Guinea pig death

[Kelly-Ann]

My guinea pig died today unfortunately,it was so sudden..she lost weight since a while now and even lose alot of hair but recently like a day now she was not eating or drinking anything,was apparently having seizures (the vet told us that),not really pooping..she was looking really sick not to mention was kinda smelly so we took her to a vet and she was given injection and meds...was given a syringe to feed her yogurt and coconut water bc she was dehydrated..we came home her scent got worst but we didn't take it on..thought she just needed a shower but she never smelt so bad before.. a hr later we fed her back,rest her on the table where I think she had a last seizure because she fret up a bit and then she went down..was hoping she was still alive..lol was tryna have hope, then saw that she came up again but I guess that was really her last breath..after some time she started to get stiff..just really confuse about her foul scent and her sudden death..think she was already dying internally?

 

[Wiebke]

My guinea pig died today unfortunately,it was so sudden..she lost weight since a while now and even lose alot of hair but recently like a day now she was not eating or drinking anything,was apparently having seizures (the vet told us that),not really pooping..she was looking really sick not to mention was kinda smelly so we took her to a vet and she was given injection and meds...was given a syringe to feed her yogurt and coconut water bc she was dehydrated..we came home her scent got worst but we didn't take it on..thought she just needed a shower but she never smelt so bad before.. a hr later we fed her back,rest her on the table where I think she had a last seizure because she fret up a bit and then she went down..was hoping she was still alive..lol was tryna have hope, then saw that she came up again but I guess that was really her last breath..after some time she started to get stiff..just really confuse about her foul scent and her sudden death..think she was already dying internally?

Hi!

I am very sorry about your loss.

It is unfortunately impossible for me to say what has gone wrong just from your description; you would need a post mortem examination from a vet to find out what exactly was going on.

Loss of hair, weight loss and seizures could point towards a bad case of mange mites (a skin parasite that burrows their eggs in the skin of guinea pigs, which is extremely painful and can be fatal if left untreated or undertreated); but I can only guess. By the time you had your guinea pig seen by a vet they were unfortunately already very, very ill, had stopped eating and their body had started to close down; so the smell is more likely related to that.

Please see a vet promptly in the future, as soon as a piggy of yours is starting to lose hair and is losing weight - the later is always a sign that something serious is not right.

Here is more information which you may find helpful to make more sense of your traumatic experiences:
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children (the dying guide includes the symptoms of a natural death, several of which you have been witnessing)

Information on mange mites (as mentioned, this is just a guess):
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites

Emergency/crisis care and what to do (please note that guinea pigs are lactose intolerant once weaned and need to be fed fibre in a crisis - your vet is obviously not experienced with guinea pigs at all; but it would not have mattered for the outcome anyway in your case):
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

I wish you could have found us sooner. I hope that the links can help you make more sense of what has happened.
Please be kind to yourself in the coming days as you will be feeling very upset and very likely guilty, too. The second issue you can work with by learning how to do things better next time round; we can't go back and undo any mistakes but we can always learn not to make the same mistake twice and ultimately save more lives that would have otherwise died.

HUGS

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry you lost your piggy. Take care.

 

[Swissgreys]

I am sorry for your loss.
Be kind to yourself as you grieve.

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

So very sorry for your loss

 

[Flutterby]

I'm so sorry for your loss xx

 

[Merab]

So sorry for your loss.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve

 

[Kelly-Ann]

Hi!

I am very sorry about your loss.

It is unfortunately impossible for me to say what has gone wrong just from your description; you would need a post mortem examination from a vet to find out what exactly was going on.

Loss of hair, weight loss and seizures could point towards a bad case of mange mites (a skin parasite that burrows their eggs in the skin of guinea pigs, which is extremely painful and can be fatal if left untreated or undertreated); but I can only guess. By the time you had your guinea pig seen by a vet they were unfortunately already very, very ill, had stopped eating and their body had started to close down; so the smell is more likely related to that.

Please see a vet promptly in the future, as soon as a piggy of yours is starting to lose hair and is losing weight - the later is always a sign that something serious is not right.

Here is more information which you may find helpful to make more sense of your traumatic experiences:
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children (the dying guide includes the symptoms of a natural death, several of which you have been witnessing)

Information on mange mites (as mentioned, this is just a guess):
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites

Emergency/crisis care and what to do (please note that guinea pigs are lactose intolerant once weaned and need to be fed fibre in a crisis - your vet is obviously not experienced with guinea pigs at all; but it would not have mattered for the outcome anyway in your case):
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

I wish you could have found us sooner. I hope that the links can help you make more sense of what has happened.
Please be kind to yourself in the coming days as you will be feeling very upset and very likely guilty, too. The second issue you can work with by learning how to do things better next time round; we can't go back and undo any mistakes but we can always learn not to make the same mistake twice and ultimately save more lives that would have otherwise died.

