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Guinea Pig Death

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Sheree411

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Hello!
I know no one can say for sure but I was hoping someone could give me some ideas of what could have possibly happened to one of our piggies.

We have 7 piggies, 4 were adopted from a rescue and 3 from a friend whose pig had an unexpected litter( she bought her piggie without knowing she was pregnant).

Anyway, on Tuesday one of our precious piggies passed away very unexpectedly, She was just 8 mos old.
We found her laying around 9pm on her side in the middle of her play yard, deceased. At 4pm I fed her and her bonded sisters their greens and hay and she was acting perfectly normal, she ate everything I gave her and was running around as usual.
We don't have a clue on what could have happened and it's driving me crazy. I have a very tight budget as a single mom of 4 and a zoo of animals so I couldn't afford to send her for an autopsy because we had her cremated and I took her sisters to our vet for a check because they did share a pen. The vet didn't find anything wrong with them during the exam and the bloodwork came back normal. I know her sisters didn't harm her because they are at least 4yrs old and our Delia was very much the dominate piggie in the trio.

We are completely heartbroken and I'm just looking for some ideas on what could have possibly happened. A few things I can cross off the list as possibilities is she couldn't have gotten into anything, they were in a 15x15 size pen that is very Guinea pig safe and hadn't been let out in about a week. She was very hydrated and had her vitamins daily, clear urine and solid poop droppings, the room temp is between 70-72 degrees. She had nice clear eyes and nose and we've never felt any lumps on her.
I just can't wrap my head around the fact that she's gone, my children are devastated and she was so young. :'(
 
I am so sorry for the loss of your little girl. Please feel free to leave a memorial to her in our Rainbow Bridge section.

It sounds like it could have been a heart attack of a stroke. Without any signs off illness it is very difficult to say. But with everything been okay with her health wise previous there is no way you could have prevented this. Unfortunately it was just her time.

I am so sorry once again, it is so hard to lose a much loved member of furry family.

How are her sisters?
 
I've had this happen too. Fine in the morning, gone in the afternoon. Sometimes it just happens like that - no signs and nothing could have been done. I agree with Sport_billy that it's most likely a heart attack or stroke. I'm so sorry for your loss. Please try not to beat yourself up about it, I am sure that it was nothing that you did. Hugs
 
I'm sorry to hear the bad news. Maybe the piggie had a heart attack or stroke, how old was the pig?

Why have so many animals if you cannot afford potential vet fees, these things should be considered before taking on the responsibilty of having another pet. Sorry to be blunt.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. I had a friend recently lose a young pig under really similar circumstances. My guess would be some kind of heart attack or stroke, which unfortunately can strike without warning, even in a young animal. Sometimes there can be an underlying cardiovascular issue that doesn't show any outward signs until there is a sudden cardiac or embolic event. ((HUGS)) to you, I'm so sorry.
 
Katie1988 said:
I'm sorry to hear the bad news. Maybe the piggie had a heart attack or stroke, how old was the pig?

Why have so many animals if you cannot afford potential vet fees, these things should be considered before taking on the responsibilty of having another pet. Sorry to be blunt.
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Just to play devil's advocate, I don't think it's unreasonable not to want to pay for an autopsy. It is expensive, it doesn't benefit the animal that has already passed, and she did take the surviving pigs to the vet to be checked for anything communicable. I've always gotten prompt and thorough vet care for any sick animal, but can totally understand why the vet budget wouldn't extend to determining an exact cause of death for an animal that has passed away.
 
Freela said:
Just to play devil's advocate, I don't think it's unreasonable not to want to pay for an autopsy. It is expensive, it doesn't benefit the animal that has already passed, and she did take the surviving pigs to the vet to be checked for anything communicable. I've always gotten prompt and thorough vet care for any sick animal, but can totally understand why the vet budget wouldn't extend to determining an exact cause of death for an animal that has passed away.
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Thank you all!
Thank you Freela. Katie1988, I do take very good care of our animals and all of our pets have regular vet checks and the very next morning I did take her sisters to be checked out, as you know vet bills can be very expensive and I've always had a vet emergency savings acct that I put money into every month, unfortunately I've had some things pop up and the funds in that acct have been used so I had to make the decision to take care of the pigs we have now and make sure they were going to be ok. We are all heartbroken over our loss and I had to do everything I could to make sure our hearts weren't broken any more by losing any of our other girls. As I said Delia had not shown a single sign of anything being wrong, if she had I would have taken her to be seen immediately.
I do thank you for taking the time to read my post and comment and thank you very much for your condolences. I understand why you commented what you did, no worries about being blunt. I just wanted to explain why I had to make the decision I did.
Again thank you all for your condolences. We are heartbroken but have great memories of a great girl.
 
Awwww, how beautiful. Again, I'm so sorry. ((HUGS)) to you.
 
Hi Sheree no problem. All the best and my thoughts are with you in this difficult time x
 
I understand how you feel, lost my 5 month old boar, be a week tommorow, same kind of thing, less than 24 hours from being fine and well to being passed away, he did have a bout of diorreah but died before our vet appointment, know how you feel xx
 
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