My Boy Suddenly Died – Please Share Advice or Similar Experiences

[mackenziejanetaylor]

Hi all...

This morning my boy Boswell was breathing heavily and slowly, so I took him to the vet first thing. She recommended an X-ray to see if it was treatable with antibiotics or something else, so I agreed.

I left him at the vet and went to work, but a few hours later she called to say his breathing had worsened. The X-ray showed a build-up of fluid both inside and outside his lungs, also she couldn’t get a clear view of his heart because of the fluid. I rushed to the vet in an Uber, but he passed just minutes before I arrived. I was there for an hour talking to the vet and being with him in absolute tears.

The vet didn't know why the fluid was there. She thought it may have been acute (sudden) heart failure, which caused the fluid build-up and led to his passing.

So another thing... Boswell was at the vet on Friday for a completely different reason – an injury to his foot. He was limping and not putting weight on it, the vet ruled out a fracture and prescribed Arthrocam twice a day for his foot. (My thread for this is here: Limping & Sore Foot - Advice Anybody? <3 ).
The vet mentioned that she had no idea why the fluid came to his lungs. She did mention the 'stress' of this foot injury MAYBE playing a part? But she also mentioned genetics, and also that these things do just happen randomly in guinea pigs...

I’m just so shocked and devastated and struggling to make sense of it all. Has anyone else been through something similar with one of their guinea pigs? Are there any specialists here who might have some insight into what could have happened?

I loved Boswell so so so so much and I feel completely lost right now. He was only 2 years old. Thank you for reading and for any support or advice you can offer.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

*** I forgot to mention... His eating, behaviour, and weight were all 100% normal

 

[Merab]

So very sorry for your loss.
Sadly guinea pigs can go downhill very rapidly and nothing we do can save them.
It’s devastating for you but remember you acted promptly and did everything you possibly could.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.

You may find some helpful pointers on the Bereavement thread.

 

[Bill & Ted]

I am so sorry you lost Boswell, you must be feeling so sad, sending big hugs. Piggies can go downhill so quickly, it may well have been heart failure. I have had two piggies which have been fine one moment and gone the next, it’s very shocking. take heart that he was very loved and he will have known that

 

[Freela]

I'm so sorry. Sometimes, we just don't know what happened. Guinea pigs are good at hiding illnesses until they are far advanced.
I lost my 3.5-year-old pig on Halloween morning. She had hyperthyroidism but was doing well on treatment for the past several months and was even starting to put on some weight. She developed heavy breathing and was being treated for a respiratory infection. Her breathing improved dramatically within 24 on antibiotics. She seemed to be doing well about five days into treatment. My husband and daughter saw her up and about between 7 and 8 a.m. I came downstairs around 10 and found her collapsed and obviously in distress... she passed in the car on our way to the vet.
Please be kind to yourself. You did everything you possibly could. I keep trying to remind myself that guinea pigs don't have a concept of time, they don't know how long their lives are 'supposed' to be. They just know if they are having a happy days in the moment. So I try to comfort myself by telling myself that I gave Tomie many happy days, even if her lifespan was shorter than I expected it to be. And I know you did the same for Boswell. ((HUGS)) and I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Julie M]

So sorry for your loss. Sadly sometimes there's no explanation for why they pass away.
Sending you hugs.

 

[Eriathwen]

I'm so sorry about your loss, sometimes it doesn't matter what we do, they decide its time to move on anyway

I have had a couple of similar experiences, I had a piggy called Shelly who had a heart issue, she developed a blood clot in one of her front legs which initially was very painful for her and caused her to limp, her foot turned slightly purple..initially I thought she had broken or fractured it as she also had fragile bones due to osteodystrophy. Unfortunately sometimes unrelated things pop up, it wasn't even her heart issues, or her osteodystrophy in the end that caused her to pass, ultimately we discovered she had awful stomach cancer..

Now I have a piggy currently, called Mabel, who had/has a heart arrhythmia and she also had painful front legs due to fluid build up, her front left leg is still painful from time to time, xrays show she has 2 areas of spine that aren't quite right so I assume it's due to the one by her shoulders occasionally causing nerve pain. She also has a whole list of other health issues, how she's made it to 6.5 years I'll never know!

I lost another one called Clover whose only visible issue without investigations was a sudden load of fluid in the lungs before very quickly passing before I could even get her to a vet, this was due to a brain tumour found during a post mortem examination, the tumour had caused a domino effect of various organ failure resulting in sudden fluid in the lungs, she hid all of that for weeks to months before she passed, showing no sign of anything at all.

