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Anxious of Owning Rabbits Again

F

Fwuff

New Kit
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but I'll just get straight into this because it's probably going to be long.

So I'm thinking of maybe getting some more rabbits after what happened last year in December with my two young buns. I'm going to get upset writing this but anyway...

I got my two lionheads back in May at 8 weeks old (first time I've owned rabbits) from a lionhead breeder. I called them Hope and Faith because I had gone through a tough year or so and this was a new start. And I loved them to bits, we cared for them and gave them so much love and attention and we gave them the full garden (which isn't massive) to run around while we watched them. They were fine for months and never really had any problems. But one Saturday in December, Faith didn't seem quite herself. She just wasn't as lively as normal and didn't seem to be eating very much. We didn't really think much of it but she seemed a bit worse over the weekend so we took her to the vets and stuff. Anyway, the vet told us to give her this food formula which is basically powdered hay that you mix with water and syringe it to your bun. I felt so so dreadful doing it, I had to get my parents to hold her still whilst I tried to syringe it into her mouth and it went everywhere and she got really agitated.

On the Monday she didn't seem very well at all and also, Hope started to look ill too. So I was super worried and we spent ages on google trying to find what was wrong. We got a few ideas but I don't think we were right. And I still feel SO GUILTY because we didn't take them to the vets that day. We should have done, it was stupid thinking back. But we didn't. Anyway, next morning my parents came into my room and said that HOPE had died. Hope had only been ill for a day, Faith had been ill all weekend. So obviously I was distraught. We tried to care for Faith for the rest of the day but she kept getting worse and worse. She had hardly any energy, wouldn't eat much, wouldn't drink very much, didn't want her favourite treats, and she was so floppy when I held her. And when she ran around she stumbled and staggered as if she had no coordination. I knew she was going to go. We took her to the vets later and one thing led to another and it's too long to explain, but she had to be put down later. I cried and cried :cry: . The vet wasn't sure what was wrong with her, she said there was some toxins in her blood so we thought maybe they had eaten something in the garden that they shouldn't have. Or it could have been RHD because they went so suddenly and so close together.

So firstly, does anyone know what it could have been? I don't know which is worse but I just wish I knew. And secondly, the reason I wrote this post was because I think I am finally ready to adopt some more rabbits, but I am so scared to do it because the same thing might happen again. If they ate something they shouldn't have, we will have to not let them have the whole garden, but have a big run in the garden instead, and watch them very, very closely. If they had RHD then I don't even know. I know there is a vaccination for strain 1 but not for strain 2. I'm just so anxious about owning anymore rabbits in case they get ill like Hope and Faith and die really young (they were 10 months old :( ).

So should I risk getting rabbits again? Is it worth it? What should I do? Any precautions or things I should do to prevent illness if I got more rabbits. Aaahhhh, I don't know, rabbits are so fragile and prone to illness :(.

Thanks,
Fwuff
 
Fwuff said:
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but I'll just get straight into this because it's probably going to be long.

So I'm thinking of maybe getting some more rabbits after what happened last year in December with my two young buns. I'm going to get upset writing this but anyway...

I got my two lionheads back in May at 8 weeks old (first time I've owned rabbits) from a lionhead breeder. I called them Hope and Faith because I had gone through a tough year or so and this was a new start. And I loved them to bits, we cared for them and gave them so much love and attention and we gave them the full garden (which isn't massive) to run around while we watched them. They were fine for months and never really had any problems. But one Saturday in December, Faith didn't seem quite herself. She just wasn't as lively as normal and didn't seem to be eating very much. We didn't really think much of it but she seemed a bit worse over the weekend so we took her to the vets and stuff. Anyway, the vet told us to give her this food formula which is basically powdered hay that you mix with water and syringe it to your bun. I felt so so dreadful doing it, I had to get my parents to hold her still whilst I tried to syringe it into her mouth and it went everywhere and she got really agitated.

On the Monday she didn't seem very well at all and also, Hope started to look ill too. So I was super worried and we spent ages on google trying to find what was wrong. We got a few ideas but I don't think we were right. And I still feel SO GUILTY because we didn't take them to the vets that day. We should have done, it was stupid thinking back. But we didn't. Anyway, next morning my parents came into my room and said that HOPE had died. Hope had only been ill for a day, Faith had been ill all weekend. So obviously I was distraught. We tried to care for Faith for the rest of the day but she kept getting worse and worse. She had hardly any energy, wouldn't eat much, wouldn't drink very much, didn't want her favourite treats, and she was so floppy when I held her. And when she ran around she stumbled and staggered as if she had no coordination. I knew she was going to go. We took her to the vets later and one thing led to another and it's too long to explain, but she had to be put down later. I cried and cried :cry: . The vet wasn't sure what was wrong with her, she said there was some toxins in her blood so we thought maybe they had eaten something in the garden that they shouldn't have. Or it could have been RHD because they went so suddenly and so close together.

