Hey guys. Long time no see. Not sure if anyone here still remembers, but I used to have an account (u/sewing_girl_101) that I regularly posted updates on these guys on. To quickly recap, I took in 4 bunnies from a terrible neglect case with no experience while I was a full-time college student with a part time job who ended up having very expensive and time consuming medical needs. Two passed away within the first year and, unfortunately, T-Shirt passed away in June.
I deleted my old account and have been off of reddit since for personal reasons, but I wanted to provide some closure on this chapter for anyone who was still keeping up with them. We believe one of T-Shirt's lung abcesses finally ruptured and drowned him, something the vet warned was a possibility at any time once we discovered them. He was given two weeks to live in early 2024 and lived right at a year after. I am so grateful for all of the support, financially and otherwise, that this group provided through the years with them.
Jack will never be allowed with other rabbits without a barrier in between them due to his abcesses and was very depressed when T-Shirt passed. They'd been cuddling and sniffing through the bars of their respective barriers (Jack is blind so he couldn't see him) ever since we moved in March and they finally had half the room to themselves in a much nicer setup. When I brought T-Shirt's body to Jack, he acted very afraid and would not let me touch him for over a month afterwards.
I swore I would not get another bunny until he was gone… And then my mom found the cutest, tiniest little lop eared bunny outside in her neighborhood and brought her to my house. We tracked down the owners, who admitted that she was an Easter present for their daughter and even had papers, but since their (five year old) daughter would not take care of the bunny, they thought it'd do better outside. They were nice nice enough to offer her to my mom for free with the papers, though my mom declined the papers. I may go back for them to notify the breeder.
So now we have Ginger, a young lop who still needs some time to get bigger and get spayed (and I need time to get my finances in order) to look for a buddy for her since she and Jack have to be separated. The good news is that Jack is completely back to his usual playful self since we got Ginger and they often lay against the bars and blanket that keep them separated in the evenings. All's well that ends well! Due to a horrible Crohn's flare up that started in my final semester of college (got my degree now- yay!), I've been unable to finish unpacking the new house so they're still stuck sharing one half of the room, but the long-term goal is to get the other rubber mat in here and double their enclosure space. I'll post some pics of Ginger in the comments because she is TOO CUTE!
T-Shirt's legacy has already helped other rabbits that I know personally thanks to the documented use of tulathromycin for his abcesses and pasteurella. Huge thanks to the person who kept in touch with me regarding his treatment and helped me find the literature needed to get him that drug. It was the difference between 2 miserable, painful weeks and another year of relatively low pain and lots of fun together.
I'll stay logged in here to answer any questions anyone has about them and their medical stuff just in case since people tend to ask about the abcesses and pasteurella treatment, but otherwise this is it from me! Thank you all so much for everything. I'm not upset that this chapter is winding down, though I still terribly lament what could have been for the other three (and even for Jack since he's blind now). I couldn't have asked for better support and guidance than what the users of this sub brought me.
by Several_Craft2959