one of my rabbits died

Question
I recently got two rabbits,brother and sister.i took them to the vets for a check up they was around 13 weeks old,they said they could be neutred.two weeks later (yesterday)i went outside to say hello and i found Rio (girl) lay down limp. Rooney (boy) sat beside her.i brought Rio in,she wasn't moving much.i was nursing her,whilst trying to arrange transport to get to vets,she started to have some sort of fit,her head went back,her body stretched out,it lasted a few minutes then she died in my arms.i don't know why.could you help?. Rooney keeps wandering around,looking for her.hes eating and drinking and getting loads of attention,but should i consider getting another rabbit (companion) for him,how long should i wait before doing so. we miss her loads. please could you help. thanks

Answer
Dear Jannine,

I'm very sorry about the terrible loss of your bunny.

Are you saying that Rio died a day after her spay surgery?  This isn't clear from your post, but please tell me.  This is not normal, and the vet should be made aware of it.  The surgery could have had something to do with her death.  This is not common, but it's not impossible.

The "fit" you saw was the agonal phase that often occurs just before death.  There is no way to know why she died without a necropsy, but if she *did* have a spay surgery the day before she died, then I would have a different vet do the necropsy to see if there was something that got botched.  The surgeon who did the spay is not likely to admit it if something went wrong.

You can find another vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

And yes, it would be kind to let Rooney pick a new mate.  But let him choose, as this will make it less likely that there will be fighting.  Contact your local rabbit rescuer:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

to set up a "blind date" with some eligible bachelorettes who are already spayed.

I am very sorry about your loss.

Dana