So firstly, does anyone know what it could have been? I don't know which is worse but I just wish I knew. And secondly, the reason I wrote this post was because I think I am finally ready to adopt some more rabbits, but I am so scared to do it because the same thing might happen again. If they ate something they shouldn't have, we will have to not let them have the whole garden, but have a big run in the garden instead, and watch them very, very closely. If they had RHD then I don't even know. I know there is a vaccination for strain 1 but not for strain 2. I'm just so anxious about owning anymore rabbits in case they get ill like Hope and Faith and die really young (they were 10 months old :( ).

So should I risk getting rabbits again? Is it worth it? What should I do? Any precautions or things I should do to prevent illness if I got more rabbits. Aaahhhh, I don't know, rabbits are so fragile and prone to illness :(.

Thanks,
Fwuff
Click to expand...

Hello

I am really sorry that you lost Hope and Faith. It is impossible to say for certain why they both died, but given what you describe and from what the Vet has said RHD2 does seem likely. But there are other possibilities. I can understand how you feel bad about not going back to the Vet when Hope became ill. It is easy to be wise with hindsight and I am certain that from now on you would always consult a Vet at the earliest opportunity should a similar situation ever arise. Which of course I hope it doesn't.

Rabbits can be very fragile and they are certainly not 'easy' Pets to care for. You are being very responsible in giving a lot of thought to taking on more Rabbits. It may help to read the information on the following links, which cover several aspects of Rabbit Health issues and how to try to prevent them. They also give general advice about Rabbit Care, including Diet and Housing.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

http://www.therabbithouse.com/index.asp

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/owners/frequently-asked-questions/FAQRHD

Finally, perhaps you could speak with your Parents about adopting your next Rabbits from a Rescue. Rescue Rabbits are usually neutered and fully vaccinated before they are rehomed. So that would be two major issues taken care of, although of course vaccinations need to be given annually.

You can search for Rescue Rabbits here :

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/

Best wishes :)
 
I am sorry you lost your rabbits - it is so upsetting to lose one, but to lose two is heartbreaking.
Were they both up to date with their vaccinations? (apart from RHD2? Incidentally, there is indeed a vaccine for RHD2 and it is a great pity your vet didn't tell you about it).
I think all we can do is to ensure they are vaccinated, give them a good hay-based diet, with minimum pellets, and a large hutch with a large permanently attached run to allow them to exercise whilst keeping them safe. It is fine to let them have the garden, provided you stay with them and you know that there are no toxic to rabbits plants.
I think that if you are considering more rabbits, I would begin by finding a rabbit-savvy vet.


(I have cross-posted with JJ, who has given you lots of useful information).
 
Fwuff said:
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but I'll just get straight into this because it's probably going to be long.

So I'm thinking of maybe getting some more rabbits after what happened last year in December with my two young buns. I'm going to get upset writing this but anyway...

I got my two lionheads back in May at 8 weeks old (first time I've owned rabbits) from a lionhead breeder. I called them Hope and Faith because I had gone through a tough year or so and this was a new start. And I loved them to bits, we cared for them and gave them so much love and attention and we gave them the full garden (which isn't massive) to run around while we watched them. They were fine for months and never really had any problems. But one Saturday in December, Faith didn't seem quite herself. She just wasn't as lively as normal and didn't seem to be eating very much. We didn't really think much of it but she seemed a bit worse over the weekend so we took her to the vets and stuff. Anyway, the vet told us to give her this food formula which is basically powdered hay that you mix with water and syringe it to your bun. I felt so so dreadful doing it, I had to get my parents to hold her still whilst I tried to syringe it into her mouth and it went everywhere and she got really agitated.

On the Monday she didn't seem very well at all and also, Hope started to look ill too. So I was super worried and we spent ages on google trying to find what was wrong. We got a few ideas but I don't think we were right. And I still feel SO GUILTY because we didn't take them to the vets that day. We should have done, it was stupid thinking back. But we didn't. Anyway, next morning my parents came into my room and said that HOPE had died. Hope had only been ill for a day, Faith had been ill all weekend. So obviously I was distraught. We tried to care for Faith for the rest of the day but she kept getting worse and worse. She had hardly any energy, wouldn't eat much, wouldn't drink very much, didn't want her favourite treats, and she was so floppy when I held her. And when she ran around she stumbled and staggered as if she had no coordination. I knew she was going to go. We took her to the vets later and one thing led to another and it's too long to explain, but she had to be put down later. I cried and cried :cry: . The vet wasn't sure what was wrong with her, she said there was some toxins in her blood so we thought maybe they had eaten something in the garden that they shouldn't have. Or it could have been RHD because they went so suddenly and so close together.

