weird death

Question
Dear Anyone who is reading this,

  My 2 month old dwarf rabbit just died today. It was a weird death because she looked healthy the night before she died. She ran around and ate her food. There was fresh water in the cage so she could not have dehydrated. The next day she died. Her body was stiff and her eyes were open. There was a strange yellow mucus next to the anus.

Answer
Sorry for your loss Nicole.  A 60 day old kit can get what is called Mucoid Enteritis - it is an afliction of the intestine where it starts sloughing off and causes a yellowish gel like evacuation - if it is severe it causes death by dehydration in 24 hours.  No one knows for certain what causes this - there are lots of ideas out there but no one has really a clue.  It can be caused by a bacteria - in that case there is a distinct smell to it and it can not smell at all.  Don't feel bad there was nothing you could do abut it nor cure it.  Here in my barn when I see it starting I sacrifice the animal so it will not suffer needlessly.  A couple of times I tried everything available and once I did save a small doe - but she was forever after with a digestion problem - her stools were never normal and she always had an extended abdomen.  She is still with me - two years later but I am not convinced I did her a favor by saving her.

Sheila