Is my Guinea pig sad ?

[furpiggy]

Yesterday we had to make a tough devastating decision to put our Simba 14 months old to sleep due to recurring bladder stones. He was so young too. Our first set of Guineas both brothers from the same litter and they both had a very strong bond. We brought Simba home and buried him in our garden. I had a devastated 7 year old daughter. It was heartbreaking to see her so hurt. The bond i had with him was special. my fur baby's. So hard when you lose a pet. I am so hurt to see willow also 14 months old now alone. They could not be separated even if it was just for cuddles they cried for each other. I chose not to let willow see Simba deceased like some choose too. I didn't want to stress him out and make him sick with depression. You kinda know your animal and know if it would benefit your pig by doing so and for me i felt it would make him worse. I cleaned all the cage clean blankets etc but kept the blanket that Simba was wrapped in for scent and have put it into willows bed. Willow is eating and he has been getting a lot of hand held cuddles and attention from myself. At the moment i am a stay at home mum e.g have a toddler, so i can spend a lot of time with him to make him feel better. I have seen a few pop corns and he is eating quite a lot. However what i have noticed is that he keeps sniffing items in his cage. Such as a tunnel i brought in this evening which we have had and both guineas have already chewed on. He is sniffing his fleece that is lined in the cage which don't have Simba's sent on. Simba use to chew the corners of his cage e.g it's open wooden cage. I cant help but think that Willow is trying to sniff out Simbas Scent. What do you all think ? He is sniffing places that Simba would chew on. ? He's sniffing all the cage lining blanket and looking up in the air. He's making no crying noise but has squeaked super loud when i opened the fridge today lol. He has a teddy in his bed also rubbed the scented blanket that i put into his bed all over that for comfort of a night. Do you think he is trying to sniff Simbas sent by doing this sniffing. ?

 

[DM030819]

@furpiggy It's very likely that he's looking for Simba. They are very social animals so the loss of a friend can hit them hard.

I have a foster pig who was recently bereaved and he ended up with a urinary infection due to stress.

Are you planning on getting Willow a new friend?

 

[Swissgreys]

I am sorry for the loss of Simba - it is always such a difficult decision, but it sounds like you made the right choice for your boy.

You may find some tips on caring for Willow here:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

 

[artcasper]

I am so sorry for your loss... been through a similar thing myself recently. We had to have our lovely Gladys put to sleep, she was 4 and developed a large tumour, nothing could be done. I did place Gladys's body in the cage so her sister could see her one last time - she nudged her, licked her face and then her eyes. I think this did help her. She was very sad for 5-6 days - no noises, no pop corning but eating but she was clearly missing Gladys. I left the cage as it was for a few days then changed all the fleece as I would usually do. About 10 days later we took Pippin to a rescue so she could find a new friend. She was there 6 days before she picked the 'one' and is now settling in back home with Winny. The cage was given a deep clean so as to remove all of Gladys scent so the new piggy couldn't smell her. Its all very heartbreaking as they steal a little piece of your heart. I hope that your daughter and you are ok.

 

[furpiggy]

@furpiggy It's very likely that he's looking for Simba. They are very social animals so the loss of a friend can hit them hard.

I have a foster pig who was recently bereaved and he ended up with a urinary infection due to stress.

Are you planning on getting Willow a new friend?

I am considering a new cage mate for him. Pref a baby one younger than himself. However going to give him a couple of weeks just to see how he is. He is eating and squeaks when i open the fridge he has free roam and he is coming out of his cage to free roam. He is not hiding in his bed which is a good sign. He is eating his food and is at his hay tray all the time. Although he appears to be doing okay right now things could change as it's only early days. I have been keeping the radio on for him too when i have to go out. x

 

[furpiggy]

I am so sorry for your loss... been through a similar thing myself recently. We had to have our lovely Gladys put to sleep, she was 4 and developed a large tumour, nothing could be done. I did place Gladys's body in the cage so her sister could see her one last time - she nudged her, licked her face and then her eyes. I think this did help her. She was very sad for 5-6 days - no noises, no pop corning but eating but she was clearly missing Gladys. I left the cage as it was for a few days then changed all the fleece as I would usually do. About 10 days later we took Pippin to a rescue so she could find a new friend. She was there 6 days before she picked the 'one' and is now settling in back home with Winny. The cage was given a deep clean so as to remove all of Gladys scent so the new piggy couldn't smell her. Its all very heartbreaking as they steal a little piece of your heart. I hope that your daughter and you are ok.