So firstly, does anyone know what it could have been? I don't know which is worse but I just wish I knew. And secondly, the reason I wrote this post was because I think I am finally ready to adopt some more rabbits, but I am so scared to do it because the same thing might happen again. If they ate something they shouldn't have, we will have to not let them have the whole garden, but have a big run in the garden instead, and watch them very, very closely. If they had RHD then I don't even know. I know there is a vaccination for strain 1 but not for strain 2. I'm just so anxious about owning anymore rabbits in case they get ill like Hope and Faith and die really young (they were 10 months old :( ).

So should I risk getting rabbits again? Is it worth it? What should I do? Any precautions or things I should do to prevent illness if I got more rabbits. Aaahhhh, I don't know, rabbits are so fragile and prone to illness :(.

Thanks,
Fwuff
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry you lost them both :( I completely understand how you feel about them being fragile etc I don't think I'm going to get another rabbit after my current two honestly - I say that but who knows how I'll feel then - bunnies are so special :)


If you feel ready, you should look into it :) maybe you could adopt from a rescue bunnies that are all ready neutered and vaccinated? :)

few things - I'm not experienced enough to even guess what went wrong, but I'd never let my buns free range unless I knew there was nothing toxic growing in the garden (I grow a lot of unsafe plants currently) so a large pen attached to their hutch would be perfect, so means they'd have 24 hour access to it, which is best for them :)

Vaccines - RHD1 and mixi is a combined vaccine and RHD2 is a separate one they need also, which protects against the second strain x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
Babsie said:
I am sorry you lost your rabbits - it is so upsetting to lose one, but to lose two is heartbreaking.
Were they both up to date with their vaccinations? (apart from RHD2? Incidentally, there is indeed a vaccine for RHD2 and it is a great pity your vet didn't tell you about it).
I think all we can do is to ensure they are vaccinated, give them a good hay-based diet, with minimum pellets, and a large hutch with a large permanently attached run to allow them to exercise whilst keeping them safe. It is fine to let them have the garden, provided you stay with them and you know that there are no toxic to rabbits plants.
I think that if you are considering more rabbits, I would begin by finding a rabbit-savvy vet.


(I have cross-posted with JJ, who has given you lots of useful information).
Click to expand...


I second what Babsie has said.

I'm so sorry you lost your rabbits but I am glad you are here with us :wave:

There's more info on RHD2 here:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?456446-RHD2-Updated-5th-April-2018

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/owners/frequently-asked-questions/FAQRHD

There's some excellent advice on diet here ...

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf


And lastly, yes they are very fragile, but very very worth it if you love rabbits :love:
 
Quoting from MM "And lastly, yes they are very fragile, but very very worth it if you love rabbits"

I forgot to say that but agree wholeheartedly. I think its only when you've had rabbits that you appreciate just how special they are.
 
I’m so sorry you lost your rabbits :cry: you shouldn’t blame yourself, as you can only do your best with the knowledge that you have at the time. I know it is easier said than done though. I agree with going to a rescue and getting a pair from there, they will be health checked, vaccinated and neutered. And you will be able to tell if their personality will be a good match for you. Having a rabbit savvy vet is very important.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I feel so supported :love: .

I'm not sure if my vets are very rabbit savvy or not. The vet that we saw on the day they passed away seemed fairly knowledgeable and was lovely. But I don't know how much she actually knew about rabbits. I'm pretty confident with our vets as we've been taking my cat there for 10 years (I'm a massive cat lover) and they've always been good with her. Though I guess cats are easier to understand and diagnose than rabbits. So basically I don't know how rabbit savvy they are. And changing vets isn't really an option because it is less than 5 minutes from where we live which is really convenient and we've been taking my cat there for 10 years so my parents probably wouldn't want to switch now. But they are qualified vets so I guess they know what they are doing.

I fully appreciate that it is better to adopt rescue rabbits. My cat is a rescue cat. But I totally fell in love with lionheads and I loved having Hope and Faith from 8 weeks and watching them grow and develop their personalities. So I think I probably will still buy from a breeder but I would never buy from a breeder that I wasn't sure about. The breeder we got Hope and Faith from was very knowledgeable and her and her children seemed to love what they did. And I would never buy from a breeder that advertised their rabbits as show quality because I would never take my buns to a show to be ogled at by hundreds of people and judged on how 'perfect' and 'pure' they are!!!

Also, how long after adopting a young rabbit (obviously over 8 weeks) do you have to wait before you can get them vaccinated? Because if I did get some more rabbits I would want to get them vaccinated as soon as possible so they don't get ill. If it's weeks you have to wait, then I would spend that whole time freaking out that they would get ill and the same thing will happen as last time :cry:.

