Guinea pig died 2 hours after vet treatment

[Tracietj]

Hi everyone
We took my little boys Guinea pig to the vets this morning. He had been perfectly fine but last night appeared to have lost the ability to walk and wouldn't eat. This morning he wasn't any better so I took him to the vets. She examined him and came out and told me he wasn't walking, not because he couldn't but appeared after examination to have some pain in his stomach. I asked her if there was anything more sinister wrong and she said, he has no lumps anywhere, his legs are moving fine and he just appears to have a sore tummy. Then she said she could give him pain relief and send me home with some for him. So she gave him pain relief injections and gave me a bottle of pain relief to give him this evening and a sachet of food to feed him this afternoon. Anyway, 2 hours after she saw him he started convulsing and subsequently passed away. My little boy is inconsolable and keeps saying it was the medicine that killed him (my little boy is 8). The medicine was rheumocam. Basically I'm wondering how we went from him having tummy ache and being given pain relief to him dying less than 2 hours later

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry for your loss. I think whatever caused it was not the pain killer. The problem with piggies is that they hide illness very well, sometimes until the last minute.

I hope you can come to some kind of peace that you did all you could for your boy. And I’m sorry your son is taking it so hard. It’s a tough one.
Human Bereavement - Grieving, coping tips and support links for guinea pig owners and their children

 

[weepweeps]

I'm so sorry for your loss. You did the right thing getting him seen by the vets. It wouldn’t have been the medicine that killed him. But rather something else going on that the vet missed. Unfortunately guinea pigs are classed as exotic pets and some vets are less cavy savy than others. The same thing happened to me at the end of last year. The vet said my piggy looked in great condition. It died the next day! They hide their illnesses so well that we only notice they are unwell when they’ve been poorly for a longer time. Don’t blame yourselves. You did all you could. Your little boy gave his piggy as much love as he could in the short time you had him.

 

[Tracietj]

Thankyou. It was just so unexpected. The vet said it's just tummy ache. She said he may be a bit constipated so he may be in pain for a few days until it subsided and then for him to die literally 2 hours later it had us taken completely aback

 

[Claire W]

I’m so sorry for your loss It wouldn’t have been the medicine that killed him. Guinea pigs hide their illnesses so well that often we don’t notice until it’s too late. Be kind to yourself as you grieve x

 

[Bill & Ted]

So sorry for you and your little boy, sending hugs to you both. It‘s very shocking, piggies do hide their illness because it’s not in their best interest to show weakness as they are prey animals. I found one of my piggies had died overnight one morning, Bill was perfectly well the evening before, it is such shock x

 

[Freela]

I'm sorry for your loss. Guinea pigs are quite good at hiding illness and often go from seemingly fine to passing away pretty quickly. It wouldn't have been the medication that killed him, it's more likely that the inability to walk was a symptom of his body shutting down for other reasons. Many ((HUGS)) to you and your son.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

I am so sorry for your loss and for your child's pain. The medication will not have caused your piggy's death. Most likely the tummy ache was caused by something very serious going on inside that could not be mended. Reassure your son that the medicine would have helped the piggy feel better even tho it couldn't save him. A child's grief in the face of the loss of a pet is heartbreaking

 

[VickiA]

the medication is most unlikely to have caused or contributed to your piggy’s death. The medication you were given was an anti inflammatory and pain relieving medication and would have helped to ease the piggy’s discomfort.
I am so sorry that you and your son have suffered such a tragic bereavement. It’s heartbreaking to lose a piggy and very common after a sudden death to question everything you and the vet have done. But piggies are prey animals who hide their illnesses very well until they can no longer cope. Please don’t blame yourselves or the vet. Not every piggy can be saved. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Tigermoth]

How shocking for you! Bless you, and your poor little boy.

”Tummy ache” in piggies is actually really serious in itself. The digestive system is sensitive and needs to be constantly pushing food through. Sometimes issues with this happen (through no fault of anybody’s) and they get “bloat”, a serious condition where the gut is in stasis, poos stop and worse case scenario, they can die. This can happen really quickly in some cases.

