I posted on the 11th regarding my guinea pig Medici not eating. He refused to eat more than a few bites a day so I have been hand feeding him for around a month. Took him to see multiple vets and no luck or answers. Today I had him booked in for ga and a dental check in which the vet filed down a few Spurs - all was better (so I thought). When he got home he was back in his cage, but next door to him my other guinea pig Neo who was around 5.5 years, had suddenly passed away no warning no signs nothing. He ate all his dinner the night before and hay, he was happy etc.
I guess what I want to know is does anyone have any idea what the hell is going on? Is this normal for two guinea pigs to deteriorate at the same time / die / dying? Medici is only 4, but refusing to eat could be a sign of what’s to come. I’m so confused and sad and no one knows what’s happened.
Thoughts?
Hi!
I am very sorry about your loss. I don't think that the death and Neo's loss of appetite are related. But it is very normal for us humans to seek connections in order to make sense of what has happened when it comes unexpected.
Guinea pigs can suddenly die from a heart attack, sudden acute heart failure or stroke right out of the blue at any age. It always comes as a bad shock to the owner, and of course you want to have answers.
I have lost my 5 year old Bedo to a massive heart attack - he must have been already dead when he fell to the side. It was the way he was lying on the side with all four legs stretched out when I found him in the morning after a major emergency with blue light ambulance for a suspected heart attack of my husband's on the evening beforee (talk about coincidence; it was not the best weekend of my life!)
It's also happened three years ago to me that I found an elderly piggy unexpectedly dead when coming home from seeing a specialist vet in another town with a piggy of mine. In this case, from the way I found her, it looked like sudden acute heart failure rather than a sudden attack as her position was different. In either case, there was no warning of what was about to happen and nothing I could have done even if I was there at the time; the second piggy would have either passed away on the way to the vets or while there, had I been able to rush her across immediately.
I am very sorry about Neo's problems. if he has overgrown spurs, then that is hopefully likely the culprit. Have you got painkillers to help his sore mouth? Please be aware that if the burring has been done by a vet that is not experienced, a piggy may not be able to eat straight away on its own between the soreness and a not fully rebalanced dental system. it can take several rounds of careful burring with minimal sedation to get the teeth fully back again.
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