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Dutch Bunny longivity

22 11:35:26

Question
We lost our Dutch Bunny today (06-04-04)after a very short illness. His vet said he had liver problems, & almost all of his organs were in bad
shape as well, and due to low blood pressure, they couldn't get enough blood for a difinetive testing sample.
Coco-Puff was 7 years, 8 months, & 15 days old today, & we have had him since he was just over 8 weeks old.
He has always had a good appitite & very playful & loving until last Friday. His health declined very rapidly to the point he couldn't even swallow food made into almost a liquid, with medicines mixed in, & stopped eating & drinking completely yesterday.
The vet said we might as well take him home because she could do no more for him.

Questions: What is the life expectancy of a Dutch?
Do they (or rabbits in general, get so seriously ill so rapidly that they go from normal, playing, loving, parts of the family to dying in 4 days, even with care?

Thank you.
Weldon  

Answer
Dear Weldon,

An eight year old Dutch bunny isnot old.  This particular breed tends to have one of the longer rabbit lifespans, with some individuals reaching well into their teens.  A lot depends on care and diet, however.  If you say that he had liver problems, then the first thing that comes to my mind was:  what was his diet like?

I know you loved your friend dearly.  And many people who adore their bunnies buy them what's sold as "gourmet" rabbit food that's sold to attract the human eye--but is extremely unhealthy for rabbits.  If your bunny's regular pelleted food contained any seeds, dried fruit, nuts, etc. in addition to green, alfalfa-based pellets, then this was very likely a contributing factor in his liver degeneration.  A diet like this, suited for rodents but not rabbits, promotes obesity and fatty liver degeneration.

If your bunny was inappetent for several days before he died, then it also is possible that the fasting caused the liver damage.  Rabbits are designed to constantly nibble and always have a full stomach and intestine.  If they do not eat, hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver degeneration) can start to occur within 24 hours or even sooner.

I wish I had been able to contact you when this first started happening.  I am so sorry about the terrible loss of your friend and family member.  The autopsy results are conclusive about the cause of death (massive organ failure), but not about what caused it. And this could be due to any number of things, from chronic infection to diet too rich in starch and fat, to undiagnosed dental problems that caused chronic GI tract slowdown and a condition called "cecal dysbiosis" that can progress and cause liver damage.

I know it's too late for me to help your friend, and by the time he started to get sick it might already have been too late to help him if the problem really was his liver from the outset.  But you might get some clues from reading the following articles:

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

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

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

In answer to your second question:  No, rabbits do not always "crash and burn" this way.  Sometimes they do, but in many cases you can learn to recognize very subtle signs of illness that help you know that there's a problem even before the *bunny* knows.  The "sickbun.html" article above will help you with that.

I hope this helps get you started on the hard road to closure and knowing what happened.  Please write back if you have more questions.  I am very sorry about your loss.

Sincerely,

Dana