. He died of pasteurella... they were all at the end of their treatment for it and the other two have had the all clear of the bacteria but Onyx (the one who passed away) had only gotten worse. Right now, the other two ( Bear and Lily) have been put on an extended course of antibiotics, and a deep clean of their cage to ensure there is NOTHING left of the bacteria, since Onyx died. They go for their final check up in a week and a half. It is just so sad because Onyx was only 6 months old....
 
I am sorry that you lost Onyx. Binkey free little Onyx.
I also agree with what JJ said and would take time to allow Bear and Lilly to adjust.
 
Thanks everyone... any tips/ advice on stopping the other two pulling their fur out? Since Onyx has passed, I keep finding bits of fur that have been pulled off. Lily has recently become sexually mature (is due for her spay on Wednesday) but she is not usually aggressive. Is it possible that loosing Onyx has caused her to become more aggressive towards Bear? (She was always closer to Bear than she was with Onyx). Just to give you an idea of how sweet she usually is, she likes to stretch out over my arm in her cage so I can give her belly rubs (I know rabbits are supposed to not really like belly rubs that much?) and she will then proceed to licking my hand for the next 5 minutes. She regularly groomed both Onyx and Bear with special extra licking to Bear, who would always slide under her chin if he noticed she was living Onyx and not him. This new behaviour is really confusing for me... Bear has also been chasing her a bit around their hutch but I suspect this is out of annoyance as she has been pestering him a lot these past few days. Hopefully the spay will calm both of them down...
 
Thanks everyone... any tips/ advice on stopping the other two pulling their fur out? Since Onyx has passed, I keep finding bits of fur that have been pulled off. Lily has recently become sexually mature (is due for her spay on Wednesday) but she is not usually aggressive. Is it possible that loosing Onyx has caused her to become more aggressive towards Bear? (She was always closer to Bear than she was with Onyx). Just to give you an idea of how sweet she usually is, she likes to stretch out over my arm in her cage so I can give her belly rubs (I know rabbits are supposed to not really like belly rubs that much?) and she will then proceed to licking my hand for the next 5 minutes. She regularly groomed both Onyx and Bear with special extra licking to Bear, who would always slide under her chin if he noticed she was living Onyx and not him. This new behaviour is really confusing for me... Bear has also been chasing her a bit around their hutch but I suspect this is out of annoyance as she has been pestering him a lot these past few days. Hopefully the spay will calm both of them down...

Was Onyx neutered ? If not then it is possible that Lily is pregnant. I assume Bear is a Buck ?? Also, I am not sure that I would want to go ahead with Lily's spay whilst she is still on treatment for Pasteurella.

How Rabbit Savvy is your Vet ?
 
Yes both Onyx and Bear are both males and were castrated so there's no chance she is pregnant. She isn't nesting, its more like they had a bit of a fight and then there's some fluff, in their run area of the cage.. not in their bedding area at all. Also its predominantly Bear's fur I'm finding around the cage and not hers. I've asked 3 vets including a rabbit specialist from the RVC and they all said it should be fine. Both Onyx and Bear were castrated even before they had treatment for pasteurella and were fine. It really depends on the rabbit and if they are still putting on weight, sneezing, having discharge or not and if they behave okay. Both Lily and Bear on the clinical examinations appear completely normal rabbits. If it wasn't for Onyx's persistent sneezing and death no one would know that they had pasteurella and wouldn't be on the extended treatment. I suspect that since Bear and Lily were from Pets At Home, these rabbits are more prone to things like pasteurella due to the conditions in which they are kept in (even if they don't show any clinical symptoms) so naturally carry more defences in their bodies to the bacteria. Onyx however was from a farm, so he was probably wasn't exposed to pasteurella, and his immune system was therefore not as strong as the other two's at fighting the illness...
 
I am so sorry for your loss. Young rabbits are still growing their immune systems, so that could explain why Onyx passed at such a young age.
 
I'm really sorry for your loss :(

I wonder if they're trying to re-establish who's the dominant bun, now their relationship dynamic has changed? I hope things will settle down soon.

I think you should wait until lady bun is spayed and recovered before introducing a third bunny. You're likely going to have to separate the current two for a few weeks until her wounds have healed, and will have to re-bond them after that time. It could be worth speaking to a rescue who offer bonding services, and asking them for some help with when is best?
 
So sorry for your loss.
Some excellent advice given, I have no more to add. I hope things settle down soon
 
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