I only ever come on this forum now to post these threads, at least this time the guinea pig in question had a very long and enjoyable life 
Yesterday I had to make the sad but humane decision to assist the last of my eleven guinea pigs to move on the Rainbow Bridge. Xander had been slowing down since Christmas and he had several large lumps appear on him a few weeks back so I took him to the vets on Wednesday (my birthday) to get him checked out by my guinea savvy vet (who had been off for a couple of weeks, hence the slight delay in taking him) and she immediately diagnosed Lymphoma.Since there was nothing she could do for him she suggested I take him home, give him metacam for any pain he may be in, and see if he would pass on by himself, but if he were to stop eating, the lumps get bigger, or there were any signs he was in more pain to bring him back immediately.
Thursday/Friday I fed him all his favourite food (I reckon he would have eaten through a whole packet of beans if I'd have let him, he loved them) and made him as comfortable as possible but by Friday afternoon he had almost stopped eating (he continued to nibble some hay and eat the beans) but more significantly, he suddenly lost the ability to use his back legs, he was practically dragging himself along on his belly to move around the cage. In addition, when I picked him up he squealed and bit me suggesting he was now in a lot more pain, so a decision to take him back wasn't really a hard one
I "rescued" him form a Pet shop in July 2008 (he was almost 8 at the time of passing) where he was a single guinea pig being kept in a smallish cage with a large rabbit and at first he was extremely timid and would spend most of his time hidden in his tunnel, but over the years he blossomed in to a really loving, friendly guinea pig who was always happy to see me and enjoyed a cuddle. He was not so friendly though with my other piggies. I tried bonding him with 5 of my other boys but none of them took to him, or he to them. (I seem to have had quite a few loners for some reason) but he was always happy to sit next to them via a cage separator.
My over-riding memory of Xander will always be his slightly pathetic attempt at wheeking. He just never seemed to be able to do it properly like all my other boys. He did get a little better at it the older he got as gradually all my other boys moved on to the bridge (and he had to make more of an effort) but he was never able to replicate the din made by the others As I have said before on numerous occasions, every single one of my eleven boys have had a unique personality, all with different traits and that was definitely Xander's
At the back end of 2014 he developed a bladder stone and because of his age (he'd have been over 6 back then) the vet was a little worried he may not get through surgery but he deserved the chance so I took the risk and it was well worth taking as it gave me another 18 months with him. By this time he was the last of my remaining piggies but in January last year I (temporarily I thought) took on another boy who the owner wanted rid of (he was being kept in a box). Xander and him seemed to hit it off (again, only via a cage separator) so George stayed with me as company for Xander and they seemed to spend almost all of their time sitting under their hay racks next to each other
George will now be neutered and found a home with a lady friend as I am going to take a break from Guinea Pig ownership (he was never originally intended to be a permanent resident). My wife and I started our guinea pig adventure 10 years ago but we are divorced now so it feels appropriate to come to a halt for the time being, but I have had a great time (for the most part) being a guinea pig slave and I am sure I will have more sometime in the future.
Run free at the bridge little man and tell Blaze, Scampy, Oscar, Pepe, Leo, Boomer, Bear, Denny, Alan & especially Dylan that you're the boss now. Rest In Peace my brave little piggy, daddy will miss you x
Yesterday I had to make the sad but humane decision to assist the last of my eleven guinea pigs to move on the Rainbow Bridge. Xander had been slowing down since Christmas and he had several large lumps appear on him a few weeks back so I took him to the vets on Wednesday (my birthday) to get him checked out by my guinea savvy vet (who had been off for a couple of weeks, hence the slight delay in taking him) and she immediately diagnosed Lymphoma.Since there was nothing she could do for him she suggested I take him home, give him metacam for any pain he may be in, and see if he would pass on by himself, but if he were to stop eating, the lumps get bigger, or there were any signs he was in more pain to bring him back immediately.
Thursday/Friday I fed him all his favourite food (I reckon he would have eaten through a whole packet of beans if I'd have let him, he loved them) and made him as comfortable as possible but by Friday afternoon he had almost stopped eating (he continued to nibble some hay and eat the beans) but more significantly, he suddenly lost the ability to use his back legs, he was practically dragging himself along on his belly to move around the cage. In addition, when I picked him up he squealed and bit me suggesting he was now in a lot more pain, so a decision to take him back wasn't really a hard one
I "rescued" him form a Pet shop in July 2008 (he was almost 8 at the time of passing) where he was a single guinea pig being kept in a smallish cage with a large rabbit and at first he was extremely timid and would spend most of his time hidden in his tunnel, but over the years he blossomed in to a really loving, friendly guinea pig who was always happy to see me and enjoyed a cuddle. He was not so friendly though with my other piggies. I tried bonding him with 5 of my other boys but none of them took to him, or he to them. (I seem to have had quite a few loners for some reason) but he was always happy to sit next to them via a cage separator.
My over-riding memory of Xander will always be his slightly pathetic attempt at wheeking. He just never seemed to be able to do it properly like all my other boys. He did get a little better at it the older he got as gradually all my other boys moved on to the bridge (and he had to make more of an effort) but he was never able to replicate the din made by the others
As I have said before on numerous occasions, every single one of my eleven boys have had a unique personality, all with different traits and that was definitely Xander's At the back end of 2014 he developed a bladder stone and because of his age (he'd have been over 6 back then) the vet was a little worried he may not get through surgery but he deserved the chance so I took the risk and it was well worth taking as it gave me another 18 months with him. By this time he was the last of my remaining piggies but in January last year I (temporarily I thought) took on another boy who the owner wanted rid of (he was being kept in a box). Xander and him seemed to hit it off (again, only via a cage separator) so George stayed with me as company for Xander and they seemed to spend almost all of their time sitting under their hay racks next to each other
George will now be neutered and found a home with a lady friend as I am going to take a break from Guinea Pig ownership (he was never originally intended to be a permanent resident). My wife and I started our guinea pig adventure 10 years ago but we are divorced now so it feels appropriate to come to a halt for the time being, but I have had a great time (for the most part) being a guinea pig slave and I am sure I will have more sometime in the future.
Run free at the bridge little man and tell Blaze, Scampy, Oscar, Pepe, Leo, Boomer, Bear, Denny, Alan & especially Dylan that you're the boss now. Rest In Peace my brave little piggy, daddy will miss you x
" you tried your best and his so gratefull for that i betx he will be sadly missed be all of us and we will support you with anythingxx