What happened to my piggy?

[Kats.username]

Hi all,

I’m desperate to figure out what happened to my piggy, Peanut.
He passed away two nights ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it. He was a little over two years old, so he was still very young.
About a month and a half ago, I realized one morning he hadn’t ate his food. So I figured he just wasn’t hungry yet. He had his own set feeding schedule compared to the other two. My others typically ate, once I filled their bowl. Peanut normally ate a little while after.

I came home from work that night and still no difference. He wasn’t eating or drinking. I took him to the vet a few days later and the vet concluded he had a URI. Easy fix. He took the medication fine.
He still didn’t eat for a week after the antibiotics were done, so everyday, I fed him critical care formula.
Eventually, I put vitamin c droplets into his water, which seemed to help because he began to eat a few days later.
He seemed much better, energized, and he seemed as though he was feeling healthier for about 2 weeks.

Well, starting of only this last Monday, I noticed he was progressively getting bad again. He was slowly not drinking as much water or eating as much. So I got him in ASAP. I told the vet everything I just explained.
Not to mention this was the 4th time bringing him in within a month and a half due to his lack of appetite. The vet once gave him fluids ontop of this medicine to get his bowels moving, in case it was a digestion issue. He once even trimmed his teeth down in case that was also the issue.

So, this last time, the vet did an ultrasound. There was a mass; in which was causing him pain upon being touched of course. He said he wasn’t sure if the mass was in the liver or the stomach, but it apparently wasn’t a tumor. He said it was just a mass filled with fluid. So he gave me some antibiotics in hope to slow the swelling. Two days into the antibiotic, I came home from work one night to give him attention and he was hiding in his sac. He wouldn’t pur upon being touched (which was odd because he’s a very sweet, lovey piggy). He pushed off my hand and ran back into the sac when I tried to take him out. Which was very unusual. A few hours later, I went back to get him and he was out. I took him out of the cage, and he just laid on one side of his tummy and wouldn’t wonder around. So I cuddled with him and he started to squeal when I picked him up.
He was in soooo much pain. It broke my heart. I knew then he wouldn’t make it over night, so I said my goodbyes in case. I was honestly going to euthanize him the next morning if he was still alive because he was suffering real bad...
Well the next morning, he had passed.
And his stomach was enlarged.
The worst part is: he acted completely fine up until that night.
Did something rupture?
I feel horrible. Sorry for the long description, but I’d assume it’ll help for a conclusion..

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all,

I’m desperate to figure out what happened to my piggy, Peanut.
He passed away two nights ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it. He was a little over two years old, so he was still very young.
About a month and a half ago, I realized one morning he hadn’t ate his food. So I figured he just wasn’t hungry yet. He had his own set feeding schedule compared to the other two. My others typically ate, once I filled their bowl. Peanut normally ate a little while after.

I came home from work that night and still no difference. He wasn’t eating or drinking. I took him to the vet a few days later and the vet concluded he had a URI. Easy fix. He took the medication fine.
He still didn’t eat for a week after the antibiotics were done, so everyday, I fed him critical care formula.
Eventually, I put vitamin c droplets into his water, which seemed to help because he began to eat a few days later.
He seemed much better, energized, and he seemed as though he was feeling healthier for about 2 weeks.

Well, starting of only this last Monday, I noticed he was progressively getting bad again. He was slowly not drinking as much water or eating as much. So I got him in ASAP. I told the vet everything I just explained.
Not to mention this was the 4th time bringing him in within a month and a half due to his lack of appetite. The vet once gave him fluids ontop of this medicine to get his bowels moving, in case it was a digestion issue. He once even trimmed his teeth down in case that was also the issue.

So, this last time, the vet did an ultrasound. There was a mass; in which was causing him pain upon being touched of course. He said he wasn’t sure if the mass was in the liver or the stomach, but it apparently wasn’t a tumor. He said it was just a mass filled with fluid. So he gave me some antibiotics in hope to slow the swelling. Two days into the antibiotic, I came home from work one night to give him attention and he was hiding in his sac. He wouldn’t pur upon being touched (which was odd because he’s a very sweet, lovey piggy). He pushed off my hand and ran back into the sac when I tried to take him out. Which was very unusual. A few hours later, I went back to get him and he was out. I took him out of the cage, and he just laid on one side of his tummy and wouldn’t wonder around. So I cuddled with him and he started to squeal when I picked him up.
He was in soooo much pain. It broke my heart. I knew then he wouldn’t make it over night, so I said my goodbyes in case. I was honestly going to euthanize him the next morning if he was still alive because he was suffering real bad...
Well the next morning, he had passed.
And his stomach was enlarged.
The worst part is: he acted completely fine up until that night.
Did something rupture?
I feel horrible. Sorry for the long description, but I’d assume it’ll help for a conclusion..

