Eran Johnson
New Born Pup
Hi all, I would like to tell you a little background story before I begin,
My first guinea pig was a male named Charlie, I picked him out from a pet store and bought him a cage from there, a big on at that (It was my first time purchasing a guinea pig), and as he started to acclimate I grew more fond of him, and decided to research more about guinea pigs.
I quickly learned they live best with a partner or more, so a few weeks later I convinced my mom (I was 14/13 at the time) to buy me another guinea pig, a male which I later named Snoopy.
Cut to a month later, Snoopy's hip started getting bigger, by investigating him I found out it was a female by looking at his (or her) genitalia, I panicked because I knew she was pregnant, but kept it a secret and only told my mom, which was very comforting and understanding, unlike my dad (which I feared would spark a reaction).
A few months later she gave birth to 3 pups (2 males, 1 female) on March 3rd, 2015, my dad actually reacted surprisingly well (and to this date helps me take care of the guinea pigs and loves them even more than my mother), but I already knew we had to give them away.
Charlie was neutered not too long before the birth, So I knew I could keep the female at least, after many conversation I managed to keep the female and name her Peanut.
Peanut was always very energetic and it seemed like she actually annoyed Charlie and Snoopy with her being so hyper, she had been chased away and rumblestrutted at many times by Charlie and Snoopy, but it didn't seem like it was very hostile.
They had vegetables 3 times a day, hay, dry food and pellets, fruit, a very roomy cage and a very peaceful and healthy life, I truly loved them.
When she was about a year and a month old she had developed a sort of "blockage" in her digestive system mainly consisting of gasses, and she wouldn't eat, drink and barely move.
We got her to the vet and I was very distressed about the ordeal, she got a few shots but long story short, she survived and healed a few days later.
2 days ago(2 years after digestive issue) I saw her having some strange behavior, she looked like she was bobbing her head with an open mouth and it looked quite unusual, she was in her hidy and didn't come out much, I looked at her a little bit and dismissed it, thinking it was nothing.
Yesterday, returning from school at 16:00, I saw her "puffed up" in a hidy with her opening and closing her mouth, like a fish out of water.
I took her out of the cage and looked at her, she moved very slightly and started sort of tipping over to her side, I kept an eye on her and alarmed my father, I had noticed her previous digestion issue and called the vet, So I knew to do the same.
We took her to the vet as an emergency and he Immediately told us it was pneumonia and she was in a very critical state, her heartbeats weren't in order and she was barely moving, eating or drinking (she had an oxygen mask and just stayed there, breathing with her mouth opening and closing) and I was also told her belly was full of fluids, and not much food, the vet told us we need to give her a little bit of time, see what happens and then choose on how to continue.
after 1 hour or so he said her condition is worsening, and during that hour that I've been with her I have also researched heart problems in guinea pigs and and her symptoms we're almost an identical match, I immediately informed the doctor and he gave me the phone number for the best guinea pig cardiologist in our country, which was an hour long drive (not that it mattered) the vet agreed that she should be taken to an x-ray and a simulation to see the situation of her heart, since it was hard to diagnose her and it seemed she was getting worse, it was very clear it was likely a heart problem.
the doctor seemed very pessimistic but tried to hide it in order to not distress me (I was with my dad the whole time, he mainly talked to him) and 2 minutes after we got into the car with her, she took her final breath and passed away.
She had been comfortable the whole time, she had been covered with blankets and towels, under a heat light which helped her stay comfortable, she was petted often and had shots including Antibiotics and painkillers which didn't hurt at all (the syringe was small) so that she wouldn't suffer during the process, I cried my eyes out as soon as this happened and currently, the day after her passing, I still feel unreasonably guilty.
I saw her acting weirdly and didn't do anything about it, I have been in a mental state of distress for the good part of a day and can't help myself feel bad for what I've done, I loved her so much, she was "the life" of the cage and I always felt like she was picked on by her cagemates (not really picked on, but kind of dismissed by them, like an annoying kid in a friend group) and that's when I started to really get her used to being handled as she wasn't used to it much.
My piggies right now don't seem bothered by anything, and continue their lives normally (which also concerns me because I wonder if they really didn't get together well, which I didn't EVER see a sign of).
I miss her so so SO much and I can't rest or think about anything else, and some of this grief comes from the fact that she didn't outlive her parents, she only had her birthday 4 days ago, and we celebrated with a bowl full of vegetables.
Please, piggy owners of this forum, post your thoughts here, she didn't deserve to die that young and I can't stop beating myself up for it, I've tried to convince myself that she was a genetically weak-immuned guinea pig considering her previous illness (my other piggies were NEVER sick) and that the disease couldn't be prevented, we had done the BEST we could have done in an emergency situation and both vets confirmed that, but I still can't leave myself to rest knowing that if I caught her situation sooner (which I could've) she would've been alive today.
