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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Bonded bunny lost mate

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    • maxpower
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        The last time I posted here was back in the early spring, when after 3 months our two rabbits, Max and Nyla, were finally bonded and living together.

        Last night, Max passed away 3 days after he started having trouble chewing his food and was getting some swelling on the right side of his jaw and face.  He’d been on painkillers/anti inflammatory and antibiotics since Sunday morning, when I had him at the emergency vet, and he was eating Critical Care really well with a syringe, so home treatment was going well, and I had an appointment set up for him with the exotic vet at the end of the week.  Throughout the day yesterday, though, I noticed he was kind of secluding himself in either one of a couple of smaller boxes in their play yard (the cage and x-pen yard are in our living room).  Nyla would lay with him sometimes, but he had stopped grooming her, so they spent much of the day in different areas of the cage/yard.

        By last night he stopped taking the food, and within about an hour his body was feeling cooler, he was becoming more lethargic, and the swelling was beginning to affect the left side of his face.  We knew he was ready to go, so we sat in the play yard with him, and within ten minutes he was gone.

        I left his body in the yard for a while so Nyla would see what was going on.  She went to him a few times to sniff him and groom at him a little, then would move on to eat or drink or lay somewhere else, and finally laid next to him for a while.  

        Eventually she got up again, ate some more, and moved to another part of the cage, so I removed his body.  I actually put him in with her one last time this morning, and she just sniffed him and moved on.

        We’re going to be spending lots of time with Nyla and I’m going to set up the room so that we can let her come out of the play yard when we’re home and she can come to us when she wants attention, rather than having to wait for somebody to go in with her; Max had been a big chewer of wires and master at getting into small places, so we had them blocked off in their own area.  My daughter, who is almost 9, also plans to take Nyla up to her room with her when she’s playing like she used to do before Nyla and Max were bonded.

        My biggest question is, what are anyone’s experiences with a rabbit that has lost her mate?  We won’t be getting another rabbit right now for several different reasons, so I’m doing things to make us more accessible to Nyla throughout the day (I’m a stay at home mom, so I actually do spend a lot of time interacting with our pets when I’m home).

        Will that be enough for her?  She had previously belonged to a teenager who surrendered her to the shelter when he had to leave for college and couldn’t take her with him, so she’d been a lone bunny for about a year and a half.  She and Max were together for about 5 months.

        Thanks so much for any input.


      • Flopsie
        Participant
        388 posts Send Private Message

          i’m sorry for your loss. This is so sad for me, I think that as much as it impacts us, I feel worse for the bunny. I’m sorry I don’t have anything to add but I wish you the best of luck


        • tobyluv
          Participant
          3310 posts Send Private Message

            I’m very sorry about the loss of Max. Over the years, I have had 5 pairs of bunnies, where one was left when the other passed away. You are doing the right thing by spending as much time as possible with Nyla, and the fact that she will be able to interact more with your daughter and get to spend time in other places is also a good thing.


          • Kokaneeandkahlua
            Participant
            12067 posts Send Private Message

              I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s hard when a pet loses their buddy too, because you grieve on their behalf too.

              You may see some behaviour changes, but she’ll adjust. It sounds like she is coping very well; and though it’s hard I think you did a wonderful thing allowing her to be with him. That gives her time to realize.

              If she’s eating and drinking, peeing and pooping-she’ll be just fine. Extra attention is great. If you can move her pen/cage into a very central location (family room, kitchen etc) that’s great too. Or more out time with you is good too.


            • LittlePuffyTail
              Moderator
              18092 posts Send Private Message

                I don’t have any experience with this, but I want to offer you my condolences on the loss of your bunny.

                ((((Binky Free Max))))


              • dude.the.rabbit
                Participant
                41 posts Send Private Message

                  We are going through this right now also. Our sweetheart Sandy lost her husbun on Thursday. She seems to be ok but mostly just sits and stares at us. This morning when I let her out of her cage, she ran around the family room looking (perhaps for Dude) and then settled down and ate. It breaks my heart, but after what I went through this week, I’m not ready for another bunny. We have complications as Sandy has some problems of her own we are trying to heal. I sympathize with you and hope everything goes well!


                • maxpower
                  Participant
                  7 posts Send Private Message

                    Thanks so much for the comments and kind words, everyone (and dude.the.rabbit, I’m so sorry for your loss ). Good luck to you with Sandy’s problems.

                    Nyla seems to be doing well. She’s eating and drinking fine, and we’ve got things arranged now so she can come out of the cage/yard area and roam the rest of the living room while we’re in it. I think it’s helping her to have a nice big area to explore and stay busy with, and she comes to us when she’s looking for attention.

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                Forum BEHAVIOR Bonded bunny lost mate