Sorry if I put this in the wrong spot, I am brand new here.
I am wondering if guinea pig bloat is always fatal. I ask because we just recently lost our 7 1/2 year old female pig, Olivia, to this. She was absolutely fine the night before, running and playing and eating....just her usual self. By the time we got up the next morning she was unable to walk, making no noises and obviously very ill. We took her to the vet right away and after an X-ray the vet told us she had very severe bloat. The vet said it had gone past the last rib and she was not optimistic about her chances. She was also concerned there was an underlying issue that she just couldn’t see at the time that had to led to it. She was willing to treat her, of course, but she said Olivia was very near death and she was not confident anything she could do would save her or restore her to health even if she could save her life. After more discussion, and with heavy hearts, we made the decision to put her to sleep to end her suffering. There is the guilt that comes with such a decision, and the second guessing, but I know in my heart there was nothing we could have done for her...it was just too advanced. And so sudden, literally overnight.
My family is devastated. We would like to get another when the time is right and we have grieved for Olivia. She was our first one and now that I know they should be kept in pairs we will definitely get two. But I worry about this happening to another one. Is bloat always a death sentence? Or can it be treated if it’s not so bad? It seems like our Olivia got a very severe case and it came out of the blue with no warning. So that makes me concerned that it could happen again. It doesn’t stop us from wanting more piggies...they are cute and lovable and we can definitely find room in our hearts to love more of them. It just makes us worry about it happening again. Thank you
I am wondering if guinea pig bloat is always fatal. I ask because we just recently lost our 7 1/2 year old female pig, Olivia, to this. She was absolutely fine the night before, running and playing and eating....just her usual self. By the time we got up the next morning she was unable to walk, making no noises and obviously very ill. We took her to the vet right away and after an X-ray the vet told us she had very severe bloat. The vet said it had gone past the last rib and she was not optimistic about her chances. She was also concerned there was an underlying issue that she just couldn’t see at the time that had to led to it. She was willing to treat her, of course, but she said Olivia was very near death and she was not confident anything she could do would save her or restore her to health even if she could save her life. After more discussion, and with heavy hearts, we made the decision to put her to sleep to end her suffering. There is the guilt that comes with such a decision, and the second guessing, but I know in my heart there was nothing we could have done for her...it was just too advanced. And so sudden, literally overnight.
My family is devastated. We would like to get another when the time is right and we have grieved for Olivia. She was our first one and now that I know they should be kept in pairs we will definitely get two. But I worry about this happening to another one. Is bloat always a death sentence? Or can it be treated if it’s not so bad? It seems like our Olivia got a very severe case and it came out of the blue with no warning. So that makes me concerned that it could happen again. It doesn’t stop us from wanting more piggies...they are cute and lovable and we can definitely find room in our hearts to love more of them. It just makes us worry about it happening again. Thank you
