Struggling To Know What's Right With My Pigs :(

[katiepig]

Sorry this is a long one and a bit rambling and I didn't know which board to put this on but it is health-related. I'd really appreciate some input - there's two particular questions at the bottom.

I'm just full of self-doubt at the minute of what is 'normal' and ok for my guinea pigs behaviour/diet/etc.

I've just lost my eldest pig, Nutmeg, this week and I've never been so sad. She was elderly with declining health which I think was potentially misdiagnosed (not that I blame anyone) and after visiting the vet on Tuesday and being booked in for a procedure on Wednesday she died after the vet visit on the Tuesday, I don't know if she had a heart attack or a stroke or what but she just had a 'funny turn' right in front of me and then slowly slipped away over the next few hours. I think seeing it is what made it so horrible, I would have been happier if she had been put to sleep nicely at the vet which is what I had actually been expecting to happen. I also worry if I'd known what was wrong earlier maybe she could have been saved.

Anyway so this has left me feeling quite worrisome generally...... I still have two pigs, Baby and Bramble, who to be honest I have found much harder to bond with than Nutmeg. Baby is very jumpy but actually I think she's happier than she appears when you get her on your lap she eats happily but just looks very mistrusting which I find sad. But I guess that is my fault for not handling her enough. Bramble is terrified of being held but she is still quite small and I hope she will get better as she gets bigger and I can hold her more comfortably and hopefully my hands won't seem so big and scary. She is just very energetic right now can't sit still on your lap and eat something.

So my main areas of concern are:

(1) Baby and Bramble aren't the best of friends and I guess now Nutmeg has gone tensions are higher. Baby (older) has always just about tolerated Bramble and gets pretty wound up by her presence. When I put Bramble down next to her on my lap yesterday she bit her on the back just for being too close to her (because they were both on my lap). No blood drawn but just seemed harder than the usual 'pretend' nip and Bramble made some sad noises. Generally though Bramble seems very happy-go-lucky and generally unphased by Baby's animosity towards her. Is this behaviour all ok? Will they ever be friends? I just want them to be happy

(2) I'm worried about their diet. Part of Nutmeg's health decline was loosing weight and reduced intake of food. I had thought they were all of them not eating much hay and pellets over the last few weeks and I couldn't work out why and I have changed brands a few times to stimulate more interest. Now Nutmeg is gone the reduced intake has continued and I am just surprised how little hay/pellets they are both eating. I'm finding it hard to tell if this is just normal intake or for some unidentified reason they do not see it as palatable food? Nutmeg was very large at one time and I just wonder if she ate so much I just didn't realise that most of the food consumption was her. I don't believe the pigs are especially bereaved, as I said this was noticeable before Nutmeg died. I'd say they've shown more interest in their new pellets (I have no idea why'd they go off their old usual kind?), but hay interest remains low.

Please help reassure/advise me!

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry this is a long one and a bit rambling and I didn't know which board to put this on but it is health-related. I'd really appreciate some input - there's two particular questions at the bottom.

I'm just full of self-doubt at the minute of what is 'normal' and ok for my guinea pigs behaviour/diet/etc.

I've just lost my eldest pig, Nutmeg, this week and I've never been so sad. She was elderly with declining health which I think was potentially misdiagnosed (not that I blame anyone) and after visiting the vet on Tuesday and being booked in for a procedure on Wednesday she died after the vet visit on the Tuesday, I don't know if she had a heart attack or a stroke or what but she just had a 'funny turn' right in front of me and then slowly slipped away over the next few hours. I think seeing it is what made it so horrible, I would have been happier if she had been put to sleep nicely at the vet which is what I had actually been expecting to happen. I also worry if I'd known what was wrong earlier maybe she could have been saved.

Anyway so this has left me feeling quite worrisome generally...... I still have two pigs, Baby and Bramble, who to be honest I have found much harder to bond with than Nutmeg. Baby is very jumpy but actually I think she's happier than she appears when you get her on your lap she eats happily but just looks very mistrusting which I find sad. But I guess that is my fault for not handling her enough. Bramble is terrified of being held but she is still quite small and I hope she will get better as she gets bigger and I can hold her more comfortably and hopefully my hands won't seem so big and scary. She is just very energetic right now can't sit still on your lap and eat something.

