Could bringing a new rabbit in the house kill my bunny?

[Tia]

I posted a little bit ago that we were taking Milly’s mom in from her previous owner because Milly’s dad died. We got Roza the night before last and we set her up in our kitchen on the first floor to get used to being inside. Milly’s set up is on the second floor in a bedroom. Milly was fine yesterday morning. Happy, hoppy, and sassy as usual. We had to leave for part of the day and when I came home, Milly was a little slow and cuddly (and I thought she was purring, but now I’m wondering if it wasn’t some type of respiratory issue), but I thought it was because it was kind of late and she was tired. I gave her her greens and cuddles and she sneezed a couple times, which she hadn’t done before. There was a tiny bit of discharge, but it was clear and watery (which she gets when she’s a little stressed sometimes, but goes away within a couple hours). I got up at about 5am and checked on her and she was in her hidey house, sticking her head out and looking okay. I went back to sleep for a few more hours and then went to go check on her and feed her her morning food and she was laying on the ground, dead.

I am so confused and absolutely heartbroken. She would have been 32 weeks old tomorrow. That is way too young for her to die. And, I feel responsible and can’t figure out what I did wrong to kill her. 

Do you all think it is just a coincidence that Roza came to live with us right before Milly died, or is there something she could be carrying that traveled through the house to Milly? We do have cats that had access to both areas. The two buns were never together, and I probably wouldn’t even ask the question if Roza’s mate hadn’t died suddenly as well.

[Bam]

I’m so very sorry that Milly passed. It’s just so terribly sad. I’m quite convinced you didn’t do anything to cause her demise. Please don’t feel guilty. Buns can pass away like that, without warning.

The only disease I know of that’s so contagious that it could possibly kill a bun like that, in two days, even if the buns haven’t met, is Rabbit Hemorragic Disease. But I don’t see how Roza could be a healthy carrier, plus the disease isn’t endemic in the USA – in Europe we vaccinate against it but in the USA vaccination is not considered necessary. Does Roza appear healthy?

I too would’ve thought it was a coincidence if it weren’t for the fact that Roza’s husbun also passed suddenly.

Here’s some Wikipedia info about Rabbit Hemorragic Disease: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_haemorrhagic_disease.

Again I’m so sorry about Milly. She was far too young to die.

[Tia]

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it. I read over the Wiki and I’m sure she didn’t have that. I’m thinking she had a respiratory issue maybe. I had recently substituted my cats’ litter because their regular was out. The new litter was scented and Milly wasn’t used to that, along with getting stressed because of me moving her cage around some, might have put her over the edge.

Roza, other than being a bit stressed from the new situation is doing just fine. I wasn’t sure if she could carry something and not be affected by it. I knew they can suddenly pass, but it’s just so hard.

[Eepster]

It sounds more like a coincidence than that Roza is a carrier of something. Between the speed and the isolation it seems really unlikely.

Have you considered asking your vet to do a necropsy?

[Tia]

I agree that it was a coincidence at this point. Now that I have a little better head about it all.

I don’t think there is a need for a necropsy on her.

At this point, I’m going to try and concentrate on Roza and getting her acclimated to being an indoor bunny, getting litter trained, spayed, on a much better diet, and just all around loved.

Thank you, again, to both of you for your responses.

[Author]

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