Sudden Loss Of A Young Guinea Pig...

[Oberon]

Hi,

We got two young males in May, they have been doing really well, fit healthy and greedy and chatty...

Over this weekend one suddenly got v quiet and subdued... He was wheeking when you touched his belly and sleepy and cuddly and not pooing much. He then seemed to clear some poo and seemed a lot better but I went to check on him tonight and he had gone. I am devastated as he was a total poppet. The other far more skitty but sociable one, Ginger seems v upset, tearing round the hutch calling. We are going to take him to the vet first thing just to get him checked over although seems v lively and hungry. Basically I am after advice as to how soon I should find him a companion?

Then I need to try and explain what happened to Pickle to my son who has learning difficulties...

Thank you in advance....

 

[gizzy]

Is his belly gassy ? How much greens do you feed them? This problem is probebaly fixable , l wouldent be thinking of getting a new pig yet !
I think perhaps you if you take you pig to the vets it would be better for the pig
And perhaps is you take your son , he would get a better understanding .of how important it is
To seek a vets help

NB , what you are describing is a condition that shold be treated with the help of you vet !!

 

[gizzy]

I think it a bit soon to be thinking of getting a new pig , to replace a pig that has a problem that is fixabal , to my mind is a bit premachure

Mabe this would be a better lesson to teach you son !
First i would sujest you take you pig to the vet as there are medicens that he may need,

What type of food do you feed ?
How much veg do you feed them ?
Have they been on grass recentaly ?

 

[Flutterby]

I'm so sorry for your loss

 

[AbiS]

So sorry for your loss. I think you can start looking for a companion as soon as you feel ready. The best thing you can do is contact your local rescue (link at top of page) and they will help to bond you piggy with one that they like and will happily live with. If you just buy a piggy form a pet shop you might find that they don't get on and you will end up with 2 single piggies.

 

[TAN]

I am so sorry for your loss - it could have been any number of things - I took one of my pigs to the emergency out of hours vets on Thursday night because he had a sore tummy that came on very quickly - and I had only just picked him up from the vets where he had been staying with his wifepig for 2 days, as she was very sick and he was there to keep her company - I only had him in the car for 5 mins before he started to make occasional mewing sounds - so we went to the emergency vets me thinking that it was bloat (which can come on very suddenly) - he was given pain killer gut stimulant xrayed - turns out there was a blockage in the stomach and he passed quickly - so please don't beat yourself up - it's not your fault - these things happen with guinea pigs and they can happen very very quickly - they all hide pain well - which is why nothing was picked up at the vets when he was there - I don't know how old your son is and what his learning difficulty is,but there is a poem called rainbow bridge,which tells you where all the animals go when they have passed - I am pretty much a technophobe and wouldn't know how to copy a link - but perhaps someone else on here will do it - it may help both him and you xx

 

[Galaxy&nibbles]

I'm sorry for your loss. Maybe get your other piggy to the vet for a check just in case, and then as soon as he gets the ok, take him to a rescue where he can be bonded with another. As @AbiS said you have a much better chance of friendship if you take him to a rescue as apposed to another piggy from a pet shop.

 

[Oberon]

Is his belly gassy ? How much greens do you feed them? This problem is probebaly fixable , l wouldent be thinking of getting a new pig yet !
I think perhaps you if you take you pig to the vets it would be better for the pig
And perhaps is you take your son , he would get a better understanding .of how important it is
To seek a vets help

NB , what you are describing is a condition that shold be treated with the help of you vet !

Sorry as I said he is gone, I found him dead in the cage last night? That is why the other is distraught...

I have had pets for many years, and been going to the vet for many years and my son totally understands that. We have four cats and the last one we list was 22 so I am fairly sure I take good care of animals.

We are taking the one that is still alive to the vet to make sure he is ok today. I would never just dismiss a sick pet. I haven't slept all night because of the sudden loss of the guinea pig. I was looking for help so how to deal with his sudden loss.

 

[Oberon]

Sorry as I said he is gone, I found him dead in the cage last night? That is why the other is distraught...

I have had pets for many years, and been going to the vet for many years and my son totally understands that. We have four cats and the last one we list was 22 so I am fairly sure I take good care of animals.

We are taking the one that is still alive to the vet to make sure he is ok today. I would never just dismiss a sick pet. I haven't slept all night because of the sudden loss of the guinea pig. I was looking for help so how to deal with his sudden loss.

