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My guinea pig died only after 5 days. Help!

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DanielleRH

DanielleRH

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I bought my first guinea pig last Wednesday from where I work, Petsmart, and he died on me late Monday night. He was the tiniest of the three that came in his litter and became instantly attached when they came to our store about 3 weeks ago. He never made alot of noise and he didn't seem very attentive to sound or people but I simply thought it was because he was so young.
I did everything right as far as his cage set-up and provided him with fresh hay, food, water, and things to chew on. Monday afternoon when I picked him up out of his cage I noticed he couldn't keep his head up and he was squealing in pain. When I put him back in his cage he fell immediately on his left side, then got up and was just shaking and it looked like he was hiccuping very hard. My boyfriend put him in his igloo to rest but we both knew something was wrong. An hour or so later we tried to feed him water from his water bottle and he went onto his back and his left limbs were so stiff and he started screaming. At this point I left the room crying and my boyfriend tended to him the rest of the night until he passed.
Petsmart does have a 14-day guarantee where I could have returned him and they would have taken him to vet but the earliest they could have taken him would have been the next day AND only if they could have got an appointment with the vet. I work in the small animal department and I never agreed with where the animals came from and the way they are housed. Can anyone help me figure out what happened to my little Nibbler? *I noticed he had some patched of dry skin but I didn't think too much of it at the time. He also didn't eat at all Sunday night and Monday and when I took him out of his cage Sunday night it looked like he was limping a bit on his let hind leg and wasn't very active but then he started walking normally again. He probably was just trying to conceal an illness. *
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I'm sorry to hear about this little one. Personally IMO i think in big pet shops like yours i dont think the animals come from very good conditions or good stock. We had a tiny sick pig that did the same last year and died on xmas day. It was horrid. The only real way of knowing exactly what was wrong with him would probably be a post mortem unfortunatly.

x.
 
Oh no :0
I struggled to read this and like you, would have been hysterical witnessing a tiny piggy (or any) in so much pain 8...
Hope you are ok and send hugs :(
Run free little guy x>>
 
I am so sorry that you lost your little one so soon!

Sadly, guinea pigs from pet shop are subject to huge stress and therefore illnesses that spread quickly. Young piggies can go down very soon; especially if you are not familiar with the subtle early signs.

If you consider to get guinea pigs again, please try to see whether there is a guinea pig rescue or a shelter in your reach. Please consider getting two of the same sex (and check them upon arrival!); guinea pigs are herd animals and not really wired to be on their own.
 
I am so sorry for your loss, it does sound like it could have been some sort of fit or neurological problem. Piggies can be very sensitive to chemicals, things like air freshners or cleaning sprays should not ever be used near them, so maybe something could have happened before you got him? Unless you have a post mortem by a vet you probably won't know what caused it.

However the pet shop should be told about it so any other remaining piggies can be checked over. Please though if you do ever have a piggie screaming with pain, you must see a vet immediately, no animal should be allowed to suffer in that way, & a vet will be able to give painkillers, even if all hope of survival is lost.

I am sorry it must have been awful for you :(
 
Wow, I have a guinea pig that I bought from Petsmart and she is as healthy as can be and unfortunately, I think you got one that just wasn't that healthy and or strong, it does happen but sometimes the vet might have missed something that was fatal, maybe a birth defect that they didn't find.

Run free and hopefully you find a new furry friend to be with
 
Lissie, not every Petsmart buys animals from somewhere like that. That may be in the USA but in Canada, they go through local people that know what they are doing and have means to afford c sections etc.. This is why sometimes here in saskatoon, they don't have hampsters or guinea pigs or rats. I know this because the manager at Petsmart is one of my good friends. And hate to break it to you but my guinea pig that I bought from there is nice and healthy.

Yes I know petstore pets are from mills like that but sometimes some of them are quite different from others. And PETA has a way to twist words and be over dramatic etc. PETA actually kills animals rather than saves them (they think they know everything)

This is my opinion and I don't intend upset anyone but this is what I know and what I think
 
I am so sorry! Maybe he was a victum of his mum and dad being family? Maybe he was just ill and he wasnt showing it? Run free darling!xoxoxoxo
 
I apologize to the OP for derailing the thread.

Christina said:
Lissie, not every Petsmart buys animals from somewhere like that. That may be in the USA but in Canada, they go through local people that know what they are doing and have means to afford c sections etc.. This is why sometimes here in saskatoon, they don't have hampsters or guinea pigs or rats. I know this because the manager at Petsmart is one of my good friends. And hate to break it to you but my guinea pig that I bought from there is nice and healthy.

Yes I know petstore pets are from mills like that but sometimes some of them are quite different from others. And PETA has a way to twist words and be over dramatic etc. PETA actually kills animals rather than saves them (they think they know everything)

This is my opinion and I don't intend upset anyone but this is what I know and what I think
Click to expand...

If there's a pet store in town, there are abandoned pets in town. Look, I just found an adoptable piggie in your town. Only took me 5 seconds to search. He's at the Saskatoon SPCA.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20117657
 
I'm so sorry- that sounds terrible to witness. From your description, I would guess that there was some underlying problem from the start. Small prey animals conceal illness remarkably well until the very end. Unfortunately without a postmortem there is probably no way to know exactly what happened. RIP little one!
 
hey lovely. I'm so sorry to hear about your piggie. Iv just recently lost my baby... your symptoms you described sound like what mine went through, though he had uri (snotty nose, sneezing etc) to begin with but really rapidily became very ill. lost the use of his front legs, started squealing if we moved him. he put up a big fight but unfortunately his little body couldnt take it anymore. it was so awful still makes me cry thinking about him. I really hope your ok. big hugs x
 
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