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Guinea Pig Died From Heart Increasing Size?

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Callum

Callum

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Hi I'm new here so bare with me if I'm not clued up trying my best to get the right care and information needed. Right! Few things to ask advise on. I woke up this morning to check on our 2 guinea pigs. And noticed one laid on the floor dead. I was upset and so was my daughter. And also had to be her favourite one. We got them 2 weeks ago from pets at home and they were only 10 weeks old. I rang the vets first thing and asked for them to do a autopsy which they agreed to do. Just had them ring back to tell me he died of an increased size in his heart!?! I asked can I be sent a documentation of the autopsy so I have it in writing etc and he was very odd with me and seemed inversely like he was lying. I think it's all a bit odd they are cared for like they were my children. Fresh bedding. Fresh veg daily. They were outside in a nice big pen and hutch so had lots of room to run around and provided them with shade. Anyone else have a problem
With pets at home vets? And is this a legit condition. ? Many thanks.
 
Callum said:
Hi I'm new here so bare with me if I'm not clued up trying my best to get the right care and information needed. Right! Few things to ask advise on. I woke up this morning to check on our 2 guinea pigs. And noticed one laid on the floor dead. I was upset and so was my daughter. And also had to be her favourite one. We got them 2 weeks ago from pets at home and they were only 10 weeks old. I rang the vets first thing and asked for them to do a autopsy which they agreed to do. Just had them ring back to tell me he died of an increased size in his heart!?! I asked can I be sent a documentation of the autopsy so I have it in writing etc and he was very odd with me and seemed inversely like he was lying. I think it's all a bit odd they are cared for like they were my children. Fresh bedding. Fresh veg daily. They were outside in a nice big pen and hutch so had lots of room to run around and provided them with shade. Anyone else have a problem
With pets at home vets? And is this a legit condition. ? Many thanks.
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Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry for your bad shock!

You mean an enlarged heart? Yes, this can happen. Sadly, a number of guinea pigs live with a time bomb in their body that can go off at any time without warning in this day and age of mass breeding. The current weather is poison for any guinea pigs with heart problems, so it is probably not quite surprising that it has happened right now. :(

Problems with pet@homes and some of their vets are not uncommon; the quality from branch to branch can vary a lot.

Here are some information threads that you may find helpful in providing for the bereaved companion. I have also included our list of recommended good standard guinea pig rescues and piggy savvy vet locators:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/looking-after-a-bereaved-piggy.110463/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/hot-weather-management-and-heat-strokes.105317/

You are welcome to post a tribute to your little piggy in our Rainbow Bridge section anytime it feels right for you if you wish to.

As we have got members from all over the world, we find it helpful if you please added your country or county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to your general area straight away, and local-ish members may be able to help you further. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!
 
I'm sorry for your loss. I would never take or recommend my pets to the vets in petsathome in my branch again after the treatment they gave one of my guinea pigs. Again so sorry for your loss, you and your family are in my thoughts
 
i am so sorry for your loss. is sounds very much like the heat caused problems for your little one, especially if they had a heart condition/enlarged heart. being young aswell can affect them anyway, so the added heat at the moment combined with the stress of moving home and coming from pets at home, all make illness more likely.

sadly, alot of people do have problems with pets at home and their vets. ill animals, pregnant animals sold, and incorrect vet treatment are all very common occurrences with this company.

again, i am very sorry for your loss :(
 
Thank you all for your support and advise. It is much appreciated. The manager at pets at home was ridiculous. Was acting like it's just a guinea pig. No sorry sir it's part of our family and I take it so seriously with there well being and health. I've spent £80 just to insure there home is ready and safe for them. My daughter was fevers yard and I'm a grown man and even made me sad that I just found him their on the ground. I'm worried about the other one now. As we got them together. And hoping he hasn't got the same condition. Plus any tips or signs of introducing a new one. As just got a new one for him so he's not alone. Trying to make sure there ok together but there's a lot of chit chat and rumbling in their cheeks.
 
You might wanna double check its definitely a male.
Have you put them together already?
There's a lot of help on the bonding section.

Chit chat and rumbling is fine, one of them is just trying to establish dominance. You just need to watch them for the first I'd say hour to make sure there isn't any biting or a fight breaks out.
 