HUGS

Thank you so much..I learnt from this experience...I do think I want another guinea pig in the far future so I can be able to treat it properly and do things the correct way without ignoring any sort of sickness signs.It sucks because it seem as though my piggy wanted to live but she couldn't make it anymore..She was the first ever pet I got so attached too so this is kinda hard and I think she's about 2 years..got her when she was a little baby lol but thank you so much! Also her skin didnt really show signs of mange so irdk..

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much..I learnt from this experience...I do think I want another guinea pig in the far future so I can be able to treat it properly and do things the correct way without ignoring any sort of sickness signs.It sucks because it seem as though my piggy wanted to live but she couldn't make it anymore..She was the first ever pet I got so attached too so this is kinda hard and I think she's about 2 years..got her when she was a little baby lol but thank you so much! Also her skin didnt really show signs of mange so irdk..

Mange or hay mites are not visible to the naked eye; all you see is hair loss and perhaps self-inflicted open sores.; but without pictures, we cannot even start to guess what has caused the hair loss in your guinea pig and the loss in weight.

Please do a lot more research before you get more pets; guinea pigs are for instant group animals that should never be kept alone, even though Switzerland is still the only country where it is illegal and strictly enforced to sell or keep single group animals, which namely includes guinea pigs. They are also ground roaming animals and need a lot more space for a long term healthy life and a hay/grass based diet with only a little preferably green veg and very little pellets - it is the silica in the grass/hay fibre which keeps the crucial back teeth ground down and digestive system working optimally; they have evolved as a species on a mainly fresh and dried grass/hay diet with some wild forage on the side to supplement trace elements etc. And only the forage is what you are replacing with your veg and pellets; the closer to their natural diet you can stick, the better. Good welfare conditions and being able to spot illness promptly can really add several years to an average healthy life span of about 4-7 years and even take your piggies beyond. The two last piggies I lost in 2021 were for instance a 6 and a 8 years old, and they were both adoptees; one was part of a rescue intake from a house overrun with indiscriminately multiplying piggies.

You can find a lot of very practical information (15 years of forum experience and even longer member's experiences have gone into our extensive resource!) via this link here, which you may want to bookmark. It is probably the most extensive guinea pig resource at the moment: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

All these changes are going to make a huge difference in quality of life and life span - and by doing this, you will get even more joy out of your pets, too. Good ownership is a two-way system by which all sides profit.

 

[Kelly-Ann]

how do they even get mange or hay mites? And I have pics of her before she die maybe I can send those?
Also she stayed in a big visible cage so she would climb and hold on to piece of the iron to meet us..We also took her out to play around..I didn't know she couldn't eat bread and we fed her little pieces of bread and even apples (but she had her guinea pig food and green veges)the vet told us she not suppose to eat bread and even fruits so that's my mistake..Google said otherwise..and sorry for your lost as well..As sad as it was to lose her..It taught me so much now so I'll know better for the future if I do happen to get another piggy.

 

[Kelly-Ann]

Thinking about it..she really use to kinda itch and lose excess hair in this one specific place so I guess she had mange from before we got her since she was with other piggies.

 

[Wiebke]

how do they even get mange or hay mites? And I have pics of her before she die maybe I can send those?
Also she stayed in a big visible cage so she would climb and hold on to piece of the iron to meet us..We also took her out to play around..I didn't know she couldn't eat bread and we fed her little pieces of bread and even apples (but she had her guinea pig food and green veges)the vet told us she not suppose to eat bread and even fruits so that's my mistake..Google said otherwise..and sorry for your lost as well..As sad as it was to lose her..It taught me so much now so I'll know better for the future if I do happen to get another piggy.

Many piggies are already born with mange mites eggs in their skin; the eggs are normally kept under control by a fully developed and healthy immune but can erupt if the immune system is weakened for some reason - either in the very young where it is still under construction, in the pregnant, the ill, the old and frail or the highly stressed. Pet shop products are usually too weak to get on top of an acute outbreak and home cures are totally useless.
Without a picture I can of course not say whether your piggy had them.

Guinea pigs should not eat grain products because the starch in them is turned into sugar. Bread and other grain products are not poisonous in themself but it is like feeding a big bag of donuts - unhealthy and life shortening if fed too much; they are best treated as a no no for piggies - especially as they are highly processed.
Apple, carrot (which is like a bar of chocolate for piggies) are safe to feed as a small slice every now and then - fruit should be seen more as a special treat in a small quantity. Like guinea pigs that are coming across some wild berries or fruit on their twice daily feeding trip every now and then when they are in season and will eat one or two. Mine get a thin slice of apple or a small slice of carrot as their birthday or Christmas treat.
Unfortunately, there is A LOT of bad information around. The problem with the internet and social media is that they provide information but you never know of which quality it is unless you have enough experience, training or knowledge to be able to judge your source.
PS: These foods would have not been good and ultimately somehwat life-shortening if fed often or even daily but they would not have been the direct cause of your piggy's death.

