My guinea pig Blinkee who I love with all my heart is 5+ years old. I am asking for your opinions on what I should do. He used to always eat all his vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber, pepper, and carrot. Now he either doesn't touch it or he only eats half the portion. He also seems to have trouble breathing perhaps once in a while. He is most of the time in the corner and he doesn't poop and if he does his poop is runny and mushy. He also is not interacting with my younger guinea pig. He used to always try to get the fellow guinea pig's attention and now it's the other way around. Please respond I am begging! I am in tears.Is it because of old age and there is nothing much I can do? Should I euthanize my baby boy because I don't want him to be miserable!
Hi! I am very sorry that you are upset.
- please step in with syringe feeding and watering if your guinea is not eating properly to keep the guts going. The poo output reflects what is going in. if there is not enough fuel, then the engine will stall - that also goes for guinea pigs. The longer you wait, the more the guts will slow down and eventually close down.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
- always see a vet if your guinea pig loses its appetite significantly. There is always a good reason for it, even if it is not obvious to you. Do not simply assume that because your guinea pig is elderly that any health issue is necessarily the end of it!
Yes, it can be the beginnings of organ failure, but there may also be medication to address a specific health problem and get him through a rough patch, especially if the problem is caused by pneumonia rather than heart problems. It is for a vet to diagnose and decide what is the matter and to see if it can be healed, stabilised or not. NOT doing anything because you are afraid is not helping your piggy in any way, as is waiting for too long until it is too late.
Please try to be strong for your beloved piggy and do what is right for him. Don't waste valuable time fretting yourself to bits in case it is an illness that can be medically dealt with. Blinkee needs to see a vet ASAP; you would not post this if you didn't know this in your own heart!
Please also note that no vet can force you to euthanise. If you are in doubt, you can always ask a vet for their honest opinion what they would do in your situation and you are always free to ask what your alternatives are if you decide otherwise, but it is only you, the owner, who will ever make this decision - nobody else!
It is a frightening decision, especially for the first time, but in the end we all make it only in order to spare a beloved pet any unnecessary suffering and in the knowledge that euthanasia is be the very last, most loving but also most heart-breaking gift we can make a beloved one. None of us does it ever lightly.
The prospect of possibly losing a beloved pet is a frightening one when you have never encountered death or loss before, but try to concentrate on doing what is right for Blinkee, and you cannot go wrong!
