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Sudden Guinea Pig Death, Please help! :(

CinnamonSwirl

CinnamonSwirl

New Born Pup
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Sudden guinea pig death, I need to solve a sad mystery!
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I didn’t know whether to put this in the bereavement section or this section, but it was more about my guinea pigs health,
So recently I have been having trouble with my money and i’ll have to admit i wasn’t giving them their full nutrients for a good couple of days, i ran out of Veggies, Feeding Hay and pellets but i was giving them regular hay for the meantime! so they weren’t going hungry, sorry if this is too much info, but my antidepressant pills messed with my hormones a bit so i wasn’t doing the regular cleaning job for them. i was about to go out to the shop today but i had to postpone the trip because of the recent happenings with my piggy today :(


i woke up at 10am (today) they seemed both fine! so i went back to sleep for a bit. later this evening I called both of my piggies to get food, one answered, one didnt. I lifted up her flap that she hides away in and she seemed oddly lethargic, she ate but she seemed very off. i noticed she was slightly floppy and she was really sleepy and she started to get worse 30 minutes later and she started to have fits/seizures so i put her in my mini box what i use them in when they can’t go in the cage (when i’m cleaning it. etc) to go to the vets but unfortunately it was too late and she had passed. it is bonfire night tonight so things are quite noisy here so i’m not too sure if was anything to do with that. :(

my other piggy is fine! she’s her usual self, i’m still clueless on what happened, it was so sudden and it was a massive shock for me )): :/
 
CinnamonSwirl said:
Sudden guinea pig death, I need to solve a sad mystery!
://
I didn’t know whether to put this in the bereavement section or this section, but it was more about my guinea pigs health,
So recently I have been having trouble with my money and i’ll have to admit i wasn’t giving them their full nutrients for a good couple of days, i ran out of Veggies, Feeding Hay and pellets but i was giving them regular hay for the meantime! so they weren’t going hungry, sorry if this is too much info, but my antidepressant pills messed with my hormones a bit so i wasn’t doing the regular cleaning job for them. i was about to go out to the shop today but i had to postpone the trip because of the recent happenings with my piggy today :(


i woke up at 10am (today) they seemed both fine! so i went back to sleep for a bit. later this evening I called both of my piggies to get food, one answered, one didnt. I lifted up her flap that she hides away in and she seemed oddly lethargic, she ate but she seemed very off. i noticed she was slightly floppy and she was really sleepy and she started to get worse 30 minutes later and she started to have fits/seizures so i put her in my mini box what i use them in when they can’t go in the cage (when i’m cleaning it. etc) to go to the vets but unfortunately it was too late and she had passed. it is bonfire night tonight so things are quite noisy here so i’m not too sure if was anything to do with that. :(

my other piggy is fine! she’s her usual self, i’m still clueless on what happened, it was so sudden and it was a massive shock for me )): :/
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

BIG HUGS

I am very sorry for your loss.

What you are describing is a piggy going through the advances stages of a natural death (i.e. multiple organ failure). This usually happens when one of the major organs suddenly gives, like the heart for instance. This can happen out of the blue at any age. In younger piggies it is often connected to a genetic defect. Sudden fright from a loud bang etc. can kill a piggy with an underlying issue, so there may be more than one factor in play.
Unfortunately, we can all only guess. Even a post-mortem examination at the vet's may not give you the answer you are looking for.

But if you have been still feeding dry food as normal (which is the mainstay of a diet), then the death is not caused by lack of veg for a few days. You can rest easy on that score. Veg and pellets are replacing the supplementing role that wild forage used to have in addition to the grass/hay fibre that is making the bulk of the diet and that is crucial for dental and gut health. There is vitamin C in pellets and even a little in hay (fresh growing grass is high in it), so that angle is still addressed.
I hope that you have been able to get hold of veg now.

It is normal that you are desperately trying to make sense of what has happened so unexpectedly and devastatedly and that - since we humans are wired to think like that - you are seeking the cause first and foremost with yourself.