Unfortunately with guinea pigs, a lot of different issues present pretty similarly, so without post mortem (and sometimes even with one) it can be very difficult to pin down exactly what on earth happened. That doesn't necessarily help while we are grieving but having lost almost 40 piggies over the last couple of decades, I hope I can assure you that there was very likely nothing that you or the vet could have done that would have had a different outcome, you did absolutely everything you could have for him.

Again, I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful piggy

 

[fluffysal]

I'm so sorry you lost your beautiful little guy, I can only echo what's already been said.
Popcorn high over the rainbow bridge sweetie

 

[Lorcan]

I lost Cam to what was likely heart failure in August. He'd been a bit off his food the previous week but had been eating/drinking/interacting normally again til I came downstairs on a Wednesday morning and found him in a state where he couldn't be helped so I sat with him til he went, and it didn't take long.

I know it was likely heart failure because he was a skinny and his body was cold, but what caused the heart failure I'll never know. I didn't know his age or history before the 2½ years he was here, and tbh I doubt the vet could've told me either. In all the time he was here, he'd never been ill. Never needed treatment for anything. The only issue he'd ever had was that the only fresh food he could eat was pepper, cucumber, mint, and a little parsley. Anything else, including lettuce of any type, upset his stomach.

Not having answers hurts, but it's a risk for any guinea pig. Sometimes it's something obvious, sometimes it's just the worst sort of bad luck. And it can happen to any of us.

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry you lost Boswell so suddenly. It’s such a shock for you but a blessing for him. Popcorn high over he bridge gorgeous Boswell.

I have also lost young piggies. Age doesn’t matter as long as they have known love every day they were with you.

Take care. Rest assured you did everything you could. Sometimes the call to the bridge is just too strong.

 

[munchmonster]

I am so sorry to read your post, sudden loss is devastating (as is any loss of a much loved pet). I cannot offer any suggestion or help as none of my piggies have passed suddenly but I am sending big hugs as you grieve. He was a very handsome boy and he would known how much he was loved . The rainbow bridge will take care of him now.
Popcorn free Boswell

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

So very sorry for your loss.
Sadly guinea pigs can go downhill very rapidly and nothing we do can save them.
It’s devastating for you but remember you acted promptly and did everything you possibly could.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.

You may find some helpful pointers on the Bereavement thread.

Thank you for your comment, I hate how downhill they go. I will checkout the bereavement thread now.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

I am so sorry you lost Boswell, you must be feeling so sad, sending big hugs. Piggies can go downhill so quickly, it may well have been heart failure. I have had two piggies which have been fine one moment and gone the next, it’s very shocking. take heart that he was very loved and he will have known that

It has been a tough few days that's for sure, just so shocking. Missing him greatly, thank you.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

I'm so sorry. Sometimes, we just don't know what happened. Guinea pigs are good at hiding illnesses until they are far advanced.
I lost my 3.5-year-old pig on Halloween morning. She had hyperthyroidism but was doing well on treatment for the past several months and was even starting to put on some weight. She developed heavy breathing and was being treated for a respiratory infection. Her breathing improved dramatically within 24 on antibiotics. She seemed to be doing well about five days into treatment. My husband and daughter saw her up and about between 7 and 8 a.m. I came downstairs around 10 and found her collapsed and obviously in distress... she passed in the car on our way to the vet.
Please be kind to yourself. You did everything you possibly could. I keep trying to remind myself that guinea pigs don't have a concept of time, they don't know how long their lives are 'supposed' to be. They just know if they are having a happy days in the moment. So I try to comfort myself by telling myself that I gave Tomie many happy days, even if her lifespan was shorter than I expected it to be. And I know you did the same for Boswell. ((HUGS)) and I'm so sorry for your loss.

Thank you for sharing your story, it can't be easy. I am sorry for your loss. It is just so awful how even despite taking them to the vet you may not ever know what has happened to them. I keep going round and round in my head thinking what it could have been, but I won't ever know. Also, what you said at the end... I've never had someone put it like that before (that they don't know how long their lives are supposed to be they just live day by day), that has brought me some comfort so thank you.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

I'm so sorry about your loss, sometimes it doesn't matter what we do, they decide its time to move on anyway

I have had a couple of similar experiences, I had a piggy called Shelly who had a heart issue, she developed a blood clot in one of her front legs which initially was very painful for her and caused her to limp, her foot turned slightly purple..initially I thought she had broken or fractured it as she also had fragile bones due to osteodystrophy. Unfortunately sometimes unrelated things pop up, it wasn't even her heart issues, or her osteodystrophy in the end that caused her to pass, ultimately we discovered she had awful stomach cancer..