The pain relief won’t have cured him but will have made his passing more comfortable so that is a good thing xx

 

[Presley10]

Hi everyone
We took my little boys Guinea pig to the vets this morning. He had been perfectly fine but last night appeared to have lost the ability to walk and wouldn't eat. This morning he wasn't any better so I took him to the vets. She examined him and came out and told me he wasn't walking, not because he couldn't but appeared after examination to have some pain in his stomach. I asked her if there was anything more sinister wrong and she said, he has no lumps anywhere, his legs are moving fine and he just appears to have a sore tummy. Then she said she could give him pain relief and send me home with some for him. So she gave him pain relief injections and gave me a bottle of pain relief to give him this evening and a sachet of food to feed him this afternoon. Anyway, 2 hours after she saw him he started convulsing and subsequently passed away. My little boy is inconsolable and keeps saying it was the medicine that killed him (my little boy is 8). The medicine was rheumocam. Basically I'm wondering how we went from him having tummy ache and being given pain relief to him dying less than 2 hours later

I’m so sorry for your loss. My Guinea pig just died last night. My first one. 5 years old. We recently took him to vet Friday cuz his one leg wasn’t working. They took X-rays. Said it was arthritis. And he’s also dealing with a thyroid problem. But he was still eating before his vet visit. But once he got back from the vet visit for 2 days he would not drink water barely eat. Not move. I wasn’t sure if it was the medicine they put him under or if it’s the medicine they gave us to prescribe him.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m so sorry for your loss. My Guinea pig just died last night. My first one. 5 years old. We recently took him to vet Friday cuz his one leg wasn’t working. They took X-rays. Said it was arthritis. And he’s also dealing with a thyroid problem. But he was still eating before his vet visit. But once he got back from the vet visit for 2 days he would not drink water barely eat. Not move. I wasn’t sure if it was the medicine they put him under or if it’s the medicine they gave us to prescribe him.

Please be careful about resurrecting old threads. This is from two years ago and the original poster never came back. It would be better to start your own thread. I'm sorry for your loss

 

[tmcg]

Hi everyone
We took my little boys Guinea pig to the vets this morning. He had been perfectly fine but last night appeared to have lost the ability to walk and wouldn't eat. This morning he wasn't any better so I took him to the vets. She examined him and came out and told me he wasn't walking, not because he couldn't but appeared after examination to have some pain in his stomach. I asked her if there was anything more sinister wrong and she said, he has no lumps anywhere, his legs are moving fine and he just appears to have a sore tummy. Then she said she could give him pain relief and send me home with some for him. So she gave him pain relief injections and gave me a bottle of pain relief to give him this evening and a sachet of food to feed him this afternoon. Anyway, 2 hours after she saw him he started convulsing and subsequently passed away. My little boy is inconsolable and keeps saying it was the medicine that killed him (my little boy is 8). The medicine was rheumocam. Basically I'm wondering how we went from him having tummy ache and being given pain relief to him dying less than 2 hours later

Hi everyone
We took my little boys Guinea pig to the vets this morning. He had been perfectly fine but last night appeared to have lost the ability to walk and wouldn't eat. This morning he wasn't any better so I took him to the vets. She examined him and came out and told me he wasn't walking, not because he couldn't but appeared after examination to have some pain in his stomach. I asked her if there was anything more sinister wrong and she said, he has no lumps anywhere, his legs are moving fine and he just appears to have a sore tummy. Then she said she could give him pain relief and send me home with some for him. So she gave him pain relief injections and gave me a bottle of pain relief to give him this evening and a sachet of food to feed him this afternoon. Anyway, 2 hours after she saw him he started convulsing and subsequently passed away. My little boy is inconsolable and keeps saying it was the medicine that killed him (my little boy is 8). The medicine was rheumocam. Basically I'm wondering how we went from him having tummy ache and being given pain relief to him dying less than 2 hours later