It's heartbreaking isn't it. I am mourning his loss for myself, and for my daughter watching her be sad, and for willow losing his cage mate. Willow is breaking my heart though i really feel for him. I have not washed the cage yet but changed all the bedding, he does however have the blanket that him and simba had in there carry case while at the vet that i supplied for them. That has all Simba's Scent on and willow sleeps on it in his bed, i see him sniffing it occasionally. :-( when should i remove the blanket with the scent on. The longer it's there the more he will think he may be coming back. I chose not to show willow simbas body in case he did suffer bad with the shock of Simba passing. Willow was very close to Simba. Willow is quite a rumble strutter always had been even with Simba but he's not a fighter but would appear to others that he is if he was to do that. I am a little scared of him going on dates to find a new cage mate and him doing this then the other pig reacts and hurts him. x

 

[furpiggy]

I am sorry for the loss of Simba - it is always such a difficult decision, but it sounds like you made the right choice for your boy.

You may find some tips on caring for Willow here:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

Thank you. It was such a hard thing to do and i still feel like i was pushed into making that decision by the vet despite saying no the first and second time. first phone call i said no. Then to get another phone call 10 minutes later while simba was still on op table. They were adamant that he would be in pain and then stop urinating in the weeks to come. There story's changed twice on what condition he was in. first saying he had very small stones in the bladder but said this would not be causing the amount of blood loss. Then said they would remove the stones. Then said his tube snapped. Then said the stones was in the tube. Then said his insides were in such a state. Then said his insides were all twisted and that his previous op caused damage to his insides. When the first OP was successful and he recovered great. When one changes there story so many times it does make you think well what was the real story. 2 different people with different story's that now makes me think they caused some damage during the op. I will never know. It's so hard when there only young 14 mths old his was.

 

[artcasper]

It's heartbreaking isn't it. I am mourning his loss for myself, and for my daughter watching her be sad, and for willow losing his cage mate. Willow is breaking my heart though i really feel for him. I have not washed the cage yet but changed all the bedding, he does however have the blanket that him and simba had in there carry case while at the vet that i supplied for them. That has all Simba's Scent on and willow sleeps on it in his bed, i see him sniffing it occasionally. :-( when should i remove the blanket with the scent on. The longer it's there the more he will think he may be coming back. I chose not to show willow simbas body in case he did suffer bad with the shock of Simba passing. Willow was very close to Simba. Willow is quite a rumble strutter always had been even with Simba but he's not a fighter but would appear to others that he is if he was to do that. I am a little scared of him going on dates to find a new cage mate and him doing this then the other pig reacts and hurts him. x

If you find a good reputable rescue then the dating will be done in a proper manner and there should be no fights. The rescue where i took Pippin told me they only allow a new piggy home once they are positive the bond is a good one. Have a look at the rescue locater - not sure where you live.

 

[furpiggy]

Willow is doing incredible considering. We put a mirror into his cage literally a hour ago and he's been over to it more than a few times and even swung his bottom side to side. I was waiting for his rumbling to start as he usually does this when he struts his bottom but he never. Since putting the mirror in his house he has been a lot more active playing with his ball even.

I am feeling positive about this mirror so going to see how he gets on with it tonight and tomorrow. If he seems to be more chirpy just as chirpy as he was with simba there then i may not bother getting him another cage met at this moment in time. He is none stop eating though and shouting for more food. I'm scared he is over eating, maybe comfort eating is that even possible with guineas ? at first i was given in due to the circumstances and seeing him eat is great as was worried he wouldn't eat at all. But i've held back every squeak or were going to have a guinea the size of a donkey

 

[Sue and Smartie]

Thank you. It was such a hard thing to do and i still feel like i was pushed into making that decision by the vet despite saying no the first and second time. first phone call i said no. Then to get another phone call 10 minutes later while simba was still on op table. They were adamant that he would be in pain and then stop urinating in the weeks to come. There story's changed twice on what condition he was in. first saying he had very small stones in the bladder but said this would not be causing the amount of blood loss. Then said they would remove the stones. Then said his tube snapped. Then said the stones was in the tube. Then said his insides were in such a state. Then said his insides were all twisted and that his previous op caused damage to his insides. When the first OP was successful and he recovered great. When one changes there story so many times it does make you think well what was the real story. 2 different people with different story's that now makes me think they caused some damage during the op. I will never know. It's so hard when there only young 14 mths old his was.

I have had a pig who suffered recurring bladder stones. He had more than one surgery for this, and the vet said this would cause some scarring (how could it not?) which could cause problems in the future. Well, he did get another lot of stones and one was stuck to the scar on his bladder. We had to let him go then.
I think with a recurring condition like this it's never going to be a happy ending. I am sorry you lost your little pig, and I hope you can find some peace with the decision to let him go. Hope WIllow continues to thrive - maybe put a little pet-safe teddy in with him until he can pair up with a new piggy friend?

