# Death of a bunny in a bonded pair



## swingtown

Today one of our bunnies (Oreo) passed away rather unexpectedly at the vets. She had injured her foot last night and seemed okay, but passed away in the waiting room at the vet's office.

Oreo was part of a bonded pair with our other bunny Tank. I started doing research as to what to do for the surviving bunny when their friend dies. Most sites say to have them lay by the deceased bunny for a few hours. I didn't know this until after I left the vet this morning, so that is not an option at this point.

What are the best ways we can help her grieve? Some sites I looked at said to get another bunny pretty quickly. What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks!


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## slavetoabunny

I'm so sorry for your sudden loss of Oreo. Some bunnies do fine and others grieve very hard. I would spend more time giving attention to Tank and make sure that she is eating and pooping OK. I've seen a few cases where a new companion was the only thing the got a grieving bunny to recover.


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## 1234bunnies777

I just experienced this with one of my bunnies Tank probably just lost his whole world because that was who he spent all of his time with him it is your job to try to replace Oreo and try to spend as much time possible with Tank this will be difficult but make sure you spend as much time as possible with him.

Also make sure he is eating ok because this is the number one concern with a loss of one bunny in a bonded pair because most bunnies do get depressed and not eating is something very common for a bunny to do in this situation.

So sorry for your loss 
good luck


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## LakeCondo

Give plenty of attention & see how he does. When & if you decide to find another rabbit, you might consider Red Door Shelter in Chicago. It's on the far north side, almost in Evanston & do speed dates. They're at reddoorshelter.org.


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## sos64

I lost my bunny on Friday .. and he was together with Mrs P for 7 and a half years .. my vet advised to find a companion sooner rather than later. She was on her own for only a day and night and was very quiet and off her food. I had already been to the local rescue place and took her down there yesterday to bond with another bunny. Apparently they are getting on fine and are snuggled up together and I am off to collect them both soon. Had she not bonded with this bunny the lady at the rescue place would have tried another bunny. My advice .. go to a rescue place and give an older bunny a new home and ur bunny a new companion. Much love from the UK xx


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## Nela

That's a tough one. Many bunnies go through a serious and quite scary mourning process when their mate passes. Some mourn and then bounce back and adapt and live well on their own, while others never get back to their normal selves unless they find a new mate. Going off feed, looking distant, and generally just not wanting to do anything is a concern. One of my previous buns was just lost when my girl passed away. She was his whole world and I almost lost him for it too. He eventually paired himself off with another boy and was back to normal (though the bond wasn't the same as with his girl) until that boy also passed away. Poor guy was just lost after that and I nearly lost him a second time. The only thing that brightened his day was taking him outside, and eventually I let him go to another family who had the perfect girl for him and access to a large yard during the day. In the end, I think the bun will let you know what they need and want. Like others have said, if you think he needs a mate, a shelter would be the best place to look. They can do the bunny-dating thing and he can pick out his own mate which usually results in some pretty awesome bonds forming. For now, I would give him a bit of time to 'deal' but keep a very watchful eye on him. Making sure he is drinking, eating, peeing, and pooping like normal. 

Poor lil guy. So sorry to hear about your Oreo.


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## swingtown

Thanks for all of the responses. After a lot of thought and consideration, we decided to adopt another bunny from a local shelter. We took Tank on a few dates with some bunnies, until she clicked with a male bunny named Kirk. I will post pictures later when I get home.


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## LakeCondo

Congratulations on finding the right new rabbit.


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## swingtown

Here is Kirk, Tank's new partner in crime


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## ZRabbits

*swingtown wrote: *


> Here is Kirk, Tank's new partner in crime


Congratulations! Kirk looks like a sweetie. Wishing Tank and Kirk a long and happy partnership!

K


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## MiniLopHop

What a cutie. I'm so sorry for your loss, but it's good you were able to save another life. It looks like Tank and Kirk will be great together.

A couple months ago we lost Cinderella. Houdini was with her to the end so he knew what happened, but he went into a very deep depression. Normally he is such a happy guy hopping all over the house and getting into mischif, but his partner in crime was gone. He layed in the doorway of their burrow with his chin on the floor for two days. He wouldn't eat or groom himself. When I held him he was just limp in my lap. I was so worried of losing him too we took him to a rescue. As soon as he saw Sophie he started to groom himself and perked up. Now they are happy as clams getting into trouble together.


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## Rclark195

My rabbit went to the vets but died over night at the vets and my other rabbit that lives with her at home is on her own, she eating and drinking


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