My six month old bunny died

Question
I was wondering if I should get an autopsy done on my bunny. He died last night at just over six months old. He was a very active rabbit. He had been shedding, and I had been brushing him. He seemed as though he was in good health and spirits on Monday. Yesterday morning my roommates said he greeted them like he always does (by running around his cage like a little maniac). When I checked on him around noon, he was lying in his box and didn't come over to be pet; I thought he was tired because we had people over on Monday and if he stays up too late, he gets sleepy in the morning. I gave him some strawberry tops, and he didn't run over to eat them right away which was unusual but I thought he was just tired. He was pooping like normal, but wasn't eating as much, though he was eating his hay. It's summer and warm, but the weather was average, and we've always kept an eye out for if he seems to be getting too warm.

I left the house, and one of my roommates found him dead where he normally sleeps. I keep running over if his food would've made him sick(same stuff as always). He ripped the paper off of his litter box, and if that did it. He had been chewing on his litter box as well, but he did it to his old box too(he upgraded to a bigger sized box). He had been fixed last month, but he got through that very well, and was active to his normal capacity within a week.

I realize from going over answers to other questions that being lethargic and not eating very much are indicators that it's an emergency. He's acted tired and not hungry before, and was always fine by the afternoon. The vet(who I got referred to from someone who has rabbits) never indicated that he had any health issues.

I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it to get an autopsy done, to find out if I was negligent in some way, or if I should just let it alone.

Answer
Dear Tamara,

I doubt that anything you did contributed to your bunny's death, if he was getting a proper diet:

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

and was acting well up until shortly before he died.  An autopsy/necropsy must be done within a few hours of death, unless the body is kept very cold, so it might be too late for that.  In addition, histopathology on all major organs is sometimes the only way to get an answer with an post mortem exam, since a gross necropsy doesn't always show what happened.

I am very sorry about this tragic loss.  Many things can cause a swift end like this, though they are rare.  But please don't blame yourself.

Take care,

Dana