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What Killed My Guinea Pigs?

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Hel_star

Hel_star

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Hello everyone.
I've read lots of great advice on these forums but this is my first post and I'm afraid it's a sad one.
I need your help to try to understand what may have killed my sons two gorgeous girls yesterday.
My son noticed them both laid on their sides hardly moving and with very laboured breathing. I rushed them to the emergency vets but neither could be saved and we are both totally heartbroken.
The night before they were both happily chasing each other around their run in the garden and were fine in the morning in their hutch.
I have racked my brain to think what could have possibly poisoned them both. The only thing I can come up with is that my mum fed them some broccoli florets the night before which she thinks could have been 'passed their best'. Could this have been the cause? The only other thing is that I opened up a different type of hay for them that night - Timothy Hay from Pets at Hone. When I checked yesterday I realised it says for Rabbits on the packaging. Surely it couldn't be that?
I haven't put anything on the grass in the garden where they had been playing so I'm totally baffled. It has been an awful experience as my son got them for his birthday last year so they are not even a year old yet and we have loved and cared for them so much. We thought we'd have them for many years yet. Please help. Thank you.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry for your losses, what an awful thing to have to go through? With what you have told me, I have an incling it could have been heat stroke. How long had they been in their run for that day? It was quite overcast but still quite warm and humid yesterday (at least up my end). Could you update your location in your profile with your location, this will help us help you more easily :)
 
Flutterby said:
Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry for your losses, what an awful thing to have to go through? With what you have told me, I have an incling it could have been heat stroke. How long had they been in their run for that day? It was quite overcast but still quite warm and humid yesterday (at least up my end). Could you update your location in your profile with your location, this will help us help you more easily :)
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Thank you for your reply. I am in Leeds. It wasn't too bad yesterday. They were only in their run for a couple of hours and have shelter from the sun and they had fresh water. It has been much hotter than this and they have been fine. I'm baffled and can't explain to my son as we don't know what we did wrong.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. What a horrible shock. Were they outside at the time? was the weather hot or humid? if so heatstroke is a possibility, it can strike really quickly. My Ellie got it on a car journey home from the vets on Saturday, but luckily we had diuretics and fluids on us anyway as she has an existing heart issue which she is on medication for.
 
So sorry for your loss. It is heartbreaking when you lose them. You rushed them to the vet you mentioned in your post. Does the vet not have any idea what it may have been?
It was unlikely be the hay as that is what I buy & I have guinea pigs & rabbits & even if you wanted they pretty much will eat the others as well as they own. I cannot see the broccoli being an issue either. I am inclined to agree with the others that it sounds like heat stroke. Even though it was overcast in Glasgow yesterday it was very warm and humid.
 
Thank you for your advice everyone. It was overcast and fairly humid here but no more than many other days when they've been fine. I feel terrible if it's my fault and I haven't kept them cool enough. We are always so careful. X
 
Please don't blame yourself as sometimes these things happen. You obviously loved them and that is also why you are trying to find out why this happened to them. Can your vet not give you any idea? Sending hugs to you and your son. Let him know that they are now popcorning free with all the other little piggies over the rainbow bridge and will be safe and happy there.xx
 
I am very sorry for your loss!

It is such a nightmare to lose your guinea pigs out of the blue to an unknown cause. It looks either like a heat stroke, a major fright (which can cause acute heart failure) or poisoning of some sort (fresh dog or fox pee on the lawn?). It is even harder to come to terms as you will likely never know, and tougher when you have to support children while you are still reeling.

Sadly, despite our best care, these things can happen. :(
 
Can't thank you all enough for your support. I think some of my friends think I'm mad being so upset about guinea pigs but we loved their little characters so much.
It's just the fact that I've taken such good care of them and for them both to die together, I feel like I've done something wrong.
I guess I have to learn from it and hopefully, when my son is ready, we will get sone more. In the meantime we are going to have a little burial ceremony tonight.
Thank you again. X
 
I'm so sorry for your loss- that must have been quite a shock! How is your son holding up? I know, as a mom, when we've lost piggies one of the hardest things is to see my kids grieve, besides how I feel myself. Like others have said, with both of them passing at the same time, I would be apt to think of something environmental... either some sort of environmental contaminant that you couldn't have predicted or heat stroke. One of my cousins lost two pigs in a similar way (though they both had bloody diarrhea before passing) and eventually figured out that the most likely culprit was lawn contamination... she didn't treat her lawn, but neighbors did, and she believes that either some of the aerosol spray managed to drift to her lawn when their lawn was sprayed or rain caused some of the run-off from the neighbors lawn to contaminate her lawn. Again, ((HUGS)) to you and I'm so sorry!
 
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