I still feel so so SO guilty and it took me ages to get to sleep last night because I was thinking about them and how much I miss them :cry: .

Fwuff
 
Fwuff said:
Thanks for all the replies! I feel so supported :love: .

I'm not sure if my vets are very rabbit savvy or not. The vet that we saw on the day they passed away seemed fairly knowledgeable and was lovely. But I don't know how much she actually knew about rabbits. I'm pretty confident with our vets as we've been taking my cat there for 10 years (I'm a massive cat lover) and they've always been good with her. Though I guess cats are easier to understand and diagnose than rabbits. So basically I don't know how rabbit savvy they are. And changing vets isn't really an option because it is less than 5 minutes from where we live which is really convenient and we've been taking my cat there for 10 years so my parents probably wouldn't want to switch now. But they are qualified vets so I guess they know what they are doing.

I fully appreciate that it is better to adopt rescue rabbits. My cat is a rescue cat. But I totally fell in love with lionheads and I loved having Hope and Faith from 8 weeks and watching them grow and develop their personalities. So I think I probably will still buy from a breeder but I would never buy from a breeder that I wasn't sure about. The breeder we got Hope and Faith from was very knowledgeable and her and her children seemed to love what they did. And I would never buy from a breeder that advertised their rabbits as show quality because I would never take my buns to a show to be ogled at by hundreds of people and judged on how 'perfect' and 'pure' they are!!!

Also, how long after adopting a young rabbit (obviously over 8 weeks) do you have to wait before you can get them vaccinated? Because if I did get some more rabbits I would want to get them vaccinated as soon as possible so they don't get ill. If it's weeks you have to wait, then I would spend that whole time freaking out that they would get ill and the same thing will happen as last time :cry:.

I still feel so so SO guilty and it took me ages to get to sleep last night because I was thinking about them and how much I miss them :cry: .

Fwuff
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about vaccination, we had first combined one at 12 weeks (but I got mine a little late) and you have to wait two weeks after that before you can have the RHD2 vaccine :)


If it's suspected that your last two died from RHD2, you may want to look into cleaning the area in a certain way etc? I'm not sure how it spreads - wouldn't want for there to be traces left for new bunnies coming into the space.

Also regarding vets, you really need a good rabbit savvy vet, so many great vets have no clue about exotics unfortunately :( I have a vet very close by which in the past I've taken dogs, cats to etc, but I drive a fair distance just to get to my rabbit vet because the knowledge and care is just what's needed. You don't have to change your cats vet, but I'd seriously look for an exotics specialist before getting more bunnies xx

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
There are lots of lionhead rabbits in rescue. Young adults will already be vaccinated and neutered - so you don't have to go through the stress of getting them done, just make sure the booster vaccinations are done every year (and two weeks apart for myxo / RHD1 and RHD2). At this time of year, there are likely to be lots of baby lionheads available as well - although it leaves the most stressful bits for you to get done, and the potential for them to fall out prior to neutering. Hence the advice to get younger 'adults' - which basically means around 6 months old.

Have a look here for starters:
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/search.asp?inlocation=&RabAge=0&RabSex=&RabBond=&breed=7

There is also a search facility to find a rescue near you, although some will rehome across the UK, and it may be possible to organise a 'bunny run' to get them to you:
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/centres.asp
 
You can check out the RWAF for a rabbit savvy vet in your area - or check to see if yours is in the list:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

I believe baby rabbits have inherited immunity to RVHD and RVHD2 - not sure what age that is up to though. I know of at least one breeder, who rehomes her babies at 10 weeks, offers to get them myxi/RVHD immiunised before they are collected. As others have said there needs to be a 2 week gap before RVHD2 though.

HTH xx
 
I'm going to do some research this morning into my vets and see if it says anything about rabbits and I'll look at the reviews as well. And I'm also going to see if they do vaccines for RHD and RHD2 there, and if not, where they are available. And finally, how to fully disinfect a hutch because I want to make sure I've got rid of any nasties lurking in there. This is really gross, but none of us have been able to bring ourselves to go in the hutch and remove all the hay and straw that have been in there since Hope and Faith passed away. It must be absolutely disgusting in there :( .

Fwuff
 
Hello fwuff

I can completely relate to how you feel. We adopted 2 buns a year ago, and within the first 6 months one of my buns needed GA as he had a piece of hay stuck in his theist. He then got EC, and although we nursed him intensely, he died. It was extremely sad to see and emotionally and financially draining. We now have the one bun, and eventually plan to get another, but like you are concerned about what will happen.

It sounds like you're ready to get another, and like others I'd recommend getting a rescue bun. I guess you'll never be 100% ready, as there are some things you can't predict. But this experience won't be the same as the next one.
 
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