Baby Guinea Pig Passing Away.. Possible Diagnosis?

[Annie Robbins]

Hello everyone,

My best friend's 2 month old female guinea pig passed away today. He told be that she was acting normal yesterday, and this evening her found her dead. There was nothing toxic in or around the cage. He was feeding her the vet recommended food and hay. He has only had her for about 13 days since he bought her. He told me that last week, he found a small patch of fur on the ground in her cage, but there was no bald spot on her, and there was a brown puddle of urine. He told me that she was sneezing, but there was no discharge from the eyes or nose.

Does anyone have any possible diagnosis? What can he do in the future to prevent this?

Thanks everyone for your time!

 

[Freela]

Awww... what a shame. I'm so sorry. Unfortunately there's really no way to know for sure. Sometimes even young guinea pigs can pass very quickly from a heart condition or other congenital issue with no real warning signs. It's possible that the sneezing was an early indication of a respiratory bug that abruptly worsened, or that was wearing on her immune system so that another, more virulent, bug could take hold (respiratory infections can kill very quickly.) If he's thinking of adopting another pig, make sure to wash and decontaminate all surfaces, bowl, water bottle, cage, etc. so that there is no risk of any contamination remaining behind to infect a new pig. It's such a shame, but it really isn't likely to be his fault, my guess would be that she either had some issue that wasn't visible with her heart or she came in with a respiratory bug that she was fighting and her young age and stress didn't allow her to fight it off. So sorry.

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry for your friend's loss. a sudden death is very upsetting and always leaves you with questions. Sadly without a post mortem examination at the vets, all we can do is guess.

Strokes, heart attacks and acute heart failure in seemingly healthy piggies can happen at any age; the same as in humans. Fright (especially with outdoors piggies when a predator or rat tries to get in, or even a mouse gets into the hutch) can literally kill.

Could you please convey this guides here to your friend? If the piggies are outdoors, it would be good to bring the companion inside for the time being, especially as they are just babies. Your friend also has to weigh up the overwhelming need for company in a very young piggy against the caution to quarantine before looking for a new mate and to also quarantine any new piggy that has not undergone a mandatory quarantine at a rescue and that is healthy.
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
Importance Of Quarantine