StardustEcho
Junior Guinea Pig
I very suddenly lost Edel, my 3 year old piggy last night (Monday). Looking back, she seemed a tiny bit off on Sunday, taking longer to come get food whereas usually she was a sprinter but I didn't think anything of it. When I checked in on the pigs on Monday she was clearly not okay. She was fuzzy and hunched up in the corner of the hay tray, completely lethargic and let me pet her - very unusual. I took her out of the cage, got her a heating pad and tried to get her to eat some pellets and drink some water. She ate a pellet but it was clearly an effort and took a long time, and only had a tiny drop of water. She also started producing a runny poo, still with some texture but close to diarrhoea. Got an emergency appt to the vet two hours later. She was still very lethargic but shrieked and wriggled when the vet felt her stomach, clearly in pain. He listened and said that her guts were still moving, though a little slowly and that she likely had a slight tummy issue. Her chest and heart sounded fine to him. Due to it being an emergency appointment, I hadn't been able to get her in to see our regular, pig-savvy vet. I knew it was something serious and I'm still beating myself up over not making a bigger deal out of it. He gave Loxicom and Fibreplex and said he'd expect to see improvement in the next 24 hours. I planned to phone up the next morning and get an appt with our pig-savvy vet.
But around 5 hours after we left she took a turn for the worse. She was lying on her side, almost unresponsive. I rushed her to the emergency vet and she started quite violently seizing as we left. They examined her, said she was struggling to breathe, was very cold and her body was shutting down. I opted to have her pts right away, I can't bear the idea that she was suffering. I asked the vet what could be the cause and she didn't have any answers.
I'm utterly heartbroken and also concerned for my remaining pigs. I don't know if she had something that could have been contagious. The vet said it was possible, and to keep an eye on the others, but it may also have just been bad luck, genetics or something else. One of my remaining pigs is her biological sister, and I'm also extra worried that bad breeding may cause a similar issue in her. Looking for any advice, anything I can do to look after my remaining pigs. I've deep cleaned their cage and water bottles and right now they all seem bright and happy as can be. I'm just so lost. She was so young and I hate that she suffered and I couldn't help. I feel like I could have done more to help her, saw the signs earlier, anything really.
But around 5 hours after we left she took a turn for the worse. She was lying on her side, almost unresponsive. I rushed her to the emergency vet and she started quite violently seizing as we left. They examined her, said she was struggling to breathe, was very cold and her body was shutting down. I opted to have her pts right away, I can't bear the idea that she was suffering. I asked the vet what could be the cause and she didn't have any answers.
I'm utterly heartbroken and also concerned for my remaining pigs. I don't know if she had something that could have been contagious. The vet said it was possible, and to keep an eye on the others, but it may also have just been bad luck, genetics or something else. One of my remaining pigs is her biological sister, and I'm also extra worried that bad breeding may cause a similar issue in her. Looking for any advice, anything I can do to look after my remaining pigs. I've deep cleaned their cage and water bottles and right now they all seem bright and happy as can be. I'm just so lost. She was so young and I hate that she suffered and I couldn't help. I feel like I could have done more to help her, saw the signs earlier, anything really.
