Our little bunny died today!

Question
QUESTION: We had a 3 month old mini holland lop.  She was very small in size.  Yesterday
we fed her some apple peels.  When we went to check on her this morning she
was laying down lifeless and breathing shallow.  I brought her inside and held
her, she looked like she was in alot of pain.  Then she died.  Do you think it was
the apples?
ANSWER: Dear Larisa,

I am very sorry about the loss of your little bunny.

Unless the apple peels were contaminated with something, it is not likely that they would kill her this quickly.  A diet high in sugar and starch can cause intestinal problems, as you can read here:

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

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

but you will usually see signs such as runny stool, lethargy, and inappetence before there is a tragedy.  Did she show any other signs of problems before she died?  If you're not sure, please read this, which tells you how to tell if a bunny is sick (and what to do if she is):

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

I am sorry this comes too late to help your little one.  But if you ever have another bunny, please feel free to write if you ever have any questions or think I can help.

Take care,
Dana

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

QUESTION: Dear Dana,
She seemed fine sunday morning before we gave her the apples.  She shared
a cage 24X48 with 2 other young rabbits (they come from different litters but
are the same age around 12 weeks).  We've had them since easter.  The other
2 are a holland lop buck and a rex doe.  Little dixie is what we named her was
a runt and very small.  She grew very little in the time that we had her.  The
other 2 will definetly grow to be full size for their breed.  Their regular diet
consists of rabbit pellets from cal ranch.  We were low on food and she may
not have eaten very many pellets on sunday.   Monday morning when I found
her laying still I picked her up and she began to slightly move and arch her
head back.  It was as though she were in pain.  Could she have chocked on
something?  How long can a bunny live without food?  We feed them
everyday.  We just ran a little low on sunday.   thanks, larisa

Answer
Dear Larisa,

It would be very strange for a bunny to die from not having pellets for one day, as long as she had water.  Water is critical, and should be offered in a bowl at all times.  It's also important to keep rabbits out of the heat.  They cannot tolerate temperatures warmer than about 78 Farenheit if they have no refuge or cool place to lie.  They can quickly succumb to heat stress/heat exhaustion or even heat stroke, espcially if they are small.

Without a necropsy, there is no way to know for sure why she died.  But if you wish to take this step, you can find a good rabbit vet here to help you:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Again, I am very sorry about your loss.

Dana