unknow death

Question
I just recently bought two dwarf rabbits, I have had them for about two weeks now an one has just died it has had diahrea for 3 or 4 days befor this so i put in a seperate cage an gave it fresh water an it died about 2 hours later. I had been giving them pellet food an sum hay every now an then i had put sum hay in his cage an when i found him he was kinda twitching an then he just stoped an i new he was dead i had found sum hay sticking out of his mouth. Do you have any idea what could of caused his death

Answer
Hi Anthony

It is impossible to say what caused your rabbits death without an autopsy.  However since it had diarrhea there are some pretty good clues as to what may have happened.

First of all if the bunny was young it may have been taken away from its mother to early.  Rabbits don't develop their necessary normal gut bacteria until they are almost 8 weeks old.  Any rabbits that are weaned before they are 8 weeks old are highly susceptible to mucoid enteritis.  This is where their stomachs get inflamed and they get diarrhea.  When this happens it is almost always deadly.  

If the rabbit had true diarrhea it was a true emergency.  Without immediate veterinary care there was no way to save it.  It would have needed IV fluid rehydration and electrolyte therapy.  It most likely died from dehydration.  Sadly if you didn't know this was an emergency that is probably what happened.

I am so sorry for what happened to your rabbit.  If the other rabbit shows any signs of illness please rush it to the nearest animal hospital right away.  True diarrhea is an immediate emergency in rabbits and they can die very quickly from it.

I hope that your other bunny is ok and again I am truly sorry for the loss or your friend.

Sincerely,

Pam