So my main areas of concern are:

(1) Baby and Bramble aren't the best of friends and I guess now Nutmeg has gone tensions are higher. Baby (older) has always just about tolerated Bramble and gets pretty wound up by her presence. When I put Bramble down next to her on my lap yesterday she bit her on the back just for being too close to her (because they were both on my lap). No blood drawn but just seemed harder than the usual 'pretend' nip and Bramble made some sad noises. Generally though Bramble seems very happy-go-lucky and generally unphased by Baby's animosity towards her. Is this behaviour all ok? Will they ever be friends? I just want them to be happy

(2) I'm worried about their diet. Part of Nutmeg's health decline was loosing weight and reduced intake of food. I had thought they were all of them not eating much hay and pellets over the last few weeks and I couldn't work out why and I have changed brands a few times to stimulate more interest. Now Nutmeg is gone the reduced intake has continued and I am just surprised how little hay/pellets they are both eating. I'm finding it hard to tell if this is just normal intake or for some unidentified reason they do not see it as palatable food? Nutmeg was very large at one time and I just wonder if she ate so much I just didn't realise that most of the food consumption was her. I don't believe the pigs are especially bereaved, as I said this was noticeable before Nutmeg died. I'd say they've shown more interest in their new pellets (I have no idea why'd they go off their old usual kind?), but hay interest remains low.

Please help reassure/advise me!

Hi!

I am very sorry for your loss. It can shake you when a piggy does unexpectedly in a not very nice way. Take consolation that Nutmeg has not suffered for long and that her passing - while very upsetting for you to watch - has been actually a lot easier for her as she would have been mostly out of it during and after her fit. You also have the consolation that Nutmeg has passed away where she would have wanted to, at home. Dying is unfortunately much more physical than we think in our current culture, which has airbrushed it out of daily life with the concept that you peacefully slip away in your sleep; sadly that goes in fact only for a small minority. What symptoms you experience very much depends on what organs give way in which order and how strong the other organs are when the body closes down. There is nothing you can do to stop this process; you can rush a piggy for pts if any fitting keeps on going for longer than a few minutes or if it is clearly in discomfort. Otherwise it is kinder to just let it pass away at home.

We have recently had to talk another member through her piggy dying; perhaps that thread can give you some reassurance and help you put your own experience into context?
Entire Nail Is Gone

There is nothing that a better diet could have changed. Nutmeg has simply experienced a normal aging process. A good diet can enhance the overall logevity, but not the individual one and it cannot dictate what your piggies ultminately die of. The same goes for us humans. It is a normal part of the onset of the grieving process that we experience feeling of guilt or failure and that we desperately look for areas we should have improved. You are experiencing this over the diet issue.
If you wish to make sure, here are or diet recommendations: Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet

The remainder of the group needs to re-establish their hierarchy without Nutmeg. This process is always stronger when the leader has died. It will settle down again in a week or two. it is also normal that your piggies are mourning. Please do not hover over them; it is kind of part of a minor post-traumatic symptom. Weigh your remaining girls once weekly to keep an eye on them, but do no more. As long as they are well within themselves, they are just fine and nothing has changed, apart from Nutmeg no longer being around and you being very jittery.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour

Here are our tips on how you can make closer friends with your remaining piggies. Please accept that your bond with Nutmeg is unique. Any new bond will take a very different and perhaps unexpected form. It no less valid or strong, and it will grow in its own time and way. Not all piggies are natural cuddlers, but you can still interact with the piggies on their terms and in their language and take it from there.
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

You are welcome to post a tribute to Nutmeg in our Rainbow Bridge if or whenever it feels right for you. Some members prefer not to go there while others find relief by being able to speak about their feelings with other members. Some members like to leave a formal tribute once they have come to terms with their loss. We all grieve differently, so our section is simply there for those that would like to make use of it at whatever time.

I hope that this helps you.

 

[katiepig]

Thank you for your extensive reply Wiebke, I really appreciate it. I am certainly feeling a lot of guilt etc. and your first paragraph particularity makes me feel better.

I think you are right, I will stop fussing over them and just monitor their weight for a bit (they certainly both feel like a pair of porkers currently ) and let things settle down for us all.

Thanks again.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your extensive reply Wiebke, I really appreciate it. I am certainly feeling a lot of guilt etc. and your first paragraph particularity makes me feel better.

I think you are right, I will stop fussing over them and just monitor their weight for a bit (they certainly both feel like a pair of porkers currently ) and let things settle down for us all.

Thanks again.

Unfortunately, there is no shortcut for grieving, but knowing that what you are currently going through is a normal reaction and a normal part of the process can hopefully help you cope better with your feelings and anxieties.