I know everyone is saying it wouldn't have been the medicine but we had EXACTLY the same experience. We took our piggies to the vet as he just didn't seem happy. He was eating and drinking fine. Vet felt his bladder and said it felt a bit hard. Gave him rheumocam (which is for cats so I had to sign a disclaimer). We were told it would be fine but within 1 hour he was a bit listless, within 2 hours dead. From being up, running around and eating to dead after this medicine. No wonder it isn't licensed for guinea pigs. It is dangerous! I have given the vets feedback so they don't kill anyone else's piggy. So sorry this happened to you too. My daughter is distraught! Xx

 

[Jelly/Jam]

Hi everyone
We took my little boys Guinea pig to the vets this morning. He had been perfectly fine but last night appeared to have lost the ability to walk and wouldn't eat. This morning he wasn't any better so I took him to the vets. She examined him and came out and told me he wasn't walking, not because he couldn't but appeared after examination to have some pain in his stomach. I asked her if there was anything more sinister wrong and she said, he has no lumps anywhere, his legs are moving fine and he just appears to have a sore tummy. Then she said she could give him pain relief and send me home with some for him. So she gave him pain relief injections and gave me a bottle of pain relief to give him this evening and a sachet of food to feed him this afternoon. Anyway, 2 hours after she saw him he started convulsing and subsequently passed away. My little boy is inconsolable and keeps saying it was the medicine that killed him (my little boy is 8). The medicine was rheumocam. Basically I'm wondering how we went from him having tummy ache and being given pain relief to him dying less than 2 hours later

I know everyone is saying it wouldn't have been the medicine but we had EXACTLY the same experience. We took our piggies to the vet as he just didn't seem happy. He was eating and drinking fine. Vet felt his bladder and said it felt a bit hard. Gave him rheumocam (which is for cats so I had to sign a disclaimer). We were told it would be fine but within 1 hour he was a bit listless, within 2 hours dead. From being up, running around and eating to dead after this medicine. No wonder it isn't licensed for guinea pigs. It is dangerous! I have given the vets feedback so they don't kill anyone else's piggy. So sorry this happened to you too. My daughter is distraught! Xx

I know everyone is saying it wouldn't have been the medicine but we had EXACTLY the same experience. We took our piggies to the vet as he just didn't seem happy. He was eating and drinking fine. Vet felt his bladder and said it felt a bit hard. Gave him rheumocam (which is for cats so I had to sign a disclaimer). We were told it would be fine but within 1 hour he was a bit listless, within 2 hours dead. From being up, running around and eating to dead after this medicine. No wonder it isn't licensed for guinea pigs. It is dangerous! I have given the vets feedback so they don't kill anyone else's piggy. So sorry this happened to you too. My daughter is distraught! Xx

Omg

 

[Wiebke]

Omg

Hi

Before you have a panic attack re. metacam please understand that the posters are not taking any account of any potential underlying serious health issues that are not necessarily visible or noticeable during a normal hands-on examination when located deeper inside the body. Nor do they mention how experienced with guinea pigs the treating vet was.

Nor do they take account that the stress of the vet trip may have tipped the balance in terms of the underlying major health issue; a piggie will have to be already very frail and ill for this to be the case, though.

It is unfortunately very common for a traumatised owner without medical knowledge to put 2 and 2 together and come up with 125. If you want to do any online research - including on this forum - you have to take these kind of fatal outcomes with more than a pinch of salt and also be aware that we are one of the places where people come to look for help in making sense of their traumatic experience or to post warnings re. medications/complaints about vets who can unfortunately only go by what they can find. It is very easy to blame the cure instead of the cause, especially when it is not necessarily clear what exactly is going on. We humans are sadly wired to latch onto the first thing and stick to it.

I would like to urge you most strongly to be very careful and always consider the source - do they have any medical experience whatsoever? Are they still under shock from a traumatic event or not? Have their claims been verified by knowledgeable sources or are they unsupported? Have the vets seen been general vets and how great is their experience with guinea pigs? Have further tests been done (scans, lab test etc) or was it just a standard 10-15 minutes hands-on examination slot?

Please also be aware that if you suffer from anxiety or other mental health issues, this kind of research can send you down a rabbit hole but it will do nothing whatsoever for the welfare and recovery of your piggy than increasing your own fears and make you doubt any necessary measures.
Pet Owners Anxiety - Practical Tips For Sufferers and For Supporters