Did We Kill Our Guinea With Lettuce :(

[Kim G]

Hi all, be grateful for advice input and to learn for avoidance of future errors. We lost one of our piggies Her name was Fang, she was a rescue and we have had her for around 4 years. She was well up until that morning, acting normally and looks wise she seemed in great condition - bright eyes, clean silky fur and good appetite.` This morning she seemed off colour - moping and my husband kept an eye on her. By mid day he felt it wasn't normal and rang the vet for an appt. earliest he could get was 4pm. Unfortunately at 3.45 just as we were due to set off she died

Apart from hindsight wisdom re impressing upon the vet receptionist about URGENT appointments... I am trying to understand what might have happened to Fang.

We went to the pet shop and asked the lady there.. she informed us that we shouldn't have fed them lettuce. She said it is poisonous and that this is because it contains some chemical starting with L - I have to confess that because of the hot weather the lawn dried up and I had been supplementing their diet with a) extra grass from somewhere else in the garden, the occasional dandelion leaves and of course the packet salad mixes from Tesco. These had lettuce in them and I am wondering if I inadvertently killed her. I tended to give it every other day or every few days..

I cant help thinking that if it hadn't been for this dry weather killing the lawn and me givin her extra lettuce she might have been ok?

 

[theoretikos]

I doubt that you did this by allowing her to eat lettuce. You wouldn't have given her anything that was sprayed with weedkiller so I don't think she was poisoned.

If you have had her for 4 years then she has lived to a good age! It could possibly have been a heart attack which come on suddenly with guinea pigs.

Sorry to hear this x

 

[Claire W]

I am so sorry to hear about Fang

I can not comment on why she died as there are many reasons. Sometimes piggies die out of the blue due to heart failure or any other organ failure.

But please rest assured that it is very unlikely that the lettuce you fed played any part in her death.

Guinea pigs CAN eat lettuce but just in moderation as the water content can cause tummy upsets (soft poo). Iceberg isn't recommended due to its high water content and lack of nutrients but even feeding that is unlikely to kill a piggy x

 

[biscandmatt]

i honestly don't think you did anything to cause her passing. i really don't. lettuce is fine to feed. mine have it most days. she was used to it, and to the grass so i don't think these were the issue. it's hard to say what would have caused her to pass, but it sounds like it came on suddenly and she had a happy four years with you. x

 

[Kim G]

Thank you very kind people. Fang and her piggy sibling Pestilence were inherited from my son and we *took over* their care - we tried to be good carers of them and I tried hard to find out what they can and cannot eat but it was so hard as if you look there seems to be so much disagreement which makes it hard to know what to do for best.

 

[sport_billy]

I am so sorry to read this, please do not beat yourself up you are not to blame. Lettuce such as iceberg has high water content so could at most cause upset tummy. Unfortunately it was just Fang's time

Please feel free to post a tribute to Fang input Rainbow Bridge section. Welcome to the forum and sorry it is in such sad circumstances.

 

[VickiA]

Oh how sad that you lost your little one and even sadder that you are worrying it was your fault. I am as sure as I can be that you are not to blame and that it was just Fang's time. My piggies have some sort of lettuce most days, as do most people's piggies, and if she lived with you for 4 years looking healthy and happy then it can't have been anything you were doing wrong. Please don't beat yourself up.

 

[Caviequeen]

You would have had to feed her tons of lettuce in order to kill her I'm thinking, don't blame ureself sometimes things happen, guinea pigs are good at hiding there sicknesses, I'm sorry u lost ure Fang to lose a piggie is super hard.
But I doubt it's the lettuce

 

[Wiebke]

I can reassure you that lettuce was NOT the reason for Fang's death. It sounds rather like one or several major organs were packing in. Guinea pigs can go downhill very quickly and apparently out of the blue, leaving their owner searching desperately for any indication as to the cause. Your reaction is very normal for a loving, responsible piggy mum in the face of an apparently inexplicable death. We all tend to instinctively look for what we could have done more/better/right when we lose a piggy; it is one of the first stages of the grieving process and it may help you to see it as such. You have done your best under the circumstances and you have not failed Fang!

In all honesty, I doubt that an immediate vet visit would have made a difference in the outcome. I have been there and have lost piggies at the vet to acute heart failure or within hours of showing the first symptoms and despite rushing my piggy in as an emergency. Some battles you sadly can't win.

 

[Freela]

I'm sorry for your loss! I really do not think that anything you fed her caused her harm- iceberg lettuce has a high water content and can cause stomach upset, but other than that there is no reason not to feed lettuce (mine eat it often, no harm done.) Unfortunately, sometimes small animals go downhill very quickly for reasons that we just can't see. ((HUGS)) to you!

 

[dearbarbie]

I'm so sorry to hear about Fang x

 

[Lady Kelly]

grr at the woman in the pet shop, what right does she have going round telling distressed people that they have poisoned their animals! So sorry for your loss but as others have said it won't have been the cause and unfortunately it was Fangs time. It sounds like your piggies were well looked after and you have obviously done everything you can to make them happy so I would take some solace in the fact that you gave Fang a happy life while she was with you