In this guide, we break down the scientific findings to bring you clear, evidence-based statistics on sudden death in pet rabbits, including why it happens and what can be done to prevent it. As more information is available from around the world, we are starting to gain a comprehensive understanding of this issue. Several large-scale scientific studies published from 2015 onwards are illuminating the causes of premature pet rabbit deaths. However, as rabbits are an increasingly popular pet worldwide, more information is becoming available about the prevalence of various illnesses and causes of death. Until recently, there simply wasn’t enough data to draw conclusions about certain aspects of pet rabbit health – at least, not in the way we can about dogs and cats. At least 30 species of common plants are toxic to rabbits 3% of rabbit deaths are from cardiac problems, including heart attacks Nearly 5% of deaths in rabbits are caused by trauma Encephalitozoon cuniculi causes nearly 1 in 10 rabbit deaths Almost 11% of rabbit deaths are due to fly strike One in six of rabbit deaths are due to gastrointestinal stasis Heatstroke is the cause of 15% of sudden deaths in pet rabbits Neoplasms or cancers cause 1 in 4 deaths in rabbits aged five and above Myxomatosis can kill up to 99% of infected rabbits, and there is no vaccine in the US Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) is a leading cause of sudden death in rabbits, with a mortality rate of 90% Top 10 Statistics on Sudden Death in Rabbits.

Rabbit fly strike