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Help..Both of my Daughter's Guinea Pigs just died

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kherndon1

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My Daughter left for college, she's only been gone for 10 days & both of her pigs died :( I have absolutely no idea what went wrong. They seemed healthy but depressed after she left. I checked in on them each morning and each evening to be sure they had plenty of water & food. I could tell they were sad and even noted they didn't eat all of the hay I put in their ball like they always did for my daughter. I haven't told my daughter yet because I know she's gonna be devastated and I'd rather her be at home when I tell her. I feel just awful. Dies anyone know if it's possible these poor little pigs grieved themselves to death after she left?
 
I would be very surprised if this was th case.

was their dry food and water changed daily and did they have fresh veggies daily too? How often was thier cage cleaned out? Was ther any signs of hiar loss or long teeth meaning they couldn't eat? It is unusual that both have died together.
 
What a horrible thing to happen to you!

The fact that they have gone off food suggests that something in their surroundings wasn't right; it is unusual for two guinea pigs to die together from the same illness so close together.
Here is a list of things that can cause loss of appetite: http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html

It is difficult for somebody who is not familiar with piggies and doesn't see them for a good amount of time to pick up on subtle signals. Holiday time and major changes to their home/lifestyle are a stressful time and illness/deaths happen more often than normal. Usually loss of appetite is one of the alarm signs that mean that something major is not right and needs to be checked out asap (including a trip to the vet); a guinea pig that doesn't eat is a dead guinea pig and they can go downhill with shocking speed.
 
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The only food they have been eating is "Bonanza Guinea pig gourmet diet" by Hartz & "Timothy Hay" by KAYTEE.
 
Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. I feel just awful. I didn't do anything differently than what my daughter had been doing for the last 1 1/2 years. I didn't play with them as much as she did but that really was the only change other than the fact my daughter was no longer there. Today she texted me to tell me she was visiting the pet store near campus and saw baby pigs which made her miss hers. Wow, it's gonna be very difficult to break this news to her when she comes home next weekend. Not looking forward to that.
 
Poor things... I have no idea what could have caused that...:( Maybe a diet change or depression from your daughter going away like you said. How long did it take for them to die? A week? A day? Hopefully other people know more about this...
 
kherndon1 said:
The only food they have been eating is "Bonanza Guinea pig gourmet diet" by Hartz & "Timothy Hay" by KAYTEE.
Click to expand...

I feed my girls the same thing I wonder if they got real upset when she left and depression brings them down. Just like if they lose a cagemate they mourn but its more depressing when their slave leaves them as they bonded with her
 
I searched the food you have been feeding them, and that kind is not recommended for ginea pigs. The little colourful parts in it are full of sugar an fat, and guinea pigs tend to pick them out and leave all the nutritional stuff. My pigs have timothy hay pellets as their dry food. That food on top of the depression of your daughter leaving probably made them a bit sick. I am no pig scientist, but that is what makes sense to me! I hope this helps!;)
 
I searched the food you have been feeding them, and that kind is not recommended for guinea pigs. The little colourful parts in it are full of sugar and fat, and guinea pigs tend to pick them out and leave all the nutritional stuff. My pigs have timothy hay pellets as their dry food. That food on top of the depression of your daughter leaving probably made them a bit sick. I am no pig scientist, but that is what makes sense to me! I hope this helps!;)
 
What sort of fresh veg was fed? If you can give as much info on their diet as possible it may help - your daughter may want to get more pets in the future and if there is something that may have been a problem in the diet it will make a big difference to her new pets.

Suzy x
 
I'm so sorry this happened to you.

The food you've been feeding has seed mixed in there. I've heard of piggies choking on them. I wonder if that's what happened. The best piggie pellets are the plain ones with no mix.
 
Just remember every guinea pig is different

I feed that food to my pigs and my pigs eat the pellets and save the other stuff for last (like dessert) Also the seed that are in there are fine for them. Just remember, every guinea pig is different and therefore their digestive systems are different. I have actually read that one guinea pig would tip her dish and cover the food to act like she had eaten. These guys can be so picky on what type of food they want its crazy. I take my pigs food shopping sometimes and they always pick out the colorful stuff. I think that is out of preference and it appeals more to them but they always leave the sugary things til last. I have watched them eat where they will move the colorful things out of the way.
 
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