Now I have a piggy currently, called Mabel, who had/has a heart arrhythmia and she also had painful front legs due to fluid build up, her front left leg is still painful from time to time, xrays show she has 2 areas of spine that aren't quite right so I assume it's due to the one by her shoulders occasionally causing nerve pain. She also has a whole list of other health issues, how she's made it to 6.5 years I'll never know!

I lost another one called Clover whose only visible issue without investigations was a sudden load of fluid in the lungs before very quickly passing before I could even get her to a vet, this was due to a brain tumour found during a post mortem examination, the tumour had caused a domino effect of various organ failure resulting in sudden fluid in the lungs, she hid all of that for weeks to months before she passed, showing no sign of anything at all.

Unfortunately with guinea pigs, a lot of different issues present pretty similarly, so without post mortem (and sometimes even with one) it can be very difficult to pin down exactly what on earth happened. That doesn't necessarily help while we are grieving but having lost almost 40 piggies over the last couple of decades, I hope I can assure you that there was very likely nothing that you or the vet could have done that would have had a different outcome, you did absolutely everything you could have for him.

Again, I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful piggy

Thank you for sharing these stories with me, I appreciate it a lot. Firstly, I am so sorry for the loss of all your piggies, I don't know how you've gotten through almost 40 of them! I just hate how good they are at hiding illnesses, I am with my guinea pigs every single day and like to think I'd immediately know if something wasn't right but this isn't always the case. I'm still struggling to make sense of what has happened to my Boswell, how the vet thought he was fine on the Friday (except for his foot injury) and then him passing on the Wednesday after a random build-up of fluid in and outside of his lungs? My vet didn't offer post mortem (I didn't even know this was a thing with guinea pigs)... I miss him so much.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

I lost Cam to what was likely heart failure in August. He'd been a bit off his food the previous week but had been eating/drinking/interacting normally again til I came downstairs on a Wednesday morning and found him in a state where he couldn't be helped so I sat with him til he went, and it didn't take long.

I know it was likely heart failure because he was a skinny and his body was cold, but what caused the heart failure I'll never know. I didn't know his age or history before the 2½ years he was here, and tbh I doubt the vet could've told me either. In all the time he was here, he'd never been ill. Never needed treatment for anything. The only issue he'd ever had was that the only fresh food he could eat was pepper, cucumber, mint, and a little parsley. Anything else, including lettuce of any type, upset his stomach.

Not having answers hurts, but it's a risk for any guinea pig. Sometimes it's something obvious, sometimes it's just the worst sort of bad luck. And it can happen to any of us.

Thank you for your comment and sharing about your Cam. I am sorry for your loss as well. My Boswell was the same he never had anything happen to him before Friday, then suddenly he passed within a few days. I just don't understand it all and I wish I knew more.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

I’m so sorry you lost Boswell so suddenly. It’s such a shock for you but a blessing for him. Popcorn high over he bridge gorgeous Boswell.

I have also lost young piggies. Age doesn’t matter as long as they have known love every day they were with you.

Take care. Rest assured you did everything you could. Sometimes the call to the bridge is just too strong.

Thank you so much for your kind words, they are appreciated so much. It was just such a shock and I miss him loads. Losing them young is the worst, because I am thinking about all the more years he should have had...

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

I am so sorry to read your post, sudden loss is devastating (as is any loss of a much loved pet). I cannot offer any suggestion or help as none of my piggies have passed suddenly but I am sending big hugs as you grieve. He was a very handsome boy and he would known how much he was loved . The rainbow bridge will take care of him now.
Popcorn free Boswell

Thank you for your lovely words and they have brought me comfort. Sending you love.

 

[weepweeps]

Thank you so much for your kind words, they are appreciated so much. It was just such a shock and I miss him loads. Losing them young is the worst, because I am thinking about all the more years he should have had...

My Pippin was cuddled everyday he was with me. He was given the best quality hay and had yummy veggies. We can’t control how long we have them we can only control how wonderful their life is while they are here.

 

[mackenziejanetaylor]

My Pippin was cuddled everyday he was with me. He was given the best quality hay and had yummy veggies. We can’t control how long we have them we can only control how wonderful their life is while they are here.

Same with my Boswell, I gave him the best quality of hay, weighed out his veggies every day, cleaned his cage every day, cuddled him every day, did everything right and I still lost him... I miss him so much but talking on here has helped me more than anything. Thank you again