Please help. Sick piggie.

[Normansmama]

I’m sure I don’t need to explain how much I love my piggie. He is part of our family and we love him so very much. We rescued him from a very bad situation a year ago. His cage mate was dead in the cage and Norman was thin and had horrible bumblefoot. We nursed him back to health with a great vet.
Mee decided it would be best for him to have a friend again, after reading so much about this.
We went to a guinea pig rescue in Texas and they matched him with a pal. We did everything “right.” But Norman wouldn’t eat or drink or move. So we brought the pal back the next day.
since then, Norman wasn’t the same. We cleaned his fleeces and everything in his cage. But he wouldn’t eat or drink as much as usual. The rescue center said it was fine and he’d bounce back. Today his poop was large and soft but also tiny and hard. He couldn’t really move my heart aches and
finally today we brought him to the ER vet. They said they can give him IV fluids and ox bow critical care but we have to wait until tomorrow morning to see the piggie specialist.
i am so afraid. I’m so sad that I might have killed my baby by trying to get him a little friend. I was only trying to do the right thing. Have you heard of this before? Of a piggie dying from meeting another piggie? The other piggie isn’t sick. I checked. There was another piggie who they tried to match him with that kept jumping on Norman and humping his face. Maybe it traumatized him?
i don’t know. I’m just so upset and mostly wondering if anyone has any advice on how I can keep him alive tonight to make it to the specialist in the morning? We love him so much. Thank you.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

Trying to get him a friend won’t kill him, but he may have been scared by the change in environment. If the new piggy was displaying dominance behaviours and your piggy wasn’t used that, then again it may just have shocked him a little bit. If you then brought him home and cleaned his cage it would have removed all his familiar smells, which also may have just made him feel insecure.
If he isn’t eating then he needs to be syringe fed the critical care and possibly have some time to settle back down. But you absolutely need to see the vet to rule out any illness.

 

[PigglePuggle]

I'm sorry to hear this and certainly you have done all the right things we recommend regarding taking your boy to meet potential new friends at a rescue. This might have upset him a bit but shouldnt be a direct cause for any serious illness.
Syringe feeding some recovery food or mushed up pellets every 2 or 3 hours should hopefully keep him going until you see the specialist vet x

 

[Merab]

Sorry that things are difficult. We can do everything right but piggy personalities are always the unknown factor.
Hope things work out well.
Welcome to the forum

 

[Normansmama]

He didn’t make it.
the ER vet gave him fluids and oxbow mush. But he didn’t make it the night.
i am so sad and feel like it’s my fault for trying to get Norman a new friend. My heart is shattered.

 

[Little Ones]

it won’t have anything to do with getting him a friend, trust me. Pigs can go downhill really fast and it’s likely that he became suddenly ill or had been masking an illness for a while. Nothing about it is your fault, or the fault of getting him a friend. What you did was the absolute right thing to do. Be kind to yourself, I’m sorry for your loss

 

[VickiA]

Oh gosh, I am so very sorry for your loss. Please don’t blame yourself. You acted out of love and with the best of intentions for Norman and did nothing wrong. Very sadly piggies are masters of disguise and with his dreadful start in life he may have been harbouring any manner of problems (as a veteran rescuer I have the T-shirt on this one believe me) and his past may just have caught up with him. Please go easy on yourself.

 

[Normansmama]

My heart is just so sad. I know everyone here understands. Norman was so special. He was truly like a little fluffy puppy and just wanted to be snuggled so he could lick you all day. I am going to bring him to the vet this morning to see if they do cremation or if they’ll make paw prints for us. He was one of a kind and will be missed so much. Thank you for being kind and reassuring me it’s not my fault. It just feels like there’s something I should have done or not done, but I suppose sometimes these things just happen. Thank you again.

 

[Julie M]

So sorry for your loss.
It was 100% not your fault. You did the right thing trying to find him a friend. As others have said piggies hide illness so well.

 

[Merab]

I am so sorry to hear this news.
You rescued him from an awful situation, filled his life with love and care, that is a wonderful gift.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve

 

[Wiebke]

He didn’t make it.
the ER vet gave him fluids and oxbow mush. But he didn’t make it the night.
i am so sad and feel like it’s my fault for trying to get Norman a new friend. My heart is shattered.

Hi!

BIG HUGS

I am extremely sorry for your loss. Please do not feel guilty; a piggy doesn't die just like that. It is more likely that the extra stress has triggered an underlying issue stemming from his long term neglect before you saved thim - but in this case, it would have happened sooner rather than later anyway; like a bomb whose long fuse had been already lit and was burning away.

This is not your fault, and you have not killed Norman in your desire to make him as happy as you could.
Please keep in mind that without you he would have long been dead and would never have known the care and love you have been giving him and all the happiness that he has experienced while with you. You have made all the difference to his life!
Sadly with the very badly damaged neglect piggies, the shadow of their past can reach out and snatch away again what you have brought into the light... Your experience mirrors those that of many dedicated rescue fosterers who find experiences like yours the hardest bit of their job to cope with.

We all experience strong feelings of guilt or failure when one of ours dies and we try to make sense of what has happened. As humans we are wired to seek the fault always with ourselves. this is what you are currently experiencing; it is typical for the onset of the grieving process but worse than normal because of the circumstances, the suddenness which has not allowed you to brace for it and your deep love and sense of responsibility. There is nothing you have done wrong and there is nothing wrong with your big heart!

You may find this link here helpful to understand your strong and often conflicting emotions as you go through the grieving process over the coming days and weeks: Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

 

[Normansmama]

Thank you so much for these words. They truly mean so much. I think most people don’t realize how much you can love a piggie. He was our family. I brought him to the vet for cremation and clay prints. Such a sweet little man. I’ll miss him a lot. Thank you again so much for being so comforting and knowledgeable.

 

[Booknerd]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I just wanted to say that I don’t think you did anything wrong at all and you need to remember all the love and nurturing you gave him. You sound like a wonderful guinea pig parent x