My bunny’s sudden death…

[alazka]

I got a bunny for my birthday from a friend. I was very happy to accept it, since bunnies are the cutest living thing ever. And I do know the consequences of taking care a bunny—since I’m also a newbie. His name is Riku, he’s a small white-lightish brown furred bunny that lived in my house for only 6 days. I don’t know what I did wrong, he was fine the other day and beforw.. I gave him food, drink, a nice place to sleep.. But just today, I found him lying dead.. I thought he was joking, but no. He really died.

Maybe he’s hungry? Perhaps the amount of food I gave him wasn’t enough.. Or maybe he’s stressed d because I keep him inside the cage for too long? (We have a dog living near by, I won’t risk it being eaten). Or maybe the loud barking noise the dog made scared him? I don’t know for sure but I’m so sad and I couldn’t stop crying. Typing this is hard but I want to express how I feel and I wonder if anyone also experience this as well? it’s still a mystery on how he died… And can anyone give me tips for a newbie like me, so I won’t make the same mistake twice? I guess my parents wanted me to buy another one to cope my sadness.

He was sweet, cute, hyperactive bunny.. so sad that you died because of my carelessness. :’)

RIP Riku (27 March-2 April). You’ll be missed.

I’m sorry if there are mistakes, English isn’t my first language.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Welcome to the forum! I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your new bunny friend

There are many reasons why rabbits can die, and it’s nearly impossible to tell why Riku passed away. They are very susceptible to stress and wrong feeding, and common causes of death are heart attacks and digestion problems. Did you see any weird runny poop, did the rabbit hide away, or did the rabbit stop eating/pooping in the 24 hours before he died? That’s a sign of a digestive issue, which can often be lethal in rabbits.
Dying so young may also indicate a health problem or a rabbit that was taken away from its mother too young. Did you know where you friend bought Riku? Pet stores or unreliable breeders may sell rabbits which are too young to leave their mothers. They look cuter, but they aren’t fully developed yet and the can die easily. Here’s a good guide to getting a new rabbit: http://www.rabbitmatters.com/buying-a-rabbit.html

Personally, I think it’s a very bad habit to buy a pet for someone else, as they should be the ones to make the choice and prepare themselves properly. Please talk to your friends about that and ask them to stop doing this for people. I’ll explain. Luckily you were happy with Riku, but many people feel uncomfortable and are unprepared. Rabbits are also difficult and expensive to care for, many people don’t expect this. You’ll definitely need special knowledge before getting one, rabbit care is very specialised.

They are by no means a low-maintenance pet, they’ll need about as much attention and care as a cat or a dog. They’re not an animal you can put in a cage and feed once a day, like you would do with a hamster. Rabbits are intelligent and have very strong personalities, they will get depressed if they don’t have enough social contact and toys to play with. Depression and loneliness can cut their life expectancy in half They need a lot of social interaction and require a calm and orderly household: many rabbits will get nervous around other pets or small children. If you work or are away a lot, you’re going to need 2 rabbits so they can keep eachother company. Rabbits can become as old as 8-12 years, and they need at least 3 hours a day of supervised exercise outside of their cage. That’s a huge commitment and time investment. Also think about the future: will you go to college or uni? Are you allowed to bring your rabbit there? Do you have plans to travel? Or do you dream of getting married and starting a family? All things to consider, because a rabbit will we part of your life for a long time. Consider them to be just as big an investment as getting a dog.

Vet care is also more expensive than that for cats and dogs, because you’ll need a vet which is specialised in rabbits. They’re considered exotic pets, later on in life vet bills can be very high. An example with prices in the Netherlands: our dwarf bun Breintje was neutered, this cost approx. €80. Rabbits need to be spayed/neutered because intact rabbits may develop health/behaviour problems. Breintje is 4,5 years old and quite healthy, but had some peeing issues last year. We took him to the vet, and she gave some advice about feeding. If the issues didn’t go away he’d need to get some blood tests and an X-ray. Costs for the vet visit: €30, costs for the X-ray and the blood tests: over €200!!!
Rabbits often develop dental issues when they become older, dental work on a rabbit can cost up to €800 per session.

This is exactly the reason why rabbits should not be given as gifts. The specialised care, the amount of time you’ll have to invest each day, the high vet bills… People don’t expect this, and the rabbit often becomes a heavy burden. This leads to a lot of rabbits who are (unintentionally) mistreated or “set free into nature” (this is a death sentence…).

Here are some good sites which can help you to read up on rabbits:
http://www.bunnyhugga.com/a-to-z/rabbit-behaviour/
The stickies here on the BB forum (above each subtopic there are stickies with a wealth of information)
The costs of a rabbit: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/4/PID/940/Default.aspx
The rabbit FAQ: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/25/PID/940/Default.aspx

Before getting another rabbit, please read up as much as you can. Make sure that you can spend at least 3 hours a day with your bun, make sure that you have adequate finances to handle such vet bills, and make sure that you can take care of the rabbit in the future. If you’re still convinced that a rabbit is the right pet for you, consider adopting one from a shelter. This way you’ll get a rabbit which is healthy, and desperately needs a loving home. Because they’re a bit older you can also see their personality and choose (a) rabbit(s) which matches your lifestyle.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions on the site, we’re here to help people and to help people make a well-informed decision on getting a rabbit.

[muffinandmunchbunny]

May Riku binky free in heaven 

Like Ellie said, rabbits can easily become stressed, and moving from one place to another can easily stress them out. Little things such as changing food over too quickly can cause gut statis (GI Statis) which can be fatal in rabbits. Was he eating before he died? He also may have been kept with a bunny friend, and loss of a friend can also stress them out. If you get another bunny, I recommend getting a plus one 

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