So Jeffrey, my Himalayan guinea pig, died at age 2 yesterday. Don't worry, he didn't live alone. He lived with his brother Alan. He had been acting a little bit strange the last couple of days before, but nothing major, he was still normal. But then, one day, his stomach was all bloated, and he wouldn't move or eat. He tried moving from time to time, but it just didn't work. He puked a little, too. And then, he slowly closed his eyes and died
. I have no clue what happened to him and why. I took care of him in the same way as usual. They had clean water, I gave them carrots once a day, they were fine. But then he just died like that. We buried him outside, and I'll visit him every single day.
Hi and welcome!
BIG HUGS
I am very sorry for your traumatic loss! You are welcome to post a tribute to Jeffrey in our Rainbow Bridge section at some stage if you feel that this would help you.
A sudden death, especially such a dramatic one, always leaves you in shock and with the question as to what on earth has had just happened?
Severe bloat, a blockage in the guts or a twisted gut can unfortunately happen out of the blue at any age. They all count as an any time of the day life or death emergency because especially the second two are mostly fatal. In your case, I suspect either a severe blockage or a twisted gut (which comes on and progresses VERY quickly with the gut feeling like concrete) but I have also lost several piggies to severe bloat over the years; this tends comes in waves, and it is often not the first one that is the killer.
It is always a terrifying experience as the amount of pain your piggy is in is incredible. It is nothing that you can ever brace for.
Please see a vet asap for emergency euthanasia if your piggy if you have access to a round the clock or an out-of-hours vet service in the case that your piggy is very apathetic and no longer able to accept/process food.
Rodents don't have a puking reflex. They are either unable to swallow because of the inability to swallow, a blockage somewhere in the digestive system or the digestive system stopping to work (GI Stasis). Piggies can release fluids/blood/mouth content in the moments just after death when the body breaks down; this can affect any orifice of the body.
I have sadly had to race several piggies of mine to the vets in situations like that, not rarely late at night or on a Sunday morning. My Myfina passed away from a blockage during Christmas 2017 when the local emergency services were hopelessly snowed under with life threatening pet emergencies.
Here is more information on bloat and related issues. I hope that the links will help you to answer some of your questions in more detail:
Bloat, GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Here are tips on how you can look after Alan and yourself in the immediate aftermath and in the coming days:
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
What I would however recommend is to please not overfeed on high fat and sugary foods like carrots - they are the equivalent of a chocolate bar for guinea pigs and rabbits, which can lead to dysbiosis (the normal fermentation process going off piste due to bad bugs taking over) and the incidence of bloat in the gut if feed very regularly.
I won't say that this has been a cause/contributor in this particular case but you may want to avoid any foods that can contribute to bloating in the future; it will hopefully help you with the coping process as it always helps when there are things that you can actively improve in the wake of a traumatic experience - it makes you feel less helpless
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children (chapter 8 deals specifically with this issue)
