Mystery Rabbit illness

Question
Hi

I had to rush my rabbit down to the vet earlier today and they are still not sure what is wrong with him. He is just under a year old (neutered) dutch male rabbit and when I checked on him about midday he was lying by his litter tray shaking and quite cold to touch. His mouth and nose usually pink were greyish and his eyes were weepy. I took him down to the vets immediately and they said his heartrate and weight was fine but his temperature was very low so he has been taken in overnight to stay in an incubator.
When i rang this afternoon they said he was a bit brighter and not shaking anymore but they still don't know what was wrong. I wondered if you had any idea because his sister lives with him and is fine now but I'm really worried that she is going to get sick too if they can't work out what it is. He is fully vaccinated and lives outdoors.
Thanks
Catherine

Answer
Dear Catherine,

You need to get your bunny to a rabbit-savvy vet, now that the emergency vets have saved him from death by hypothermia.  There are so many different things that can cause this type of shock response that it would be impossible to list them all here.  He needs proper diagnosis and treatment in person.  I would suggest asking the vet to do bloodwork, take radiographs of chest and abdomen (if his color was bad, I have to wonder about respiratory problems), having a good listen to lungs, intestines, etc.  Have his molars checked for spurs.  A good, overall wellness check should reveal the problem.  Please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

Also be aware that hypothermia can be followed by ileus:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

It's not likely that his sister will also get sick, unless this is viral.  But if they are bonded, she should be with him for moral support.  Try to get her back with him.  Don't worry about exposure to illness, since if it were anything contagious, she would already be exposed.  Most things like this are *not* contagious in rabbits.

Hope he will be okay.

Dana