 

[Wiebke]

Yesterday we had to make a tough devastating decision to put our Simba 14 months old to sleep due to recurring bladder stones. He was so young too. Our first set of Guineas both brothers from the same litter and they both had a very strong bond. We brought Simba home and buried him in our garden. I had a devastated 7 year old daughter. It was heartbreaking to see her so hurt. The bond i had with him was special. my fur baby's. So hard when you lose a pet. I am so hurt to see willow also 14 months old now alone. They could not be separated even if it was just for cuddles they cried for each other. I chose not to let willow see Simba deceased like some choose too. I didn't want to stress him out and make him sick with depression. You kinda know your animal and know if it would benefit your pig by doing so and for me i felt it would make him worse. I cleaned all the cage clean blankets etc but kept the blanket that Simba was wrapped in for scent and have put it into willows bed. Willow is eating and he has been getting a lot of hand held cuddles and attention from myself. At the moment i am a stay at home mum e.g have a toddler, so i can spend a lot of time with him to make him feel better. I have seen a few pop corns and he is eating quite a lot. However what i have noticed is that he keeps sniffing items in his cage. Such as a tunnel i brought in this evening which we have had and both guineas have already chewed on. He is sniffing his fleece that is lined in the cage which don't have Simba's sent on. Simba use to chew the corners of his cage e.g it's open wooden cage. I cant help but think that Willow is trying to sniff out Simbas Scent. What do you all think ? He is sniffing places that Simba would chew on. ? He's sniffing all the cage lining blanket and looking up in the air. He's making no crying noise but has squeaked super loud when i opened the fridge today lol. He has a teddy in his bed also rubbed the scented blanket that i put into his bed all over that for comfort of a night. Do you think he is trying to sniff Simbas sent by doing this sniffing. ?

It is highly likely that Willow is missing Simba and looking for reminders of him.
It would be great if you considered finding Willow a new companion, ideally of his own choice via boar dating at a rescue. No human company can ever make up for round the clock companionship and stimulation, and no piggy is ever too old for a new friend, even though you can be proud of the great age your boys are living to!
The oldest piggy I took in was a 7 years old 'last standing' group survivor. She lived to celebrate her 9th birthday because of a new found zest for life.

Here are our links to tips, which you may hopefully find helpful, both for Willow and for you and your daughter.
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
Human Bereavement - Grieving, coping tips and support links for guinea pig owners and their children

 

[furpiggy]

Hi everyone I have good news for willow. We bit the bullet and decided sooner was better than later for willow too have a new cage mate.

We were told by the vet due to our guinea being only 14 months old still a young boar himself, that a younger boar would be better suited for a perfect match. This way he will feel good about himself still being in control and not being bossed by a older boar or a boar his age totally taking over his home. We found the perfect baby boar or should i say ( Boars ) we got him 2 beautiful babies to play daddy too.

Travelled quite far to get them but they were so worth it. They are only 6 weeks old and i know they don't leave mum till 8 weeks but these were ready to go for the simple reasons being. 1. They can eat veggies / pellets and drink out of a bottle, climb high and run super fast. lol.

They were raised with about 4 adults and lots of babies and 4 rabbits in a lovely outdoor well made /cared for housing/run. We picked our babies up brought them home put them into our indoor run play pen e.g my guineas are ( indoor ) Using this Set up for there house for the next week or so. I give them there veggies/ hay and they tucked in straight away, eating how fab is that for there age, even eating there pellets, there doing things well before there time. They settled in ever so well.

I let my guinea smell the babies faces that evening. We divided the guineas in the play pen and they could see each other. The baby guineas was pop corning and my older guinea was smelling there face through the sectioned off area through the bars. The next day we thought let's try them. I sectioned a area off in the hallway and sat in the middle of them and brought in the baby's. my older guinea give there bums a good sniff and they were following each other everywhere.

I have never seen a bonding session go successfully so quickly. my older guinea started to do the biggest Pop Corn jumps and then the baby's were doing the same. I have a indoor house built under the stairs for my guineas so i opened the hatch and let them in watching there every move with the tea towel in my hand. The baby's acted like they had lived there for years, they were straight into his bowls, in his hay tray, and my lovely Guinea willow allowed them to do it. I could cry at just the thought of how lovely he is.

I bought willow a hay box to chew that is stuffed with hay etc from pets at home and it arrived today by delivery. He let them chew that too and then the 3 of them were sat chewing it and the 3 of them got in the hay box together. Pop corning all round the place. I am delighted so happy. We took the babies away after a hour and willow was crying for them and then the babies were crying for willow. So i let them have roam time in the hall for a little longer and then put them back into there play pen.

A hour each day i'll do then put them together full time next week because right now i could actually put them together full time there so settled and happy with each other but just to be safe i'll stick to the bonding a bit more and then move them in. Here's a pic. :-) meet our new babies, Charlie and milo, and my baby willow. :-)