 

[Oberon]

Perhaps I should have put sudden death not loss in the title?

 

[gizzy]

Sorry my bad had a realy rotten night and it could get worse

 

[Oberon]

Sorry my bad had a realy rotten night and it could get worse

Mine wasn't ideal and waking up to being made to feel very silly this morning really don't help.

I really do hope your day does improve and thank you for you apology.

Hopefully the vet will have some answers, my husband is there now with a v unhappy Ginger and they said they would look at pickle for me.

 

[Oberon]

I am so sorry for your loss - it could have been any number of things - I took one of my pigs to the emergency out of hours vets on Thursday night because he had a sore tummy that came on very quickly - and I had only just picked him up from the vets where he had been staying with his wifepig for 2 days, as she was very sick and he was there to keep her company - I only had him in the car for 5 mins before he started to make occasional mewing sounds - so we went to the emergency vets me thinking that it was bloat (which can come on very suddenly) - he was given pain killer gut stimulant xrayed - turns out there was a blockage in the stomach and he passed quickly - so please don't beat yourself up - it's not your fault - these things happen with guinea pigs and they can happen very very quickly - they all hide pain well - which is why nothing was picked up at the vets when he was there - I don't know how old your son is and what his learning difficulty is,but there is a poem called rainbow bridge,which tells you where all the animals go when they have passed - I am pretty much a technophobe and wouldn't know how to copy a link - but perhaps someone else on here will do it - it may help both him and you xx

Thank you x

 

[Oberon]

I'm sorry for your loss. Maybe get your other piggy to the vet for a check just in case, and then as soon as he gets the ok, take him to a rescue where he can be bonded with another. As @AbiS said you have a much better chance of friendship if you take him to a rescue as apposed to another piggy from a pet shop.

Thank you,

Hubby is at the vet now with Ginger. I will look into to local adoption centres ASAP

Thank you again

 

[Caron's Cavies]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss and obviously the sudden death of Pickle has made it even harder.

I saw this and thought the words may help at this sad time.

If you have access to the internet then google the poem Rainbow Bridge which is a lovely poem that you may be able to read to your son about the passing of
a pet.

There is also lots of information and guidance on how to help a child deal with the loss of a pet.

I have 2 young sons of my own and I know how hard it is not only to suffer the loss yourself but to watch your child deal with the loss and my heart goes out
to you all as a family including Ginger who also will not understand what has happened either.

I send you all love and hugs at this sad time and if you need any other support or advice then please let us know.

 

[Oberon]

I am so sorry for your loss - it could have been any number of things - I took one of my pigs to the emergency out of hours vets on Thursday night because he had a sore tummy that came on very quickly - and I had only just picked him up from the vets where he had been staying with his wifepig for 2 days, as she was very sick and he was there to keep her company - I only had him in the car for 5 mins before he started to make occasional mewing sounds - so we went to the emergency vets me thinking that it was bloat (which can come on very suddenly) - he was given pain killer gut stimulant xrayed - turns out there was a blockage in the stomach and he passed quickly - so please don't beat yourself up - it's not your fault - these things happen with guinea pigs and they can happen very very quickly - they all hide pain well - which is why nothing was picked up at the vets when he was there - I don't know how old your son is and what his learning difficulty is,but there is a poem called rainbow bridge,which tells you where all the animals go when they have passed - I am pretty much a technophobe and wouldn't know how to copy a link - but perhaps someone else on here will do it - it may help both him and you xx

Thank you x

and I will definitely look for that... Both been checked over and they can see no reason Pickle died, just one of those things. Ginger seems fit and well if v subdued, he is the more social one and will miss Pickle horribly.

I will keep a v close eye on him.

Thank you again

 

[Wiebke]

HUGS

I am very sorry for your loss! A sudden unexpected death is always very upsetting for everybody involved, and unless you have a post mortem done, you will sadly never know what exactly caused the death. It can be quite a number of things.

Guinea pigs can unfortunately go downhill very quickly; as prey animals, they are very good at hiding the often only subtle signs of illness until it is nearly or fully too late. Please see a vet as an emergency if ever you notice loss of appetite/weight over 50g, apathy or sings of bloat.

As we have members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or county to your details, so we can tailor any advice to what is available and doable where you are are straight away. In your case, it is informs your options on what best to do about finding a new companion for your surviving piggy at minimal risk for you of ending up with more problems than you bargain for. click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

We have got a recommended good standard piggy savvy rescue rescue locator on the top bar, but can provide a link for recommended rescues in other countries if wished.

