Tuesday evening everything was ok. Wednesday morning, my guinea pig Bubbles was acting strangely so I took her to our vet's. The vet couldn't find anything wrong but said it could be gut stasis. She prescribed pain meds, gut mover, and some food for syringe feeding. She didn't make it sound like it was serious. I gave Bubbles the pain meds right away, the gut mover later that afternoon. I put out some fresh veggies for the other pigs and gave her her own special bowl and left in front of her when she went to hide in the log house. The other pigs started to steal her food so I changed the loft (our cage is 2x8 and had a 2x2 loft) into a sort of hospital room. I counted that she had pooped six times and collected them in a bag. I then went to bed. I woke up at 04:30 yesterday morning to feed her some of the syringe food. She took some and then we snuggled a bit and I put her back in her makeshift hospital room. I went back to bed. At 06:45, I woke up to my husband standing near me to say that she had died. I jumped out of bed, grabbed what clothes were on hand and ran down the stairs. She was still warm but limp and I don't remember much except that I took her out of the cage, ran to the sofa and begged her to wake up. My kids came running to see what was happening. She was just gone but she looked alive. Did I kill her? Should I have fed her as soon as possible? Should I have left her with the other pigs? What did I do wrong because I can't believe she's gone. She's the first pet my kids have ever had and they aren't doing so good either. Our other 4 are constantly looking for her because she was the alpha pig. How can I make sure my other pigs don't die?
BIG HUGS
You haven't done anything; it was simply her time to die and there was nothing you and your vet could have done to stop that process once the body had started to break down; once one organ gives, the others will inevitably follow. How this goes depends on the order and how strong individual organs are. It can happen at any age.
If it is your first experience with it, you would have struggled to pick up on the initially very subtle signs. At least her passing was peaceful; your husband found her very shortly after she has gained her wings.
The natural dying process can start in lots of different way, including with bloating or GI stasis as secondary issues that are masking what it going on underneath as I know from previous piggies of mine. We tend to forget that guinea pigs are small animals with a very fast metabolism - until it turns against them, not rarely out of the blue. If you have never encountered a death or the dying process it can totally throw you.
If you feel you need to know more about multiple organ failure in order to make a bit more sense of what has just happened, then you may find this guide here helpful:
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs
Strong feelings of guilt and soul-searching are normal for the onset of the grieving process. It is usually worse if the death comes as a total shock. We humans were wired to reflect evrything back onto ourselves even where it is not appropriate. These feelings are not an expression of actual failure but an expression of how deeply you care. You would have them, and have them as strongly if you weren't strongly committed to your pets' welfare.
You may find our owner's grieving guide helpful to make sense of your own feelings as you go through a range of rather unexpected emotions and reactions in the coming days and weeks; grieving is not at all like you imagine when you have never experienced it before. The guide also contains tips and resources for parents to help them guide their children through their own grieving.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
Here is practical advice on what you can do for the bereavement companion right now and in the coming days and weeks. As long as your other piggy is eating and drinking you do not need to rush out and get another piggy quickly. Allow them to do their own grieving and allow yourself to get your bearing first. They will hold for 1-4 weeks or even a bit longer if needed.
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
Please be kind with yourself, give yourself a little time to not be OK and try to not put yourself under too much pressure.
