rabbits death?? what could it be

UKTigerlily

I see nothing wrong with rabbits being kept outside so long as they are warm enough, which this one was. The OP didn't ask for our opinions on whether her rabbit lived in a 5* hotel or on the streets, so why upset them further by making out their rabbit would've been suffering with cold also?

sharon4adam

i find theres always someone who tries to make u look bad on here. hes survived 3 winters so he can handle british weather. what do u do in summer when there hot? put them in an air conditioned room? carrying muddy wet hutches into my house everytime its cold isnt practical. dogs and cats luve inside. birds live in cages and averies. rabbits and guinea pigs live in hutches. they have living compartments.

Tupperware_Queen

McKneff wrote: »

My post was not directed at the OP but at rabbits being kept outside in below freezing temperatures. I would be pleased if you would read it again. Had the OP rabbit died of the cold it would not have been in the ill state it was, it would have just been frozen stiff, with no other signs and if it came over that way then obviously I apologise.

I just feel it is wrong to leave a rabbit out in freezing weather no matter how many cover are on their hutches. I wouldnt leave my cat out and it is just as much of an animal pet as a rabbit is.

I read your post just fine. You clearly do not understand how to care for rabbits if you think you can bring them inside when its cold and then put them back out again, that will cause them more problems.

And by commenting like that on a thread where the OP was asking for advice about her dead rabbit clearly sounds to me like having a go.

Blackpool_Saver

Tupperware_Queen wrote: »

You clearly do not understand how to care for rabbits if you think you can bring them inside when its cold and then put them back out again, that will cause them more problems.

of course not BUT they shouldn't be out there in the first place.

I won't come back to this, I am very sorry for your loss. I am an experienced owner.

sharon4adam

since when have rabbits not been for outside. that is rubbish. cages are for house rabbits. i think youl find rabbits live outside in hutches ask pet shops why they sell outdoor hutches and runs

saveupthesmiles

Seriously? Rabbits live outside in the wild! My rabbits survived 4 foot of snow for two months 3 years ago and 2 years ago. As long as they're wrapped up in their hutches and water is thawed they're fine.
OP, it sounds like shock possibly from another animal coming close. I doubt there's anything that you could have done.
Ignore those who clearly don't have experience. First she thinks you shouldn't have them inside, then she thinks you shouldn't have them outside, not a clue.

sobie

Im so sorry to hear of your loss. Did your Rabbit seem like it had lost its balance? Did its head tilt to one side towards the end? or shake like it had a stroke.

About 10 years ago My Dwarf Lop (he was a house bunny but thats personal preference) broke his toes jumping of something he shouldn't have. We had really good vets, he'd been at least every six months for his boosters (I live in a high risk mixi area) he'd once had an ear infection and had drops for that. So took him to the vets because it was like his back legs completely stopped moving, They said just leave him, keep his bum clean and keep him warm and see what happens. He made a full recovery.

Then a couple of years later it happened again. His back legs just gave in on him. I kept him under the conditions he was in when it happened before. A few days later, no improvement and I when I got home from work his head was tilted to one side and he was banging his head on the carpet, he had completely lost his balance.

I phoned the emergancy vet (it was 6pm on a Saturday night) and they said to bring him straight over.
When we got to the vets they said he had encephalitis. A virus of the brain. The vets said they could try antibiotics but he was in such a servere condition they wasn't sure he'd improve enough to eat (as you know rabbits have to continually eat or their guts shut down) I was so distressed, it was so awful to see him like that and so I made the difficult decision to have him put to sleep.

encephalitis is the same virus as HSV Herpes simplex/ Cold Sores. Links are begining to be made between humans that have developed cold sores passing the virus to their rabbits.
I hadn't ever had cold sores so that wasn't how my bunny developed the virus. But If you have a cold sore, please don't kiss your bunnies and wash your hands well before handling them, just to be safe rather than sorry.

sharon4adam

Hiya yeah they are fine when its snowy. my other bunny still alive and well and living outside loves watching the snow fall. this is proberly irrelevent but my rabbit never got the hang of pooing and weeing in his liter tray or going in a corner so he got his hole hutch wet and dirty. every sunday there hutches are cleaned and disenfected. around christmas time i found his feet were dirty and and his back legs were matted. My dad said just put lots of clean saw dust in and he should clean himself back up. He seemed to b ok after that. on wednesday morning i noticed at 7.30 in the morning he was sat looking all puffed up with his eyes shut at his mesh but i thought he was just sleeping. He seemed ok until i got home friday and hed ob got out at that point.. he was really good in the garden never went under the bushes and i could before our neighbours moved in with cats let him wander in the garden for hours and keep an eye on him. he loved it. my other thought was what if hed been in the snow when he got out that could of shocked him.

before anyone judges me for this aswel it was a genuine error him getting out his hutch.

thankyou again for everyone thats been so nice to me.

rising_from_the_ashes

Tiglath wrote: »

the vet said the paralysis was probably caused by being scared by a fox and that her internal organs went after that as she went into shock. If your cage was open, it's possible he was scared by a fox, if not actually attacked.

Ohhhh hun so sorry about your rabbit - what a shock it must've been

Although it could've been a virus as others have suggested - to me something like Tiglath's suggested above seems much more likely - the fact that it happened when the door was open and he was all muddy must suggest that this could be the cause.

It seems much more feasible to me that he's managed to get out and something has given him a huge fright .... poor bun xx

MrsDrink

Sorry to hear of your loss. x