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rabbit sudden death

22 10:15:04

Question
my rabbit suddenly died tonight! She was 4 years old and doing very well, or so I thought, she always had a healthy appetite. A few weeks ago, I noticed some matting under her tail, near her anus, which was cleaned, then it came back and was cleaned again, she has never had this problem before. I came to see her tonight and noticed she couldn't get up, she was trying to get up and just kept turning in circles, then she had trouble breathing. All of a sudden, she turned on her side and she took her last breath! I couldn't believe what had just happened, all this happened in a matter of 2 minutes. She was herself all day and then this happens, I don't understand. I'm still in shock. I tried looking at all different diseases that she could of had, but no symptoms fit what she had. She had no discharge from anywhere,no change in food habits, there is nothing we had done differently with her, and there was nothing leading up to her death, maybe you can help, I want to know what happened! Thank you so much!

Answer
Hi Sarah,

First, please accept my condolences on the loss of your rabbit.  That is something that is always tough to deal with.  And I can tell by your concern that she is a very special rabbit....and that is how I started my rescue...with a very special rabbit.

Without a necropsy, it would be very difficult to pin down a cause.  I suspect the problem may be related to the matting you have been seeing under her tail.  Usually when that is seen, there is a bacterial imbalance in the GI.  It can be caused by almost anything....eating carpet, mold in the food or hay (and mycotoxins can occur in any brand of pellet or hay) or even bacteria in the water.  Sometimes this happens just a few days after opening a new bag of food or hay....if they contain mycotoxins.  Basically this is a problem caused by mold.  It is impossible to see and can only be found by lab analysis.  It it lethal in "parts per billion" which is minute.  Anything that upsets the natural balance of bacteria in the GI usually allows harmful bacteria, usually E Coli or Clostridium, to grow....and those are toxic to rabbits in large numbers.

Another possibility is a "vascular accident".  It is something similar to a stroke.  It can result in varying degrees of neurological issues but is most often fatal.

And, something I have only seen a couple of time....a "torsioning" injury.  This occurs sometimes if a rabbit kicks it's rear legs unopposed.  It usually happens when someone picks them up without supporting their rear legs....but can happen if they are running on a slick surface or they get their rear leg(s) caught in something and panic.  The most common injury in this case is a spinal luxation at L7...a vertebra in the trans-lumbar region.  That usually causes immediate and permanent paralysis.  But we have also seen that cause the intestine to twist.  That will result in the symptoms you described.  It's rare.

I wish I could give you a better answer.  I would suggest having a necropsy performed.  Your vet can arrange that.  In my state, the state run lab performs them for a very nominal fee.  That is the only way to get an accurate answer.

Again, my condolences.