Sarah from Chucklebunnies
Adult Guinea Pig
I am very sorry to have to tell you that Rosebud died in the early hours. She was never strong, always wheezy, not formed quite correctly as you could see from her eyes and head shape, but she had a very happy little life here. She came to us terrified and approx 600g at the end of November, so we have had her in our herd for just four months.
She blossomed into a curious, inquisitive, confident and excitable little girl, 'auntied' by all of my piggies but 'mothered' most closely by Lola. Belle (who arrived with her into rescue and had been bullying her for the little food available) went from ignoring her to auntying her - and by that I mean washing her face and sleeping next to her. Rosebud never got used to the amount and variety of food, she would go round and round the various food items sniffing and investigating before finally picking on something someone else was eating. They would then let her eat it along with them - aunties you see. She stopped gaining weight at around the 700g mark, I was hoping for 750g I must admit.
I thought she would leave us in the summer when the weather heats up as she became so very tired after bouncing a bit and also never lay on her side to sleep, she always sat in an upright position. To me that indicated a heart/breathing problem. She was on permanent comfort eye drops for dry eyes and always had a choice of 'wet' food as her salivary glands didn't work too well. So there were always issues, but on the whole she was a fairly healthy little bundle of happiness. She got really used to cuddles, exploring us and the settee, and she spoke chinese body language but the other piggies forgave her for this once they realised that she was just a bit 'special'.
She caught a bit of a cold, nothing much, Talullah and Mina both have it and it has barely slowed them up. But Rosebud went downhill a bit yesterday, off her food too much so I syringe fed her in the evening. She was still pooing, no bloating or pain, wheezing but nothing really bad, no temperature. But she was exhausted, not just tired. Completely exhausted, where they love you and they are trying not to show it, but all the muscles are worn out. I have seen this level of tiredness before in dying cancer piggies, so I said goodbye before I put her back in with the others. Note that she had been tucked up between all four of them, tiny little lump in between those lardy arses, and they immediately arranged themselves back around her, so she was in a good place.
I went down early but she was already dead, still tucked up between the four. They were all fast asleep until I disturbed them.
Personally I think it was a heart defect that caught up with her. I also think her excited and happy lifestyle probably hastened her death, but on the other hand who wouldn't want to be excited and happy and bouncing around the place!
We all loved her very much and she will be very much missed. By us and the piggies.
She blossomed into a curious, inquisitive, confident and excitable little girl, 'auntied' by all of my piggies but 'mothered' most closely by Lola. Belle (who arrived with her into rescue and had been bullying her for the little food available) went from ignoring her to auntying her - and by that I mean washing her face and sleeping next to her. Rosebud never got used to the amount and variety of food, she would go round and round the various food items sniffing and investigating before finally picking on something someone else was eating. They would then let her eat it along with them - aunties you see. She stopped gaining weight at around the 700g mark, I was hoping for 750g I must admit.
I thought she would leave us in the summer when the weather heats up as she became so very tired after bouncing a bit and also never lay on her side to sleep, she always sat in an upright position. To me that indicated a heart/breathing problem. She was on permanent comfort eye drops for dry eyes and always had a choice of 'wet' food as her salivary glands didn't work too well. So there were always issues, but on the whole she was a fairly healthy little bundle of happiness. She got really used to cuddles, exploring us and the settee, and she spoke chinese body language but the other piggies forgave her for this once they realised that she was just a bit 'special'.
She caught a bit of a cold, nothing much, Talullah and Mina both have it and it has barely slowed them up. But Rosebud went downhill a bit yesterday, off her food too much so I syringe fed her in the evening. She was still pooing, no bloating or pain, wheezing but nothing really bad, no temperature. But she was exhausted, not just tired. Completely exhausted, where they love you and they are trying not to show it, but all the muscles are worn out. I have seen this level of tiredness before in dying cancer piggies, so I said goodbye before I put her back in with the others. Note that she had been tucked up between all four of them, tiny little lump in between those lardy arses, and they immediately arranged themselves back around her, so she was in a good place.
I went down early but she was already dead, still tucked up between the four. They were all fast asleep until I disturbed them.
Personally I think it was a heart defect that caught up with her. I also think her excited and happy lifestyle probably hastened her death, but on the other hand who wouldn't want to be excited and happy and bouncing around the place!
We all loved her very much and she will be very much missed. By us and the piggies.
