Death Of A 13 Week Female

[Lindylouise]

Hi. We have tonight lost one of our 13 week old girls that we have had for only 4 weeks. It was very sudden, she was wheezing a little this morning (we had to go out) but had deteriorated by this evening when we got home. She was throwing her head up and making a noise and then started falling over. Before I had time to get her to the vets she had gone. Any idea what may have caused it?

 

[Freela]

I'm so sorry for your loss. With wheezing it sounds like a respiratory infection. Unfortunately they can strike very quickly and can kill very quickly, even in an otherwise healthy pig. Her resistance may have been lower as she was still young. You may want to get your remaining pigs checked out by a vet in case it was a contagious illness. Again, I'm so sorry for your little pig, that must have been awful to see. ((HUGS))!

 

[Flutterby]

Oh no I'm so sorry for your loss. It definitely sounds like some king of URI which can get bad really quickly. Sleep tight little one x

 

[Lindylouise]

Thanks for your replies. We seem to have had a bad 8 months as we lost 4 year olds in August, and October and March.

 

[Wiebke]

I am ever so sorry; URI or atypical/"walking" pneumonia can strike right out of the blue and it can kill within hours. It can well be that your girl had contracted URI/URI bacteria earlier on at the shop.

I am very sorry for your losses. it is hard when you lose so many familiar faces in such a quick succession and then a new piggy as well. Please take your time to grieve. A sudden death is always hard to take in and to come to terms with.

You are welcome to post a tribute to your little girl and all your other piggies in our Rainbow Bridge section if and whenever it feels right for you.

I would strongly recommend to wait at least 2-3 weeks before getting another piggy, to make sure that none of your others has caught it.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/importance-of-quarantine.108034/

If you wish to see whether you have got a good standard rescue with a mandatory quarantine etc. within your reach, you can find a UK vet locator on the top bar or we may be able to give you contacts for good rescues in other countries.

Where are you located? With members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state or - for the UK - your county to your details. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

 

[Lindylouise]

We have been trying to think what could have caused it. This is what we have done since we had then

• They came from a reputable shop and had been handled daily
• They lived in hutches outside but under cover
• We put them in an inside cage for 3 weeks while they got used to us
• We then put them in the outside hutch that had been used previously by our three guinea pigs but had been cleaned with spray from pet shop
• We get our hay in half bales from a farm shop
• They had the same food that they had at the shop where we bought them
• They had fresh water and veg each day
• They went in a run on the grass whenever it was warm enough (only 3 times since we bought them home)
• We handled them every day and brought them inside to sit on us while giving them cucumber or carrot

I will ring the shop tomorrow to let them know and ask if the other 2 that were left were ok. I'm not asking for my money back as I know that it has been too long.

I'm worried that Flash will get lonely now until we get a new one. We found it difficult to get females so may have to wait a while.

 

[Wiebke]

We have been trying to think what could have caused it. This is what we have done since we had then

• They came from a reputable shop and had been handled daily
• They lived in hutches outside but under cover
• We put them in an inside cage for 3 weeks while they got used to us
• We then put them in the outside hutch that had been used previously by our three guinea pigs but had been cleaned with spray from pet shop
• We get our hay in half bales from a farm shop
• They had the same food that they had at the shop where we bought them
• They had fresh water and veg each day
• They went in a run on the grass whenever it was warm enough (only 3 times since we bought them home)
• We handled them every day and brought them inside to sit on us while giving them cucumber or carrot

I will ring the shop tomorrow to let them know and ask if the other 2 that were left were ok. I'm not asking for my money back as I know that it has been too long.

I'm worried that Flash will get lonely now until we get a new one. We found it difficult to get females so may have to wait a while.

It is always difficult to say what has caused a sudden death unless you want to pay a lot of money for a post mortem. Heart attacks and strokes can also happen without warning at any age.
Young guinea pigs don't have an immune system and the body mass yet that is fully developed, so they are more susceptible to illness and they can go downhill very quickly. Just the move to a hutch from indoors with the current temperature swings between high daytime and low night time temperatures can have contributed. Please bring her companion indoors again and don't leave her alone in the hutch.
Here are tips for what you can do for her: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/looking-after-a-bereaved-piggy.110463/

Have you tried your local rescues yet? There are a few good ones in your area. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
You could also consider looking for neutered rescue boars, not just sows. Age is less important than mutual liking. Cross gender bondings are the most stable of them all and are often very loving if you let the piggies choose each other. I think that Honeybunnies by junction M1/M69 (Leicester) have got some single neutered boars ready to be rehomed or coming up for rehoming soon.

 

[Lindylouise]

We brought the remaining piggy inside. Thank you.

 

[Wiebke]

All the best for your little one!

Please keep a good eye on her and weigh her daily at the same time instead of just weekly as with any healthy piggy, to make sure that she is OK. The daily variance can be around 30g, so you are looking for bigger drops. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and thirdly the need to eat, so it is a good way of monitoring her, especially when there is a suspicion for respiratory problems. just watching a piggy chew can be very deceptive.

These things sometime just happen, despite good care and everything.