Here are a couple of threads that you may find helpful:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
Should my piggie see a vet? - a quick guide

You are welcome to post a tribute to your boy in our Rainbow Bridge section if and whenever it feels right for you.

 

[Oberon]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss and obviously the sudden death of Pickle has made it even harder.

I saw this and thought the words may help at this sad time.

If you have access to the internet then google the poem Rainbow Bridge which is a lovely poem that you may be able to read to your son about the passing of
a pet.

There is also lots of information and guidance on how to help a child deal with the loss of a pet.

I have 2 young sons of my own and I know how hard it is not only to suffer the loss yourself but to watch your child deal with the loss and my heart goes out
to you all as a family including Ginger who also will not understand what has happened either.

I send you all love and hugs at this sad time and if you need any other support or advice then please let us know.

Thank you, you have all been very kind. We lost a very old cat two years ago and he coped well with that but he was younger and they were old, this is the first pet of 'his' to go...

 

[Oberon]

Th

HUGS

I am very sorry for your loss! A sudden unexpected death is always very upsetting for everybody involved, and unless you have a post mortem done, you will sadly never know what exactly caused the death. It can be quite a number of things.

Guinea pigs can unfortunately go downhill very quickly; as prey animals, they are very good at hiding the often only subtle signs of illness until it is nearly or fully too late. Please see a vet as an emergency if ever you notice loss of appetite/weight over 50g, apathy or sings of bloat.

As we have members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or county to your details, so we can tailor any advice to what is available and doable where you are are straight away. In your case, it is informs your options on what best to do about finding a new companion for your surviving piggy at minimal risk for you of ending up with more problems than you bargain for. click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

We have got a recommended good standard piggy savvy rescue rescue locator on the top bar, but can provide a link for recommended rescues in other countries if wished.

Here are a couple of threads that you may find helpful:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
Should my piggie see a vet? - a quick guide

You are welcome to post a tribute to your boy in our Rainbow Bridge section if and whenever it feels right for you.

Thank you, I have updated my details... I joined at 3am as I found the advice on here to be the most helpful last night but meant I wasn't really thinking clearly with the details . The link you shared I already found & have sent the link to my hubby earlier so thank you ever so much, reassured me I was looking at the right things! Vet visit went well, Ginger all clear as far as they could tell, well hydrated, clear belly, good size teeth etc. so sadly as you say unexplained with Pickle. Ginger still eating but does look v sad so getting lots of attention from me today... Sweet thing is my baby cat is lying on the floor next where he is in the cage keeping him company. He is super gentle and adores the piggies. So I think that is helping Ginger.

Thank you for every bodies help and sorry if I was a bit short this morning, sleep deprived and very upset.

 

[Wiebke]

Th


Thank you, I have updated my details... I joined at 3am as I found the advice on here to be the most helpful last night but meant I wasn't really thinking clearly with the details . The link you shared I already found & have sent the link to my hubby earlier so thank you ever so much, reassured me I was looking at the right things! Vet visit went well, Ginger all clear as far as they could tell, well hydrated, clear belly, good size teeth etc. so sadly as you say unexplained with Pickle. Ginger still eating but does look v sad so getting lots of attention from me today... Sweet thing is my baby cat is lying on the floor next where he is in the cage keeping him company. He is super gentle and adores the piggies. So I think that is helping Ginger.

Thank you for every bodies help and sorry if I was a bit short this morning, sleep deprived and very upset.

Make sure that you get some sleep tonight! As Ginger is healthy and is still eating, he will keep for a few days while you can ring around any rescues within your reach to see whether you can organise some boar dating. Most piggies come out of deep mourning after a few days, even though they usually have lost their normal sparkle.

It is very normal to feel extremely upset and guilty when a piggy dies, even more so if it is sudden and/or from unknown causes. You are obvious a very caring pet mum, so you are doing whatever you can.

It is great that he has somecat to give him company and solace, and I am sure that he appreciates it!

 

[helen105281]

I'm so sorry, what a horrible shock for you all.

 

[Tbag]

So sorry for your loss, I hope your son is ok and manages to come to terms with the situation.
Best of luck with finding a new friend for Ginger. Hopefully you're near a good rescue who can help out, then not only will you and your son have the joy of welcoming a new member of your furry family but also the reward of giving a needy piggy a loving home.

Sleep tight Pickle x