Unusual Illness

[coffeeshopdoodler]

Hi all!
I recently had my piggy pass away, and was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar with an unknown illness?
My piggy (Squiggles) was taken ill half way through last week, took him to the vets the day after noticing he was acting strange. He wouldn't eat, drink, or move, he'd just sit in the corner all puffed up and looking forlorn. I noticed there was some blood on the floor of his cage also which was very worrying. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with him after a good half hour/fourty five minute examination, apart from the fact he was dehydrated and hungry because he would refuse to eat or drink. Antibiotics were prescribed and re-hydration fluid but sadly nothing could help poor Squiggles. He was only 3 years of age.
Has anyone else had this sort of situation?
I feel riddled with guilt because there was nothing I could do apart from make him as comfortable as possible and hope he'd pull through whatever was going on

 

[Wiebke]

HUGS

I am very sorry! Sometimes, guinea pigs can go downhill very quickly. You are describing the classic signs of a very ill/dying piggy, but it is often very difficult to pin down the actual problem, even for a vet, who has to turn detective without any convenient clues! The bleeding could have several causes, none of them cheerful.

All you can do is to take an ill piggy to the vets (even the out-of-hours vets in case of severe symptoms, if you have them in your area) and to hand feed/water as soon as you notice a piggy off its food and then hope for the best - very often it is not enough, but all we can do. Losing a piggy in your care is always very upsetting!

Weigh any healthy piggies weekly in order to spot any developing health problems early on, an ill piggy daily. Guinea pigs are prey animals and very good at hiding any illness until it is rather late. The signs are often very subtle and easy to miss, so don't beat yourself up too much! You did what you could, and your feelings of guilt are normal for when you have lost a piggy very suddenly without knowing why. Your reaction shows that you are a very good and caring mummy! Many of us on here have been through it one way or other, too, especially those who have had piggies for any length of time.

If and whenever you feel up to it, you are welcome to post a tribute to her in our Rainbow pets section and share your loss with us.

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

Sorry for the sudden death, you must be devastated. Take solace in that you got him to the vet; unfortunately these things just happen. I hope you are ok xx.

 

[MerryPip]

So sorry to hear of your loss. Unfortunately piggies are so good at covering any illness, us humans often can't see anything wrong until they are already very ill. Piggies are sturdy little things but when things go wrong it can be very difficult for even an experienced exotics vet to work out exactly what's going on before they can start treating them.

Don't feel guilty, although it's easier said than done. It is very possible that even if you had taken you lad to the vets earlier the result may well have been the same. A piggy who won't eat or drink is in a bad way and often they seem to know when they have had enough and are ready to leave us.

You did the best you could and he knew you loved him very much. That's the most important thing.

 

[sport_billy]

Big hugs x

Guilt is a natural part of grief, we lost Moo-Cow this week and the guilt is immense. But I know this is part of the grief process. You did everything you could have done for Squiggles, you couldn't have done more. Unfortunately piggies hide illness well and go downhill very quickly and as MerryPip has said above they can prove difficult to treat. Please don't beat yourself up, he would have known how much you love him.

Take care x

 

[Briony_S]

I'm so sorry to hear this sad news. Loosing a pig to me is like loosing a family member as I am sure it is to many people on here. You did what you could and got him to the vets, my poor tiger died within half an hour of me noticing something was wrong he really did keep going normally to the end eating and drinking all the way

 

[Freela]

I'm really sorry for your loss. Unfortunately little animals hide illness well and can be quite sick by the time any symptoms show. Sitting puffed up and looking sad is a common guinea pig illness sign for a variety of maladies. Blood in the cage could be from the urinary tract, digestive tract, or the uterus (in the case of a female pig.) It sounds as though you did everything you could be getting him to a vet, and it can be really difficult to tell exactly what is wrong. Please try not to beat yourself up. We do the very best we can. Unfortunately, not every pig lives to old age (I lost one of mine around 18 months and was so sad because she was so young), but I know that I did everything I could for her and made sure her life was good for the time that she had. ((HUGS))!