I like to think of my past piggies as my little furry guardian angels who are still with me in what I have learned from them and in the precious memories they have left me with. They help me to look after my current piggies - each of them leaves me with a bit more experience and knowledge.
But while I have been on a 50 years journey of learning more and more through the piggies that have accompanied me life in half a century, you have to do this a lot quicker as a kind of fast forward. Just be aware that a lot of what you are learning about guinea pigs as a species is the result of other people's learning from mistakes and bad experiences along the way. When we got our first family piggy, everybody knew so little... but the love we lavished on our pets has never been less and they have still been happy piggies, wheeking, popcorning and running with joy. And of course things have speeded up a lot with the exchange of knowledge through the internet and a slow but gradually increasing interest in guinea pigs as a species both in science and medicine although they are still dreadfully underresearched compared to other pets.

Perhaps this picture of having a little guardian piggy at your side to guide you will help you too?

 

[Kelly-Ann]

Oh yes for sure and interesting...when i give her apple I give her a little small slice and that was rarely..I even fed her a tiny piece of grape but these things wasn't fed often...she use to eat carrots now and then but we stopped giving her that long time,only recently we tried to give her but she didnt really eat it..also she stopped eating cucumbers like she use too.. this experience with her really taught me alot..all these things I'm learning is so helpful because my cousin have a guinea pig as well so I'll share this information with her.My piggy was so sweet and smart and she loved her food lol once she heard that food bag she would run to us lol..Idk if you'll see the spot where was missing hair in the pic but i hope you do..This pic was ending of 2020 I think but we never really took pics of the part where was missing hair but she wld itch it often and kinda like pull/bite off the hair I guess..also I'm just curious but have you ever like had a sign that your deceased piggy was around? Or even like a glimpse of them?

 

[Wiebke]

Oh yes for sure and interesting...when i give her apple I give her a little small slice and that was rarely..I even fed her a tiny piece of grape but these things wasn't fed often...she use to eat carrots now and then but we stopped giving her that long time,only recently we tried to give her but she didnt really eat it..also she stopped eating cucumbers like she use too.. this experience with her really taught me alot..all these things I'm learning is so helpful because my cousin have a guinea pig as well so I'll share this information with her.My piggy was so sweet and smart and she loved her food lol once she heard that food bag she would run to us lol..Idk if you'll see the spot where was missing hair in the pic but i hope you do..This pic was ending of 2020 I think but we never really took pics of the part where was missing hair but she wld itch it often and kinda like pull/bite off the hair I guess..also I'm just curious but have you ever like had a sign that your deceased piggy was around? Or even like a glimpse of them?

Hi!

Thank you for the picture. This is some minor hair loss that is difficult to judge whether it could be a persistent milder fungal skin infection or from mange or hay mites (although those would have got worse in time); but it is definitely not on the scale to have caused any seizures so the cause of death must be something else that is unconnected with that skin patch. Thank you for the picture; that at least clears up this point.

We can only pick up from what you tell us; which is filtered by your own perceptions and emotions.

What is her name? She was certainly a little sweetie!

 

[Bill & Ted]

I’m so sorry you lost your beautiful little piggie, sending hugs, she was very loved and she will have known that x
Sleep tight little lady

 

[Kelly-Ann]

Hi!

Thank you for the picture. This is some minor hair loss that is difficult to judge whether it could be a persistent milder fungal skin infection or from mange or hay mites (although those would have got worse in time); but it is definitely not on the scale to have caused any seizures so the cause of death must be something else that is unconnected with that skin patch. Thank you for the picture; that at least clears up this point.

We can only pick up from what you tell us; which is filtered by your own perceptions and emotions.

What is her name? She was certainly a little sweetie!

Okay thank youu..the pic was in 2020 when she was still smaller but the patch got a little bigger than that and she wld be itching so idk.Her skin looked completely fine tho but as you said mange dont need to be visible..
Yes she was indeed and her name was Lola

 

[Wiebke]

Okay thank youu..the pic was in 2020 when she was still smaller but the patch got a little bigger than that and she wld be itching so idk.
Yes she was indeed and her name was Lola

OK.

 

[Kelly-Ann]

I’m so sorry you lost your beautiful little piggie, sending hugs, she was very loved and she will have known that x
Sleep tight little lady

Thank you