Bloated guinea pig - Now passed away

[Fluffypig123]

Hello, we had a 1yr 6 month old male guinea pig named Luquorice who showed symptoms of bloat, but had been eating normally, pooping and running around the hour before. Within 20 minutes of the first sign of swelling, we took him straight to the vets. The swelling got worse and he was in immense pain.

The xray the vet did is attached. She didnt really have a definitive answer as to what caused this.

He was still passing faeces, urinating and eating (though she never asked us this question) she said the only option MAY have been surgery but likely to be unsuccessful. She didnt suggest anything else.

He had previously had ongoing urinary issues for around 6 months. We had tried 2 courses of antibiotics for the urine issues (apparently he had bladder sludge) and he was on 1/4 of a Catease capsule once daily to try and line his bladder to protect it from crystals. He was on 0.4ml of metacam twice a day and his last recorded weight was 1.06g.

We really just wanted a second opinion from other peoples experiences. Could it have been stomach twist? The vet just said she thought it was gas with a mix of fermenting liquid. He was eating and pooping normally the hour before his belly started swelling and had been popcorning and running around, it wasnt swollen for long before we took him to vets. Its broken our hearts as he was so young and we acted so quickly. The vet didnt suggest anything else. I read that sometimes they can drain gas with a needle or through the mouth but this was not suggested.

The vet said that it sounded like one side of his stomach was still moving but the other side was quiet (again, she still didn’t ask whether he was pooping, which I would have thought was an important question, i was so stressed at the time that i didnt think to say it anyway)

The whole situation was awful as we felt the vet didnt act fast enough. We called them ahead of taking him, she had 20 minutes notice and yet when we got there, dhe hadnt turned the lights in, pc on or anything. By the time she did all that, another 10-15 mins had passed. She was heartless and brought my dying baby back to me in a plastic box with no blanket to keep him comfortable or anything. She really gave me the impression that she didnt care and couldnt be bothered with the effort.

Here is a picture of our baby before he passed.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello, we had a 1yr 6 month old male guinea pig named Luquorice who showed symptoms of bloat, but had been eating normally, pooping and running around the hour before. Within 20 minutes of the first sign of swelling, we took him straight to the vets. The swelling got worse and he was in immense pain.

The xray the vet did is attached. She didnt really have a definitive answer as to what caused this.

He was still passing faeces, urinating and eating (though she never asked us this question) she said the only option MAY have been surgery but likely to be unsuccessful. She didnt suggest anything else.

He had previously had ongoing urinary issues for around 6 months. We had tried 2 courses of antibiotics for the urine issues (apparently he had bladder sludge) and he was on 1/4 of a Catease capsule once daily to try and line his bladder to protect it from crystals. He was on 0.4ml of metacam twice a day and his last recorded weight was 1.06g.

We really just wanted a second opinion from other peoples experiences. Could it have been stomach twist? The vet just said she thought it was gas with a mix of fermenting liquid. He was eating and pooping normally the hour before his belly started swelling and had been popcorning and running around, it wasnt swollen for long before we took him to vets. Its broken our hearts as he was so young and we acted so quickly. The vet didnt suggest anything else. I read that sometimes they can drain gas with a needle or through the mouth but this was not suggested.

The vet said that it sounded like one side of his stomach was still moving but the other side was quiet (again, she still didn’t ask whether he was pooping, which I would have thought was an important question, i was so stressed at the time that i didnt think to say it anyway)

The whole situation was awful as we felt the vet didnt act fast enough. We called them ahead of taking him, she had 20 minutes notice and yet when we got there, dhe hadnt turned the lights in, pc on or anything. By the time she did all that, another 10-15 mins had passed. She was heartless and brought my dying baby back to me in a plastic box with no blanket to keep him comfortable or anything. She really gave me the impression that she didnt care and couldnt be bothered with the effort.

Here is a picture of our baby before he passed.

Hi and welcome

HUGE HUGS

I am extremely sorry for what has happened. The sheer speed can be terrifying; especially as it happens right of the blue and is not necessarily connected to any existing health issue; certainly in your case.
It is perfectly normal that a traumatic experience like that leaves you shaken (I remember sitting once in the vets' parking lot literally shaking like a leaf when one of my piggies' heart suddenly gave out on the examination table. You have need to make sense of what has happened and find answers for what is often unanswerable. It is usually a very hectic and nightmarish situation when you and the treating vet are running behind fast unfolding events and are unable to stop them.

If it is any consolation to you, I have had to rush several piggies of mine with severe bloat/potential twisted gut for emergency pts in the middle of night when their gut had turned into block of concrete and they had startes to grunt (which always means total agony) within hours of showing the first sign.
Unfortunately, only a post-mortem could tell you exactly what has happened; but at that speed things unfolded for you, nothing would have helped. It could have well been a twisted sling of gut, which would not necessarily have shown up in the x-ray but the intense pain seems to have caused at least a part GI stasis. But I am just guessing as much as you.

