what could have caused our rabbit to die

Question
Hello, my daughter received "cuddles" our pet rabbit for christmas 06. he was about 4-5wks old at that time. On Sunday June 10th he just died. We kept him inside all the time.  we would only take him out when cleaning his cage you know, so he could get some fresh air. when we brought him back in on Sunday he was just stretched out. we poured water on him and tried giving him a drink of water but he just wouldn't move and he was breathing unusually fast. I thought he may have gotten too hot BUT he goes out for about 15mins like this EVERYDAY. One other note, for the past few weeks, there had been a lot of green flies inside our house where cuddles was, but they were not around him we're not sure where they were coming from. After he died, we have not seen ANYMORE flies in the house at all. He wasn't sick or anything cause his stools were looked like small pellets and his urine didn't seem to change. He was just as playful the night before as ever. Any other reasons he could have died? He loved the grass/hay and didn't ever eat much of the pellet rabbit food and he did gain a bit of weight but I wouldn't say that he was overweight maybe just growing he was at least 5-7lbs

Answer
Hi Sarah

Sadly there is no way to tell why cuddles died without necropsy.  Many times rabbits die and we never know why.  You noticed he wasn't acting right but thought he was just over-heated.  Rabbits have this amazing ability to hide their illnesses so that they won't fall prey to predators.  Often times you don't know there is anything wrong with them until it is too late.  The first sign that you noticed with cuddles was that he was stretched out and lethargic.  Since you just thought he was over-heated you did everything you could.  Sadly he had some problem that was fatal.  He may have got into something while he was outside.  He could have hurt his spine.  Rabbits can get spine injuries just by kicking their feet in the air.  There are just so many things that could have happened.  I really think the flies were just attracted to his smell.  Sometimes rabbits can get a fly strike and the flies will lay eggs on their skin.  The fly larvae will infest itself under the skin and the maggot will grow inside the rabbit.  If this had been the case you would have noticed the lump, unless it somehow got into his brain.  I just don't think the flies were really a significant issue.

I am so sorry for the loss of your little cuddles.  You were obviously very loving rabbit parents and took such great care of him.  Please don't feel like you did something wrong.  It is so sad I know but sometimes it just happens.

Please check out this site.  It was made for people who are suffering the loss of a loved pet.  It brings me great comfort every time I read it and listen to the song.  I hope you can find some peace.

http://www.hgrabbitry.com/rainbowbridge.htm

Sincerely

Pam