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry that you have lost Peanut under such traumatic circumstances. You are a caring owner and you have done the best you could with the knowledge you had.

What Peanut died from was acute severe bloat, most likely caused by the mass in his body pressing on the guts. It could have been an abscess, but also a fluid-filled tumour. Either can be deadly and requires an experienced vet to try and operate out in a make-or-break emergency operation. Severe bloat can hit without warning with destating quickness in a frail piggy.
Euthanasia is the most heart-breaking, but also the most loving last gift we can give to a beloved pet to spare it unnecessary suffering; if you can get to an out-of-hours service, please do not wait until morning, but have your pet seen there ASAP as an emergency.
Bloat, Gi Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

If it is any consolation to you; I have just had to race a very old and fragile piggy lady of mine to the out-of-hours vets in the middle of the night when she developed severe bloat very quickly over the course of a late evening a month ago. Again, it happened right out of the blue and she didn't respond to any medication and massages. She would not have survived the night.

It is typical for any loving pet owners for the onset of the grieving process that we have questions as well as feelings of guilt and failure. It is always much easier to examine what went wrong looking back while in reality we were treading a maze in the fog without the help of map at the time. Sadly, we cannot go back and undo any mistakes, as much as we would like to - and most of us would give anything to be able to do that!
We can only learn from the experience, take any lessons on board and help spare others in the future as a legacy and tribute to our lost ones. A lot of our knowledge that we have now and that we are still continuing to accumulate has come at a high price; it is something we should never forget! It DOESN'T mean that we were or are bad owners; it simply means that we never stop to learn more to the betterment of the ones who come after.

Take time for you grieving; you can't hurry that on. You have to grieve as much as you have loved; they are the two sides of the same coin.
If you are very upset, the best way is to talk or write about it, either via a specially manned free pet bereavement line if you have access or by writing a diary about your feelings and thoughts, but also about all your precious memories; the small and big ones as they come to your mind.
If Peanut has a companion, then here is what you can do for him: Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig (includes tips and links for bereaved owners at the end)

 

[Kats.username]

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry that you have lost Peanut under such traumatic circumstances. You are a caring owner and you have done the best you could with the knowledge you had.

What Peanut died from was acute severe bloat, most likely caused by the mass in his body pressing on the guts. It could have been an abscess, but also a fluid-filled tumour. Either can be deadly and requires an experienced vet to try and operate out in a make-or-break emergency operation. Severe bloat can hit without warning with destating quickness in a frail piggy.
Euthanasia is the most heart-breaking, but also the most loving last gift we can give to a beloved pet to spare it unnecessary suffering; if you can get to an out-of-hours service, please do not wait until morning, but have your pet seen there ASAP as an emergency.
Bloat, Gi Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

If it is any consolation to you; I have just had to race a very old and fragile piggy lady of mine to the out-of-hours vets in the middle of the night when she developed severe bloat very quickly over the course of a late evening a month ago. Again, it happened right out of the blue and she didn't respond to any medication and massages. She would not have survived the night.

It is typical for any loving pet owners for the onset of the grieving process that we have questions as well as feelings of guilt and failure. It is always much easier to examine what went wrong looking back while in reality we were treading a maze in the fog without the help of map at the time. Sadly, we cannot go back and undo any mistakes, as much as we would like to - and most of us would give anything to be able to do that!
We can only learn from the experience, take any lessons on board and help spare others in the future as a legacy and tribute to our lost ones. A lot of our knowledge that we have now and that we are still continuing to accumulate has come at a high price; it is something we should never forget! It DOESN'T mean that we were or are bad owners; it simply means that we never stop to learn more to the betterment of the ones who come after.

Take time for you grieving; you can't hurry that on. You have to grieve as much as you have loved; they are the two sides of the same coin.
If you are very upset, the best way is to talk or write about it, either via a specially manned free pet bereavement line if you have access or by writing a diary about your feelings and thoughts, but also about all your precious memories; the small and big ones as they come to your mind.
If Peanut has a companion, then here is what you can do for him: Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig (includes tips and links for bereaved owners at the end)

Hi! And thank you!
Yeah I got home around midnight from work, and I looked on google for any ER, after hour vets. I wish I would’ve been home sooner to go get him euthanized. I feel really bad that I couldn’t do that for him before he passed...
He was so sweet.

Thank you for responding and giving me an answer on what it was. The vet really had no idea what was wrong with him after the 4th time of bringing him in. So I’m happy I got an answer.

 

[Flutterby]

I'm so sorry for your loss xx

 

[Merab]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss.
It's so hard when we do everything we possibly can for our beloved piggies.
Please be gentle and patient with yourself as you grieve and remember it does take time.