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.