Lethargic Rabbit

Question
My 7 yo (we think - since we adopted him) dwarf rabbit died today.  I'm a wreck trying to figure out why.  Any help would be great for my conscious.  Here's what I've got:  Yesterday a.m. he was fine.  I fed him some organic greens (store bought) that I only today realized expired one day before I fed them to him.  Today, he was lathargic, had mucus (jelly like) in his tiny stool and crusted mucus all around his mouth and nose. He looked dead, and his breathing was compromised as I took him to the vet ASAP where she tried the oxygen chamber, antibiotics and then as she tried to hydrate my rabbit (IV)- he went into a seizure and died.  Vet said his heart was good but X-rays showed a lot of gastro-intestinal disruption and some possible fluid in his lungs.  My vet has now offered to do an autopsy to take a better look - it will just get too costly.  I had my "pound-rabbit" for 5 years...My face hurts from all crying I've done today - does this sound like a case of Salmonella?  Could I have unknowingly given him some bad veggies? Thanks.

Answer
Dear Debbie,

I am so sorry about the terrible, sudden loss of your friend.  As you probably know, only a post mortem exam would give a definitive answer to why he died.  But the signs you describe do give some clues.

If the radiographs showed that he had lung congestion, and you saw that his mouth and nose were crusted and congested shortly before he died, it is very possible that he had been suffering from cryptic pneumonia for quite some time.  This is a terribly difficult problem to notice and diagnose.  I have had bunnies who seemed fine one minute, and the next day they were gasping for breath and close to death.  It is very difficult to save a bunny who has severe pneumonia, once the lung congestion gets so bad that it also appears in the sinuses and trachea.

The really bad thing is that many rabbits with this ailment show almost NO signs at all.  Not even lung sounds, upon auscultation!  We had a bunny with such bad pneumonia that his lungs were nearly solid on radiograph, but he had NO abnormal lung sounds!  

Once the problem reaches a critical point, the best you can try is oxygen and nebulization with antibiotics.  But if the bunny was nearly moribund when you found him, there was really very little hope that he could recover.

What I'm saying, overall, is this:  You did NOT kill your bunny.  I cannot know for sure, but it sounds as if he may have had a very serious problem brewing for some time.  When a rabbit is very sick, the stress can cause a condition known as ileus--a cessation of normal peristalsis--and if this continues for any length of time, the microflora in the intestine can become severely compromised and an overgrowth of harmful bacteria can cause mucoid enteritis.  Please see:

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

I'm not saying that rabbits can't be infected with E. coli or other bacteria from contaminated fresh food.  But that is not the only reason they might show mucous stool.

I am so sorry for this terrible grief.  But I hope you can eventually tell yourself that you gave your friend a wonderful life, even if it was too short.  And he died while people were trying desperately to help him.  Somehow, I think they know that.

So mourn for him, and honor him.  But please don't blame yourself.  When a little body like this has such serious problems that come on so suddenly, there is very little we can do to reverse the damage that has been silently mounting.  Remember the joy you shared, and watch for signs that he's checking on you.  He's there, and will always live in your heart.

Take care,

Dana