5 week old rabbits

Question
the adults are not related we bought them at two different stores.  As for the babies, they do not have runny stools, they seeem to be eating and drinking fine.  They have been held at least once a day just to check them as well.  The last one to die was fine, then seem to get a bit lethargic out of no where almost lazy and within an hour or two that was it.  I don't understand at all.  Thanks again
-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
I have holland lops, they are my daughters pets, they had bunnies 5 weeks ago.  The mother had 10 kits, we are down to 2, I lost one yeterday and today, I have no idea why they were doing great.  They are eating timothy hay, plain pellets and all drinking water.  I change the wood chips every other day, so the cage is clean.  Do you have any idea what could be going wrong, this is getting really sad?  Thank you

Answer -
Dear Sue,

There are dozens, if not hundreds of possibilities for the babies to die, and without more symptoms and information, I can hardly even guess.  But if the parent rabbits are related to each other, there could be a genetic problem.  Holland Lops are inbred as it is, and breeding close relatives could be disastrous for the babies, as harmful recessive traits are more likely to be expressed in the children of an inbreeding mating.

Please read:

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

and also:

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

to try to determine what might be going wrong.  Watch for signs of runny stool, which can be quickly deadly in very small babies:

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

I hope this helps.

Dana

Answer
Dear Sue,

I would again direct you to the following article:

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

The only way to truyly know what is going on would be to take one of the deceased bunnies to a good rabbit vet for a post-mortem exam.  It could be any of dozens of different things, and without an actual examination, there is just no way to know what's going on.

I hope this helps.

Dana