Worried about my bunny!

Hi all I have two rabbits, siblings their separated at the moment as opposite sex until we get them both done. Daisy the female has been different lately.. loosing weight and very tired! She's been out in the run today and was just sleeping. I am ringing the vets tomorrow for the first vaccinations too as their 12 weeks old. What could be up with her?.. I check her bum daily!

Has she lost a lot of weight?

She's always been small compared to Her brother Henry but id say it was dramatically a lot but I can tell she's lost a little! She's very tired too.

It wasn't dramatically a lot* sorry on phone

This question has a multitude of answers.

As always the first thing to check is teeth - if she is not eating because she has dental pain then the lethargy and weight loss will follow.

But then that is only the most obvious answer. You vet is the best one to ask. I am not sure the vet will want to give her a vaccination though if she is poorly.

Her teeth appear to be in top shape.. Yeah my mums really worried also we're ringing vets in the morning!

It's the back teeth that are hard to see that often cause the problems - especially in Lionheads. Even with an otoscope spurs can be hard to see. Bruce has sometimes been sedated in order for our lovely vet to see his spurs.

Ok, the front seem fine, ill leave the vet to see her back ones as I don't have a clue what I'm looking for I hope she's okay.

Sounds like it could be teeth although she is rather young. Does she have dribble or clumped fur under her chin?

The other thing it could be is the heat - but you are doing the right thing getting her thoroughly checked.

Does she have normal looking poo?

No, nothing around her mouth. I hope it's nothing serious she's only young! Her poo seems fine. It's just her weight that is worrying me. Ill have to get some scales to weigh them in the future. What sort of scales do they need?

It depends how big they get (and how good). I can get Bruce in a big bowl on the kitchen scales but not Flo. The benefit of having a good friendly vet is that they don't mind you nipping in for weighing or teeth checks.

You will quickly learn on this forum the 2 things we almost always say when a bun is ill 'is it teeth?' and 'How's the poo?' but it often is teeth or tummy.

I brought some baby scales from amazon. They were about 30 quid but I want having any luck with either kitchen scales or people scales so invested. They seem much more accurate.

Let us know how she gets on hunni.

Is she eating a good quality alfalfa hay? It has extra calories that she may need to grow. Some bunnies just need that bit extra to develop well.  

How is she today?

Daisy has gone to heaven now.. Im so upset I don't know why she has passed away I wish I knew. Henry is booked in for today when my mum is back from work. I didn't know Daisy that long but when she was healthy she was such a happy bunny and binkyd so much! I wish Henry hasn't got what she has and I wish they had gone for their vaccs sooner, I feel like it's all of my fault. I just hope Daisy passed away with no pain..

I am so sorry about Daisy. Don't blame yourself. The truth is that Buns are most likely to get ill when they are very young or very old. It could well be that Daisy had a congential issues that caused her problems. However her symptoms could well be due to VHD as symptoms can be loss of appetite and lethargy but usually it is much quicker than you described. Have a good chat with you vet about this. I would also think it was a good idea to take daisy to be cremated rather than burying her in the garden - just to be safe. If it is something like VHD you are also going to need to do a really good cleaning job to protect Henry. I would advise immediately cleaning everything with a weak solution of biological washing powder as VHD is carried by spores in urine so all litter trays and any surfaces that bunny feet have had contact with will need cleaning. Also ask your vet if there is any cleaning agent they recommend you to use later on.  Henry is also going to be very lonely so you will need to give him lots of attention. We have a good sticky on recognising emergency situations which may be useful to you over the next week or so with Henry - https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t78-emergencies-when-your-rabbit-needs-a-vet-now

In time you may want to find Henry another partner in which case I would advise you to talk to Sparky about good rescues in your area.

But for now don't blame yourself - these things happen with young buns.

Oh sweetie, I am so sorry to read this! What a shock!

Do not blame yourself. It likely had nothing to do with them not having had their vaccinations. Sometimes they just aren't meant for our world

I'm sure you will anyway, but make sure the vet has a good look at Henry.

I don't want to sound insensitive at this time but if you want to know what happened to little Daisy, the vet could perform a post mortem.

I'm so sorry you lost Daisy. Huge :hugs:for you and Henry.

Sleep well Daisy x

When we picked her up she had blood from her eyes resting in her tear ducts if that's any clue? Unless that's what happens to every bun that's passed away I don't know. It was a shock for me, I just wish she was still here she was too young to go! Thanks for all the information they have separate cages as Henry hasn't been done yet.. But they where always face to face each other and I let them play in the run together. Henry is in the run right now and I think he's confused. I will still thoroughly clean out Daisy's cage as I don't want anything passing onto Henry.. It was so heart breaking seeing her lead lifeless. I hope she's in peace now! Little princess.

R.I.P Daisy doo!

Unfortunately that does sound like VHD. Again I reiterate that you should not blame yourself. VHD has no treatment so you could not have done anything and the chances are she would have died very quickly at the end. Here is the link to our sticky on VHD - https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t34-viral-haemorrhagic-disease-vhd-vaccination

I have just read it all.. Oh my goodness it says it spreads fast. I'm so scared of Henry getting it now.. He isn't having his vaccs until this afternoon! What can I clean everything with until my mums home and we can go buy some detergent. Is there any human cleaning stuff I can use? Or hot water and soap? I don't know I'm worried now. Thanks for the help though. I'm more than certain she passed away due to VHD.

Bless your heart!  I know from experience, as many here do, how badly it hurts to loose somebun so very close. Daisy was a stunning bunny.  Such sweet looks from her little face made my heart melt.

Please don't blame yourself.  Vaccinations take time to become fully effective anyway and she was very young.  How long have you had Daisy and Henry?  You may wish to notify the breeder, pet store or rescue where you got them.  They may need to sterilize everything just to be sure all is well.

Please know you are in our prayers and may God send his angels to bring you comfort.

Biological washing powder. See Cheryl's reply at 12:28.

I've read this in the past so just passing it on..
If you are wearing clothes that you had on when you touched Daisy, get changed.
Also clean the soles of your shoes you have been wearing around Daisy.

I'm sure you would anyway make sure you tell the vet you suspect VHD.

Thank you she was beautiful with her big golden eyes. I miss her
We got them both off a woman and her rabbit had pregnancy 'mistake' with her neighbours bun. Then she said she will be becoming a breeder. We got them mid May and she said they where 8 weeks but they where actually only 6 weeks old.
When I went to put both buns in the run I was wearing no shoes or socks?.. I will scrub my feet (I do anyway, but just to be on safe side). I was also in my PJS but their in the wash now, how about Henry.. do I need to clean him with a damp cloth or anything? I will also scrub the bars of the run. She didn't venture around it yesterday just lead and closed her eyes, but just to be on the safe side.
Thank you so much

As well as clean it, are you able to move the run to a different area of the garden?

Yes! I will do that just now.