Please take the time to read the guides via the link below; they can help you understand more in detail what you have seen in the Dying guide in the chapter about multiple organ failure and hopefully ease your racing thoughts a bit when you can put your observations into a context (lethargy, seizures etc.)
The Grieving guide is there to help you make sense of your own strong but often conflicting and unexpected emotions and reactions. It also contains links to further resources and helplines for several countries if you need additional help for pet bereavement with dedicated services. In the UK, the Blue Cross offer now free trained support services on several platforms; you can find the link to them via the guide.
The Companion guide will give you practical help in what you can do for a bereaved companion immediately and in the medium to longer term and what you need to look out for. Being able to do some constructive things for the surviving piggy can help to counter your feelings of failure and guilt somewhat.
Here is the access link: A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

I hope that this helps you?
 
thank you so much! i started worrying because i thought it was my fault because i thought she had a disease from not cleaning her and not giving her the right foods, when she starting having seizures i basically knew something was extremely wrong and i panicked, oh i forgot to mention but she was only a couple of months old too, she was way too young to go ): again thank you soo much! i really appreciate it! :)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome

BIG HUGS

I am very sorry for your loss.

What you are describing is a piggy going through the advances stages of a natural death (i.e. multiple organ failure). This usually happens when one of the major organs suddenly gives, like the heart for instance. This can happen out of the blue at any age. In younger piggies it is often connected to a genetic defect. Sudden fright from a loud bang etc. can kill a piggy with an underlying issue, so there may be more than one factor in play.
Unfortunately, we can all only guess. Even a post-mortem examination at the vet's may not give you the answer you are looking for.

But if you have been still feeding dry food as normal (which is the mainstay of a diet), then the death is not caused by lack of veg for a few days. You can rest easy on that score. Veg and pellets are replacing the supplementing role that wild forage used to have in addition to the grass/hay fibre that is making the bulk of the diet and that is crucial for dental and gut health. There is vitamin C in pellets and even a little in hay (fresh growing grass is high in it), so that angle is still addressed.
I hope that you have been able to get hold of veg now.

It is normal that you are desperately trying to make sense of what has happened so unexpectedly and devastatedly and that - since we humans are wired to think like that - you are seeking the cause first and foremost with yourself.

Please take the time to read the guides via the link below; they can help you understand more in detail what you have seen in the Dying guide in the chapter about multiple organ failure and hopefully ease your racing thoughts a bit when you can put your observations into a context (lethargy, seizures etc.)
The Grieving guide is there to help you make sense of your own strong but often conflicting and unexpected emotions and reactions. It also contains links to further resources and helplines for several countries if you need additional help for pet bereavement with dedicated services. In the UK, the Blue Cross offer now free trained support services on several platforms; you can find the link to them via the guide.
The Companion guide will give you practical help in what you can do for a bereaved companion immediately and in the medium to longer term and what you need to look out for. Being able to do some constructive things for the surviving piggy can help to counter your feelings of failure and guilt somewhat.
Here is the access link: A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

I hope that this helps you?
Click to expand...
thank you so much! i started worrying because i thought it was my fault because i thought she had a disease from not cleaning her and not giving her the right foods, when she starting having seizures i basically knew something was extremely wrong and i panicked, oh i forgot to mention but she was only a couple of months old too, she was way too young to go ): again thank you soo much! i’ll look into that link, i really appreciate it! :)
 
CinnamonSwirl said:
thank you so much! i started worrying because i thought it was my fault because i thought she had a disease from not cleaning her and not giving her the right foods, when she starting having seizures i basically knew something was extremely wrong and i panicked, oh i forgot to mention but she was only a couple of months old too, she was way too young to go ): again thank you soo much! i really appreciate it! :)
Click to expand...

It is most likely due to a congenital heart defect, perhaps set off by the fireworks bangs but it would have happened sooner rather than later anyway. I am very sorry. It can happen.

PS: Do you have anybody who could help you out with the food buying and cleaning when you really struggle?
 
Wiebke said:
It is most likely due to a congenital heart defect, perhaps set off by the fireworks bangs but it would have happened sooner rather than later anyway. I am very sorry. It can happen.

PS: Do you have anybody who could help you out with the food buying and cleaning when you really struggle?
Click to expand...
i do :) i went out tonight with one of the family friends to get some veggies but i’ll be going to get some pellets and timothy hay tomorrow/later on today :) i mostly sort out the cleaning so i have no one to help with that unfortunately, but i try the best i can :)
 
I’m sorry xx

I just wanted to say, if things are pressured, my piggies only have one type of hay. They have a big tray of meadow hay that they dig in and eat so it may be that you can stop worrying about spending on two types and just reduce your outgoings a fraction.
 
I’m so sorry for your loss.

Please go gently on yourself as you grieve and please don’t blame yourself.

Not all piggies get 2 different types of hay. As long as they have constant access to hay it doesn’t really matter if it’s meadow hay or something special like Timothy hay.
 
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