Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > hes gone

hes gone

22 10:30:08

Question
QUESTION: I had two bonded minilop brothers. yesterday a pig dog got in and killed one. i cannot stop crying. i do not know what the other brother heard or saw but i brought him inside for night.  He didn't eat.  We buried the killed one today and then i read on the internet the other bunny should 'view' the 'body' of his mate.!!!! oh no!! its too late.  I have taken survivor back to his hutch and secured the area .  there was no bloodshed inside the hutch (hutch is rather a large room made of chicken wire and wooden trelis over the wire.) It was bunny heaven. The dogs grabbed the bunny outside in his run. (i will never forgive myself for leaving the door open for that time) the survivor is thumping his feet always, he is obviously traumatized.  i am sooo sad, i dont no wot to do. its too late to show him his mate is dead. i wish yesterday was a nightmare and i will wake up soon and it didn't happen.
what can i do?

ANSWER: Hi Tracey,

I am sorry for your loss, it sounds horrible.   I feel for your little guy who lost his buddy too.  

I will be straight with you here.  I believe you need to strongly, strongly consider bringing your surviving bunny inside to be a house rabbit.  

The dog that killed your rabbit knows that's where to go to get rabbits.  He's going to try it again.  I don't believe you ought to subject your other rabbit to this potential.

It is better that he's inside now with you to have someone else to bond with, now that his mate is gone.  Humans can fill the gap, and he needs you guys around him more, to keep him going and get past the trauma he suffered.

If he is inside with you you can monitor him more closely.  If he isn't eating or drinking you will pick up on it quicker and be able to syringe feed him water and pellet mush if you have to.

Inside you know he's safe.

It will be very hard for your guy to continue in the hutch area without your other buddy.  It may be easier for him to live inside in a different area for a new start.

Unfortunately this is a potentially fatal flaw in keeping rabbits outdoors.  inside they are much safer and generally live twice as long as a hutch bunny does.

Right now, all the items that your bunny that passed away had, do not wash them or get rid of them.  Let them be around your living bunny, let him have his bedding and towels and toys that have his scent on them.  Eventually the scent will wear off, and that will help him to understand his pal is gone (because you didn't do the closure thing before burial).  

You made some honest yet huge mistakes, I would try to learn from it and change things so that they cannot happen again.  Part of it is bringing your remaining guy indoors.  Get an indoor cage that looks nice.  Prevue-Hendrix makes excellent indoor cages that look like furniture - like a baby crib, almost.  They are fantastic and easy to clean.

Again, I am sorry for your loss.  Another animal getting one of my guys before I can get to him (and all mine are indoors) is one of my worst fears.  You need to have bonding time with your remaining guy.  You need to take the place of him for now.  I don't suggest getting another bunny right away.  It's not about replacement.  He needs time to get over losing a friend, AND the trauma of the attack.  He's scared about being attacked too.  All the more reason to put him inside with you.

Lee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hello. Have taken your advice and bunny is eating and pooing again (thank god!).  I had him on my knee then my puppy crept up my legs and started licking bunny's ears!  I almost cryed with joy.  Bunny shut his eyes and let her groom him.  bunny still grunts or honks while he's in his cage inside when the pup is at the gate, but baby steps i guess!  My question is:
i have noticed in the corner of bunny's eyes it is getting sunk in and dry and crusty.  Is it because he crys for his brother?  He is also not eating as much as he was 3 days ago.  Just nibbling on carrot now.  He was pigging out on the green leafy stuff when he finally got back his apetite , now he has slowed down.

Answer
Hi,

please take him in to your good regular rabbit vet.  When you start noticing physical changes it's good to get him looked at.

He's dealing with an extreme amount of stress, stress that can kill a rabbit.  Rabbits can be frightened to death without ever being touched by a predator.  He's probably physically weaker being off food and such for a day or two, and the stress he's absorbed probably took his immune system down.  

I would probably not let your dog lick him on the face.  Dog saliva and cat saliva are not the safest stuff for bunnies, and this also may be a big part of the problem he may be having.  Dog and cat saliva have a lot of nasty stuff in it, basically to infect prey that escapes an attack, so that it eventually takes them down.  Cat saliva is worse, but dogs have bad bacteria in their mouths too.  So I would not really be excited about dog saliva all over my rabbit.  With him being so stressed out, some kind of infection in the eye or sinuses may have taken hold.

Definitely take him in to your good, regular rabbit vet for an exam.  Tell him what's gone on, so they can get the proper context.  If you don't have a good regular rabbit vet, go to:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

Lee