I'm very sorry for your loss. Enlarged heart is often an inherited condition and can cause heart failure, even in young animals. Strain like stress, heat, or illness can make heart failure more pronounced. Guinea pigs are often mass-bred without regard to the health of the parents or any inherited conditions that may run in the family (plus, even with careful breeding, the fact that guinea pigs breed so young can make it hard to determine what inherited traits the parents may be carrying that have not yet manifested themselves.) To the best of my knowledge, there is no genetic screen commonly available to test guinea pigs for inherited conditions the way there is for some dog breeds, for instance. It certainly doesn't sound as though this was anything you could have foreseen or prevented. ((HUGS)) to you. It's hard to lose a pet, particularly one that is so young where it is so unexpected.
 
Callum said:
Thank you all for your support and advise. It is much appreciated. The manager at pets at home was ridiculous. Was acting like it's just a guinea pig. No sorry sir it's part of our family and I take it so seriously with there well being and health. I've spent £80 just to insure there home is ready and safe for them. My daughter was fevers yard and I'm a grown man and even made me sad that I just found him their on the ground. I'm worried about the other one now. As we got them together. And hoping he hasn't got the same condition. Plus any tips or signs of introducing a new one. As just got a new one for him so he's not alone. Trying to make sure there ok together but there's a lot of chit chat and rumbling in their cheeks.
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this is why i throw things when the pets at home advert comes on... 'pets at home, where pets come first' !! :evil::evil::evil: sadly they don't seem a company who genuinely cares about the animals they sell as you have just found out the hard way :(

there are some tips for bonding in the behaviour and bonding section that you may find useful.
 
Once again thank you everyone who has help. Yea they are deferentially big males. Iv sat and watch them only had to break it up when the new one tried humping him. Lol.
 
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Did you get the new boy from Pets at home? Sorry for your loss, such a shock as they do become part of the family very quickly.
 
Callum said:
Thank you all for your support and advise. It is much appreciated. The manager at pets at home was ridiculous. Was acting like it's just a guinea pig. No sorry sir it's part of our family and I take it so seriously with there well being and health. I've spent £80 just to insure there home is ready and safe for them. My daughter was fevers yard and I'm a grown man and even made me sad that I just found him their on the ground. I'm worried about the other one now. As we got them together. And hoping he hasn't got the same condition. Plus any tips or signs of introducing a new one. As just got a new one for him so he's not alone. Trying to make sure there ok together but there's a lot of chit chat and rumbling in their cheeks.
Click to expand...

Here are our bonding tips; as your little boys are pre-adolescents, intros are usually not too bad a problem .It would be good if you took the time to read the guides, as they will explain a lot of the behaviours that you are seeing and to understand what is actually going on.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-bonding-behaviours-and-dynamics.128361/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boars-a-guide-to-successful-companionship.76162/

We have got lots of information at the top of our various Care sections, but you are welcome to ask any questions you may have in there.
 
Callum said:
Once again thank you everyone who has help. Yea they are deferentially big males. Iv sat and watch them only had to break it up when the new one tried humping him. Lol.
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You should let them mount each other that's how they establish who's boss. Intense to watch but bare it unless there's any physical biting involved :)! Mine only mounted a few times (girls) and it was done.
 
I am so sorry for your loss. I never knew how sad and just heart breaking it would be until Evan died last week. Hugs to you and your daughter. Your Pets at Home has their equivalent here in the US - Petsmart and Petco. They know NOTHING about guineas, or any animals for that matter. It's infuriating and it's just plain wrong. We've decided to rescue two 4.5 year old piggies from a reputable rescue here in Phoenix. I can't wait to get them. They are the same age as Evan was when he died, and I plan to love on them for as many years as they will let me!

I hope your new piggy works out well for your other one and that they love each other and have a long, happy life together! :luv:
 
Forever Evan said:
I am so sorry for your loss. I never knew how sad and just heart breaking it would be until Evan died last week. Hugs to you and your daughter. Your Pets at Home has their equivalent here in the US - Petsmart and Petco. They know NOTHING about guineas, or any animals for that matter. It's infuriating and it's just plain wrong. We've decided to rescue two 4.5 year old piggies from a reputable rescue here in Phoenix. I can't wait to get them. They are the same age as Evan was when he died, and I plan to love on them for as many years as they will let me!

I hope your new piggy works out well for your other one and that they love each other and have a long, happy life together! :luv:
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Thank you. There both doing really well now. I keep checking on them to make sure there getting along and all seems to be ok so far. Yea these so called professional pet shops don't have a clue. Need people like everyone on this forum to work there to insure the health and safety.
 
So sorry for your loss, so sad for you and especially hard for your little girl.
Fingers crossed your introductions go well. The information on this forum is very helpful and the members very friendly so don't hesitate to ask questions.
 
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