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Please help! Cause of sudden death of our two babies

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M

momo

Our two guinea pigs Pepsi and Mo, were very healthy and happy piggies until I found them this morning. As I went to give them their morning feed today, I found both girls in their bedroom area lying close together, dead. Last night I gave them a snack and they seemed so well. I made sure all the food was washed thoroughly and safe to eat. As always, there was clean water, grain and the cage was clean. It was a warm night and the cages are kept outside but always covered with a tarpaulin at night to keep them cosy. There is what I think is blood on and around Mo's nose and Pepsi does not have anything similar that I can see. My daughter and I are distraught as we do not know what happened. Please, can anyone can think of any possible causes of our piggies deaths? We are desperate to know as we have another two girls and if there is anything I can do to prevent any future deaths, I want to know. I am still wondering whether it was my fault and could have prevented this. :(
Thank you
Amy
 
I personally have no idea but you could consider taking them to your vet for a post mortem, if you wanted to.

Were they litter sisters?
 
momo said:
Our two guinea pigs Pepsi and Mo, were very healthy and happy piggies until I found them this morning. As I went to give them their morning feed today, I found both girls in their bedroom area lying close together, dead. Last night I gave them a snack and they seemed so well. I made sure all the food was washed thoroughly and safe to eat. As always, there was clean water, grain and the cage was clean. It was a warm night and the cages are kept outside but always covered with a tarpaulin at night to keep them cosy. There is what I think is blood on and around Mo's nose and Pepsi does not have anything similar that I can see. My daughter and I are distraught as we do not know what happened. Please, can anyone can think of any possible causes of our piggies deaths? We are desperate to know as we have another two girls and if there is anything I can do to prevent any future deaths, I want to know. I am still wondering whether it was my fault and could have prevented this. :(
Thank you
Amy
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Hi, i know you've put the tarpoline over the cage, but cage's aren't meant for outside, there for inside in the winter, you realy need a hutch, and something more than just a taupoline over it, e.g. carpet, rug, hutch thermol cover.
Iver that or the've died of heart problems(heart attack) witch is very unlikly as the've both died at the same time.
pigpig.
 
pigpig479 said:
Hi, i know you've put the tarpoline over the cage, but cage's aren't meant for outside, there for inside in the winter, you realy need a hutch, and something more than just a taupoline over it, e.g. carpet, rug, hutch thermol cover.
Iver that or the've died of heart problems(heart attack) witch is very unlikly as the've both died at the same time.
pigpig.
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As Pipgpig mentions - it WAS a hutch you had them in wasn't it - not a cage - ?

H.
 
I'm not sure where you live the temperature in Uk was very low last night so if youre in Uk it could have been the cold that killed them.or has something scared them,maybe a rat?
 
I think until Amy gives more information, we should assume that the night was warm as stated; therefore that she lives overseas. The time on the post is 1.52 am, which may indicate a different time zone. I'm very sorry about your pigs, Amy.
 
I am so sorry about your loss - you must be so upset!

You are quite obviously not living in the UK (as we currently have the coldest winter in decades), as you say it was a warm night where you are.

Your girls could either have died from poison in food (have they been on the lawn and been able to eat a pernicious weed?) or through a concentration of fumes which the tarpauling would have kept in. Have you checked your bedding (certain woods used for wood shavings can give off fumes) and any treatment/paint on the wood of your hutch? Is there mdf in in the cage (fumes from glue)?

Guinea pigs can also die from fright, if a predator like rats or bigger animals is trying to break in. However, the blood around the mouth of one of your piggies makes this more unlikely.
 
I'm so sorry for the loss of your pigs,
As you said it was warm and the time you posted could you be from oz? as we had 30 degrees celcius over night last night;).
If you are pm me and i can direct you to some good piggy vets.
The best way to find out is get a post mortem done but you need to do it asap its cant be done after more than a day or two if I'm correct,cold may have been a factor so be sure to give you other piggies some extra hideys/hay and hutch covers tonight x
 
momo said:
As always, there was clean water, grain.
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You don't mention hay - did you feed them hay on a daily basis? Guinea-pigs need to eat mostly grass and/or hay; was this a major (80%) part of their diet? Also, guinea-pigs should not be fed grain, only a small handful of hay-based, vitamin C enriched pellets, plus mixed veg and the occasional bit of fruit.

If it was warm where you were last night, the tarpaulin could have prevented air circulation and caused the cage to overheat. Guinea-pigs are very prone to heat-stroke. Their hutch needs to be kept in a cool, shady place and preferably insulated to keep it cool in the Summer.
 
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Yes, thank you everyone. I'm in Australia as I probably should have mentioned before and it was a very warm night. The guinea pigs live in hutches yes, not cages sorry. I've decided to take them to the vet tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks for the response :)
 
I'm not sure what part of australia your in but most parts were way to hot for any covers on the hutches particuarly if you are in QLD,SA,WA,NT? NSW and VIC were hot too but not as bad as others.
your piggies do need hay in unlimited amounts not lucerne or clover as they are high in calcium.Lucerne and clover are only good for young piggies or pregnant/lactating sows

Furries- Our only australian GP rescue soley feeds a grain/chaff mix they make and its a good feed i used to feed it to my pigs but they selectively fed so i took them off it
Momo are you using the acs chaff mix?
If its any other mix i would say a definate no no you can get pellets and hay here

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/

They are fairly expensive with shipping added but with a small amount of pigs they are the best pellets, its what i feed.
You can get them from some vets especially piggy vets too.
Any other aussie GP food is utter Cr@p and i would use it
Here is the acs website,I'm on there too lol

http://www.australiancavysanctuary.com/index2new.html

its fantastic for lots of care info and adopting if your interested in tha as there are hundreds of piggies in rescue right now.
You should join the forum too as there are so many aussie members on there,I'm on this one and that one as with Health and illness issues i find it easier to get on there,the shelter managers can hekp you with correct treatments and aussie products too xx
 
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Welcome to the forum, Momo. I can't add anything to what Bonnie said, but I am so very sorry for your losses. I hope your remaining two girls continue to do well. Big hugs. xx
 
momo said:
Yes, thank you everyone. I'm in Australia as I probably should have mentioned before and it was a very warm night. The guinea pigs live in hutches yes, not cages sorry. I've decided to take them to the vet tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks for the response :)
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That explains it! Too much heat maybe? Good luck.
 
I'm sorry to hear you've lost two little ones so suddenly, what a sad shock.
I hope the vet can give you some answers and I hope it is nothing that will affect your other girls.
xx
 
Thank you everyone. Yes, as I should have mentioned initially they are in HUTCHES not cages and I'm in Australia where it is quite warm at night. I decided to take them to the vet this morning where they suspected it was most likely a spider or snake bite or possibly a bacterial infection that both girls caught at the same time. However, I highly doubt it was a snake as the hutch mesh was very small and we do not usually get snakes in this area. We have decided to cover the cages in shade cloth so that nothing can get in. I very much appreciate everyone's response.
Amy
 
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