The reason Luna Passed/How to care for Lily

[lilyandluna]

Hi everyone.
I posted a thread last night that Luna had passed away, and it has been very hard on all of us.
What confuses me is the reason that she passed.
I checked on them yesterday morning and both were fine. Luna had a strawberry and seemed completely okay.

Then I went down to feed them dinner. That’s when I saw Luna. She was running into things, couldn’t walk, had water under her eyes, and layed down instead of eating. I quickly picked her up onto my lap and set her down. She layed on her side and did not walk. Then my mom (i’m at home because of the coronavirus) grabbed a warm blanket and we set her into it. She layed down and passed within a few minutes.
Luna was very healthy. She was about three (but adopted so we don’t know for sure) She was a little overweight but lived in a very big cage, ate organic vegetables, has good pellets, and purified water.
I am very confused of what happened.

Are these symptoms of a stroke? Heart attack? I just want peace of mind of what happened to her.


And that leaves Lily. I set Luna down into the cage last night to let her stay goodbye. Lily licked Luna and stayed by her for about five minutes. Then she went over the ramp and ate her hay. Luna and Lily have been together since the start, and I rescued them in a pair. Lily seemed okay and I checked on her this morning and she seems fine.

I need advice on how to care for Lily. I know to give her extra attention, cuddles, and to talk to her all day. My question is if I should get her a friend.

I live in the United States and we are in a full lockdown. I got lucky and found the matching pair on craigslist but that was a once in a blue moon thing. There are no guinea pig rescues within ten hours of me. The only place where I could get a piggie is our local pet smart. I just don’t think I could bring myself to support them. They take horrible care of there animals and give false care information.

That would mean Lily would be an alone guinea-pig. I don’t know what to do. How do I make sure she is okay?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone.
I posted a thread last night that Luna had passed away, and it has been very hard on all of us.
What confuses me is the reason that she passed.
I checked on them yesterday morning and both were fine. Luna had a strawberry and seemed completely okay.

Then I went down to feed them dinner. That’s when I saw Luna. She was running into things, couldn’t walk, had water under her eyes, and layed down instead of eating. I quickly picked her up onto my lap and set her down. She layed on her side and did not walk. Then my mom (i’m at home because of the coronavirus) grabbed a warm blanket and we set her into it. She layed down and passed within a few minutes.
Luna was very healthy. She was about three (but adopted so we don’t know for sure) She was a little overweight but lived in a very big cage, ate organic vegetables, has good pellets, and purified water.
I am very confused of what happened.

Are these symptoms of a stroke? Heart attack? I just want peace of mind of what happened to her.


And that leaves Lily. I set Luna down into the cage last night to let her stay goodbye. Lily licked Luna and stayed by her for about five minutes. Then she went over the ramp and ate her hay. Luna and Lily have been together since the start, and I rescued them in a pair. Lily seemed okay and I checked on her this morning and she seems fine.

I need advice on how to care for Lily. I know to give her extra attention, cuddles, and to talk to her all day. My question is if I should get her a friend.

I live in the United States and we are in a full lockdown. I got lucky and found the matching pair on craigslist but that was a once in a blue moon thing. There are no guinea pig rescues within ten hours of me. The only place where I could get a piggie is our local pet smart. I just don’t think I could bring myself to support them. They take horrible care of there animals and give false care information.

That would mean Lily would be an alone guinea-pig. I don’t know what to do. How do I make sure she is okay?

BIG HUGS

I am very sorry; sadly only a rather expensive post-mortem examination at a vet's may give you the answer you crave. We are unfortunately far too often left with these kind of questions as guinea pigs can die out of the blue and very suddenly when something is going badly wrong, whether that is a heart attack, a stroke or something else!
Because we cannot brace for it, it is always an extremely upsetting experience for us and for the companion. It is however not because you have in any way done anything wrong!

If Lily is still eating and carrying on with her life as normal then I would wait until things normalise a bit; give her time to do her own grieving anyway, as well as observe a quarantining period since nobody knows what exactly has caused the death anyway.
You may well find that the free-ads will suddenly fill with guinea pigs their owners can no longer afford to keep some weeks and months down the line. As long as Lily is hanging in there it is worth waiting!

Please take the time to read the guides below. You may find them very helpful for Lily and for yourself:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig (including quarantine advice)
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities (deals with singles in a range of circumstances; but you may find the last chapter especially interesting)
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs (tips on what you can do for Lily in the coming days and weeks)

Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

 

[lilyandluna]

BIG HUGS

I am very sorry; sadly only a rather expensive post-mortem examination at a vet's may give you the answer you crave. We are unfortunately far too often left with these kind of questions as guinea pigs can die out of the blue and very suddenly when something is going badly wrong, whether that is a heart attack, a stroke or something else!
Because we cannot brace for it, it is always an extremely upsetting experience for us and for the companion. It is however not because you have in any way done anything wrong!

If Lily is still eating and carrying on with her life as normal then I would wait until things normalise a bit; give her time to do her own grieving anyway, as well as observe a quarantining period since nobody knows what exactly has caused the death anyway.
You may well find that the free-ads will suddenly fill with guinea pigs their owners can no longer afford to keep some weeks and months down the line. As long as Lily is hanging in there it is worth waiting!

Please take the time to read the guides below. You may find them very helpful for Lily and for yourself:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig (including quarantine advice)
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities (deals with singles in a range of circumstances; but you may find the last chapter especially interesting)
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs (tips on what you can do for Lily in the coming days and weeks)

Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

Thank you. Unfortunately the vet is closed for everything but life threatening services. We are going to bury Luna this afternoon in the grass patch in our woods

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. Unfortunately the vet is closed for everything but life threatening services. We are going to bury Luna this afternoon in the grass patch in our woods ❤

Take good care and be kind to yourself! I always make a little bouquet of what is in bloom in my garden when I bury my own piggies and always include forget-me-nots if they are in season (they self-seed around my garden). You can find pictures in the grieving guide link.

Soul searching is typical for the onset of the grieving process, even more so when there are open questions. As humans we are wired to seek the fault with us first and foremost. Keep in mind that you would not experience this if you weren't a very loving and dedicated owner.

 

[Freela]

Unfortunately, guinea pigs sometimes go from seemingly well to passing away very quickly, without an easy means to see what went wrong. It's good that Lily is coping so far, but in the future it will be in her best interest to have a friend, however you manage to come by one. I respect your desire not to support pet shops, but not everyone has the ability to rescue and I think it would still be in Lily's best interests to have a companion, no matter where she comes from. It's possible with the pandemic that people trying to cut costs will be looking to rehome pets in the near future, thus allowing you the option to rescue a pig in need instead. Best wishes!

 

[lilyandluna]

Unfortunately, guinea pigs sometimes go from seemingly well to passing away very quickly, without an easy means to see what went wrong. It's good that Lily is coping so far, but in the future it will be in her best interest to have a friend, however you manage to come by one. I respect your desire not to support pet shops, but not everyone has the ability to rescue and I think it would still be in Lily's best interests to have a companion, no matter where she comes from. It's possible with the pandemic that people trying to cut costs will be looking to rehome pets in the near future, thus allowing you the option to rescue a pig in need instead. Best wishes!

I know. I am keeping my eyes open for a new piggie as soon as possible.