My first guinea pig was a male named Charlie, I picked him out from a pet store and bought him a cage from there, a big on at that (It was my first time purchasing a guinea pig), and as he started to acclimate I grew more fond of him, and decided to research more about guinea pigs.
I quickly learned they live best with a partner or more, so a few weeks later I convinced my mom (I was 14/13 at the time) to buy me another guinea pig, a male which I later named Snoopy.
Cut to a month later, Snoopy's hip started getting bigger, by investigating him I found out it was a female by looking at his (or her) genitalia, I panicked because I knew she was pregnant, but kept it a secret and only told my mom, which was very comforting and understanding, unlike my dad (which I feared would spark a reaction).
A few months later she gave birth to 3 pups (2 males, 1 female) on March 3rd, 2015, my dad actually reacted surprisingly well (and to this date helps me take care of the guinea pigs and loves them even more than my mother), but I already knew we had to give them away.
Charlie was neutered not too long before the birth, So I knew I could keep the female at least, after many conversation I managed to keep the female and name her Peanut.
Peanut was always very energetic and it seemed like she actually annoyed Charlie and Snoopy with her being so hyper, she had been chased away and rumblestrutted at many times by Charlie and Snoopy, but it didn't seem like it was very hostile.
They had vegetables 3 times a day, hay, dry food and pellets, fruit, a very roomy cage and a very peaceful and healthy life, I truly loved them.
When she was about a year and a month old she had developed a sort of "blockage" in her digestive system mainly consisting of gasses, and she wouldn't eat, drink and barely move.
We got her to the vet and I was very distressed about the ordeal, she got a few shots but long story short, she survived and healed a few days later.
2 days ago(2 years after digestive issue) I saw her having some strange behavior, she looked like she was bobbing her head with an open mouth and it looked quite unusual, she was in her hidy and didn't come out much, I looked at her a little bit and dismissed it, thinking it was nothing.
Yesterday, returning from school at 16:00, I saw her "puffed up" in a hidy with her opening and closing her mouth, like a fish out of water.
I took her out of the cage and looked at her, she moved very slightly and started sort of tipping over to her side, I kept an eye on her and alarmed my father, I had noticed her previous digestion issue and called the vet, So I knew to do the same.
We took her to the vet as an emergency and he Immediately told us it was pneumonia and she was in a very critical state, her heartbeats weren't in order and she was barely moving, eating or drinking (she had an oxygen mask and just stayed there, breathing with her mouth opening and closing) and I was also told her belly was full of fluids, and not much food, the vet told us we need to give her a little bit of time, see what happens and then choose on how to continue.
after 1 hour or so he said her condition is worsening, and during that hour that I've been with her I have also researched heart problems in guinea pigs and and her symptoms we're almost an identical match, I immediately informed the doctor and he gave me the phone number for the best guinea pig cardiologist in our country, which was an hour long drive (not that it mattered) the vet agreed that she should be taken to an x-ray and a simulation to see the situation of her heart, since it was hard to diagnose her and it seemed she was getting worse, it was very clear it was likely a heart problem.
the doctor seemed very pessimistic but tried to hide it in order to not distress me (I was with my dad the whole time, he mainly talked to him) and 2 minutes after we got into the car with her, she took her final breath and passed away.
She had been comfortable the whole time, she had been covered with blankets and towels, under a heat light which helped her stay comfortable, she was petted often and had shots including Antibiotics and painkillers which didn't hurt at all (the syringe was small) so that she wouldn't suffer during the process, I cried my eyes out as soon as this happened and currently, the day after her passing, I still feel unreasonably guilty.
I saw her acting weirdly and didn't do anything about it, I have been in a mental state of distress for the good part of a day and can't help myself feel bad for what I've done, I loved her so much, she was "the life" of the cage and I always felt like she was picked on by her cagemates (not really picked on, but kind of dismissed by them, like an annoying kid in a friend group) and that's when I started to really get her used to being handled as she wasn't used to it much.
My piggies right now don't seem bothered by anything, and continue their lives normally (which also concerns me because I wonder if they really didn't get together well, which I didn't EVER see a sign of).
I miss her so so SO much and I can't rest or think about anything else, and some of this grief comes from the fact that she didn't outlive her parents, she only had her birthday 4 days ago, and we celebrated with a bowl full of vegetables.
Please, piggy owners of this forum, post your thoughts here, she didn't deserve to die that young and I can't stop beating myself up for it, I've tried to convince myself that she was a genetically weak-immuned guinea pig considering her previous illness (my other piggies were NEVER sick) and that the disease couldn't be prevented, we had done the BEST we could have done in an emergency situation and both vets confirmed that, but I still can't leave myself to rest knowing that if I caught her situation sooner (which I could've) she would've been alive today.
I was so so absolutely devastated and blamed myself wondering why I didn't do certain things or pick up signs earlier. I cried for 2 days - and I'm 38!