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

Try to concentrate on that whatever it was was for you catastrophically fast but for your boy the supersonic speed was a blessing in disguise; he didn't have to suffer in agony for very long and he was spared a more drawn desperate battle for his life, only to lose it anyway. It would not have been any easier on you, as I know from my own experiences over the years. When the chips are down, would we not rather take any burden of suffering upon ourselves to spare those we love?

In this situation, you can either reflect everything onto yourself in an avalanche of guilt and soul searching or - which is the way you seem to be taking - reflect your trauma outwards and turn it into anger when you feel that somebody else, usually a vet, could have made a mistake or could have done more.

What I would like to make you aware of is that many vets are currently understaffed, working long hours and are often dead on their feet as a result; you do not know what kind of day the vet you were seen by has had. Vets and veterinary nurses are the profession with the highest suicide rate because they care; sometimes too much. Please take that into any considerations of yours.
Disinterest would have been the last emotion; being totally shaken up herself and struggling to function would be more likely. It must have been a true nightmare for your treating vet as well.

You may find our grieving guide helpful in making sense of what has just happened and to understand a bit better your strong emotions and thought processes now and in the coming days.
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children

 

[Fluffypig123]

Hi and welcome

HUGE HUGS

I am extremely sorry for what has happened. The sheer speed can be terrifying; especially as it happens right of the blue and is not necessarily connected to any existing health issue; certainly in your case.
It is perfectly normal that a traumatic experience like that leaves you shaken (I remember sitting once in the vets' parking lot literally shaking like a leaf when one of my piggies' heart suddenly gave out on the examination table. You have need to make sense of what has happened and find answers for what is often unanswerable. It is usually a very hectic and nightmarish situation when you and the treating vet are running behind fast unfolding events and are unable to stop them.

If it is any consolation to you, I have had to rush several piggies of mine with severe bloat/potential twisted gut for emergency pts in the middle of night when their gut had turned into block of concrete and they had startes to grunt (which always means total agony) within hours of showing the first sign.
Unfortunately, only a post-mortem could tell you exactly what has happened; but at that speed things unfolded for you, nothing would have helped. It could have well been a twisted sling of gut, which would not necessarily have shown up in the x-ray but the intense pain seems to have caused at least a part GI stasis. But I am just guessing as much as you.

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

Try to concentrate on that whatever it was was for you catastrophically fast but for your boy the supersonic speed was a blessing in disguise; he didn't have to suffer in agony for very long and he was spared a more drawn desperate battle for his life, only to lose it anyway. It would not have been any easier on you, as I know from my own experiences over the years. When the chips are down, would we not rather take any burden of suffering upon ourselves to spare those we love?

In this situation, you can either reflect everything onto yourself in an avalanche of guilt and soul searching or - which is the way you seem to be taking - reflect your trauma outwards and turn it into anger when you feel that somebody else, usually a vet, could have made a mistake or could have done more.

What I would like to make you aware of is that many vets are currently understaffed, working long hours and are often dead on their feet as a result; you do not know what kind of day the vet you were seen by has had. Vets and veterinary nurses are the profession with the highest suicide rate because they care; sometimes too much. Please take that into any considerations of yours.
Disinterest would have been the last emotion; being totally shaken up herself and struggling to function would be more likely. It must have been a true nightmare for your treating vet as well.

You may find our grieving guide helpful in making sense of what has just happened and to understand a bit better your strong emotions and thought processes now and in the coming days.
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children

Thank you for taking the time to read the post and respond. I just couldnt believe how quick it happened. He was fed the usual things, in usual quantities. I started to worry that maybe I had given him something I shouldnt have done or too much medication as I was tired. You just end up getting left with this awful hole filled with grief and guilt. I even had an emergency pack that I stocked up with things you guys had suggested on here just in case. But it happened so fast, I had no time to even try.

I know they are understaffed and work long hours. I did wait a while before filing a grievance against her, as I knew we were grieving, and still are. But her whole mannerism was just completely off and if anything, you really need an out of hours vet to be MORE empathetic than they are usually.

I just wanted to reach out and see whether anyone else had had a similar experience with how fast it happened and the emotions you go through afterwards.

Ive had many animals in my lifetime, but this one hit me harder than I ever thought possible. Presumably because he was so young and it was completely unexpected and the whole experience was traumatic.

He has left his brother Mint behind, picture attached. Mint was broken hearted for the first few days. Completely lost, and I felt I couldn’t console him as I had no more in me to give.

But we got him another rescue piggy names Kenny. The bonding didnt go too well the first time but we will try again. Mint has perked up massively, even just loving next door to Kenny. They are both very vocal. It was the silence that broke me with Mint. He had always been a vocal pig so when he was silent, it just broke my heart every time I went in the room. Now I walk into the room and they are chatting through the bars.

Kenny is the ginger one that looks like Dougal from The Magic Roundabout Tv show and Mint is the white one with the crazy eye.

 

[Merab]

So sorry for your loss.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.
Holding you in my heart