1 What can I do immediately after a guinea pig has died?
- Saying goodbye
- What can I do for my grieving piggy?
- Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
2 New companionship and human grieving
- When can I start looking for a new mate?
- "Replacing" a guinea pig: the conflict between human and cavy needs
- How do I best go about finding a new mate? (Possible options listed for bereaved sows and boars)
3 Getting support for yourself (including further links and resources)
1 What can I do immediately after a guinea pig has died?
Saying goodbye
Please let the companion(s) take leave if your piggy has died at home. Reactions can vary enormously, from completely ignoring the body to hunkering down next to it. Many piggies will lick the eyes and move away again.
You can ask your vet whether you can bring an euthanised piggy home first before having it cremated via the clinic's service that many offer. However, if your guinea pig has been very unwell, the companions will know this and have likely already taken their leave, especially if your ill piggy has removed itself from their company to die, as they would if they were not confined by cage walls.
It is more of an issue you might want to consider if you have had to make the decision unexpectedly after receiving bad news.
But please do not feel guilty if you do not bring your guinea pig home! Your companion(s) will adjust either way.
What can I do for my grieving piggy?
Please put a bereaved piggy next to others if you can or bring it indoors where it will have more company. Please don't leave it alone in an outdoors hutch.
Let the grieving guinea pig have a cosy or fleece that still smells of the passed away companion to snuggle into for comfort in the first few days, if that is possible and there has been no infectious/transmittable disease. Otherwise, a safe guinea pig sized toy that has been rubbed over with guinea pig scent can also help.
Grieving guinea pigs will usually withdraw and not show much appetite. They don’t feel and grieve any less deeply than we humans. You will have to respect this, but monitor the weight daily and top up with syringe feeding if the weight loss becomes larger than 50g/2 oz until it is eating again fully by itself, which is often happening on the second day, if reluctantly. Sometimes, a little syringe feed can stimulate the guinea pig to eat for itself again, but be gentle and don't force feed your grieving piggy just for the sake of it!
Offer your friendship, but accept that it may not be wanted. Unlike humans, most guinea pigs come out of deep mourning after a few days and get on with the vital job of surviving again, even if they have lost their previous sparkle.
In some cases, a very self-sufficient piggy will not show any signs of being upset and will concentrate on getting on with life (but please be aware that it still may prefer new company!), while occasionally, a piggy will decide to follow its much loved and tightly bonded friend; this happens more often when there are already underlying health issues.
Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
Acute pining is thankfully rare!
But if your bereaved guinea pig is not eating and drinking at all and is refusing to take any notice of the world around it (weight loss and turning its head to the wall or not come out of its hidey at all), you will need to step in with syringe feeding and watering. This is called "acute pining" and it has to be treated as an emergency.
Sometimes, a single syringe feed can trigger the eating reflex and pull a piggy out of it. If not, please continue with feeding support.
It is imperative that you have your guinea pig both checked by a vet to see whether the shock of the loss has caused an underlying health problem to the fore, and - if that is not the case - find your guinea pig a new companion asap without the benefit of quarantining if the new guinea pig has not undergone one in a rescue; the need of companionship has got absolute priority as it is a matter or life and death!
In many cases, the new company will bring your grieving piggy round, but sometimes the bond is sadly too close to prevent a piggy from just giving up and following its beloved mate.
Health problems and depression can sometimes manifest some days or weeks later with a grieving guinea pig on its own. Please make sure that you do not overlook the health angle and always have your piggy vet checked for an underlying health issue before you diagnose a depression!
- Saying goodbye
- What can I do for my grieving piggy?
- Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
2 New companionship and human grieving
- When can I start looking for a new mate?
- "Replacing" a guinea pig: the conflict between human and cavy needs
- How do I best go about finding a new mate? (Possible options listed for bereaved sows and boars)
3 Getting support for yourself (including further links and resources)
1 What can I do immediately after a guinea pig has died?
Saying goodbye
Please let the companion(s) take leave if your piggy has died at home. Reactions can vary enormously, from completely ignoring the body to hunkering down next to it. Many piggies will lick the eyes and move away again.
You can ask your vet whether you can bring an euthanised piggy home first before having it cremated via the clinic's service that many offer. However, if your guinea pig has been very unwell, the companions will know this and have likely already taken their leave, especially if your ill piggy has removed itself from their company to die, as they would if they were not confined by cage walls.
It is more of an issue you might want to consider if you have had to make the decision unexpectedly after receiving bad news.
But please do not feel guilty if you do not bring your guinea pig home! Your companion(s) will adjust either way.
What can I do for my grieving piggy?
Please put a bereaved piggy next to others if you can or bring it indoors where it will have more company. Please don't leave it alone in an outdoors hutch.
Let the grieving guinea pig have a cosy or fleece that still smells of the passed away companion to snuggle into for comfort in the first few days, if that is possible and there has been no infectious/transmittable disease. Otherwise, a safe guinea pig sized toy that has been rubbed over with guinea pig scent can also help.
Grieving guinea pigs will usually withdraw and not show much appetite. They don’t feel and grieve any less deeply than we humans. You will have to respect this, but monitor the weight daily and top up with syringe feeding if the weight loss becomes larger than 50g/2 oz until it is eating again fully by itself, which is often happening on the second day, if reluctantly. Sometimes, a little syringe feed can stimulate the guinea pig to eat for itself again, but be gentle and don't force feed your grieving piggy just for the sake of it!
Offer your friendship, but accept that it may not be wanted. Unlike humans, most guinea pigs come out of deep mourning after a few days and get on with the vital job of surviving again, even if they have lost their previous sparkle.
In some cases, a very self-sufficient piggy will not show any signs of being upset and will concentrate on getting on with life (but please be aware that it still may prefer new company!), while occasionally, a piggy will decide to follow its much loved and tightly bonded friend; this happens more often when there are already underlying health issues.
Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
Acute pining is thankfully rare!
But if your bereaved guinea pig is not eating and drinking at all and is refusing to take any notice of the world around it (weight loss and turning its head to the wall or not come out of its hidey at all), you will need to step in with syringe feeding and watering. This is called "acute pining" and it has to be treated as an emergency.
Sometimes, a single syringe feed can trigger the eating reflex and pull a piggy out of it. If not, please continue with feeding support.
It is imperative that you have your guinea pig both checked by a vet to see whether the shock of the loss has caused an underlying health problem to the fore, and - if that is not the case - find your guinea pig a new companion asap without the benefit of quarantining if the new guinea pig has not undergone one in a rescue; the need of companionship has got absolute priority as it is a matter or life and death!
In many cases, the new company will bring your grieving piggy round, but sometimes the bond is sadly too close to prevent a piggy from just giving up and following its beloved mate.
Health problems and depression can sometimes manifest some days or weeks later with a grieving guinea pig on its own. Please make sure that you do not overlook the health angle and always have your piggy vet checked for an underlying health issue before you diagnose a depression!