• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Why Are All My Guinea Pigs Dying?!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Guinea Pig Geek

Guinea Pig Geek

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
27
Reaction score
32
Points
0
So... This is my 5th guinea pig and for some reason all my guinea pigs keep dying... I've gotten them all young and within around three months they die. I started off with 2 Sparky and Gimli and Sparky died in my arms after about an hour or two of SO much pain! I couldn't get him to the vet because he was so sick my parents said he wasn't going to make it anyway so there was no point... They also didn't want to pay for it even though by my third guinea pig they found it was only $48... So anyways then Gimli was all alone so I got him a new friend that night and that was piggy #3 Pippin. Not even a month later I don't think Gimli got EXTREMELY skinny and so I made sure to feed him extra and take great care of him give him extra attention until he was back to normal weight and then I thought he was all better because he looked fine at that point... Nota couple weeks later I found him dead looking the exact same as Sparky had... :( (I have an extreme love for guinea pigs so I did get another...) But the new one for Pippin was Mouse. They were SO cute! I had them for a while and then I was at PetCo and saw a super sad super fat 2 year old piggy and I HAD to have him so the next day we got him and he was great! His name is Frankie :) A while later Mouse go super skinny... I don't know why, and then he died as well just like Sparky and Gimli... So then it was just Pippin and Frankie and just yesterday I found Pippin dead with a mutated foot and now Frankie is sick and I cant get him to a vet.. :( I don't know why all my guinea pigs keep getting sick and dying or what happened to Pippins foot... But I'm down to Frankie and I DONT WANT HIM TO DIE. I can go to the pet store and get medicine but last time I did that I found it was expired on my way home and I don't want to give pets expired meds... Frankie looks like someone gave him a really choppy hair cut, he is VERY skinny but he is eating. His poop is a little soft but not diarrhea I don't think. I feed all my pigs timothy hay Vita Prima Sunscription from Sunseed and then of course some treats I don't often enough give them veggies that's true but I'm trying to be better I gave Frankie a baby carrot last night and he LOVED it. I also need to be better about giving him floor time that's also true but he does get it. He has plenty of things for his teeth (though I never really see him chewing on them) he has a super pet guinea pig cage that him and Pippin shared. Also there are 2 water bottles... I don't know I all this information is necessary just trying to give you the whole story so I can get all the help possible! Also I just put him on new bedding because its cheaper but its called softwood bedding from petco but his eyes seem to be fine...(any bad bedding I've ever had led to bad eyes) All my guinea pigs were boys. Anyway sorry for this being so long but I really want him to make it and I don't know what to do :(
 
I could question you for a long time on how you look after your pigs because clearly something is not adding up, but long story short you need to take them to the vets. The fact that you've had 4/5 pigs die indicates something in the environment is horribly wrong and if you can't afford to take them to the vets, you should not be buying this many guinea pigs one after the other. Commit to treating the ones you have at the vets!
 
Am sorry you are going through all this but a vet visit is the most important thing you need to do. If you are a minor then it is your parents' responsibility to make sure that any animals in their house are seen by a vet.
 
I agree with what the others have said, if they are poorly see a vet as they can make them better, at first sign of illness you should see a vet.. Veg is important in a piggies diet so you might want to look at your diet. Hay and veg more important then pellets in my opinion.
 
You obviously love your piggies very much but if Frankie is sick and poorly, you need to ask your parents to take him to the vet to be looked over so they can see what is making him ill. This is very Important and a vital part of owning and caring for any animal.

Diet wise he should have access to hay all the time, pellets evening and night in a bowl and a variety of different veggies like carrot, cabbage, cucumber, celery, parsley - Guinea Pigs need veggies everyday as they do not make their own vitamin C. Here is a link to our food list http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/

If you are going to keep piggies you must make sure they are getting their correct diet, so please read up on what they need.
 
well I have $24 and I have been contacting vets and I've heard that something in their diet might be wrong... I don't think I have ever changed from the Vita Prima Sunscription by Sunseed...? I don't really know if its good or bad but I've also been hearing things like any food with colored things is bad and it is full of colors along with the pellets? They have always been well looked after I love them! I was looking into Oxbow food? The vets suggested I take them in but my parents will not allow that until I can pay for it that would be a couple more chore weeks and I don't know if he has that long!
 
Your parents need to take your animal to the vets, it is against the law to deny a sick animal veterinary treatment in the UK and am sure it is the same in the US.

Have you been feeding them hay?
 
Guinea pigs need veg twice a day, a cup a guinea pig. They also need hay 24/7 and pellets are the least needed food out of them all.

How often are you feeding them veg? They can get very ill without it.
 
As you are a minor, your parents are legally responsible for them to get appropriate vet treatment. at least here in the UK. I know that many parents in the US allow allow their children to have pets and then not pay. Please amkse sure that you disinfect everything. I could a transmittable infection you are dealing with, but unless you can have that checked by vet, we can't help you. Please be aware that any shop medication is geared for prevention and not the actual treatment of illness; it is usually too low dosed.

Please feed them pellets and not muesli.
 
I honestly think the best think to do is take Frankie to see a vet. If you got your first pig from a pet store, maybe it had a disease and the disease has spread to all your other guinea pigs? Since they keep dying one after another in the exact same way. Or maybe you aren't looking after them properly? If you are finding it hard to care for them, then that would be even more of a reason to see a vet. A vet could tell you where you might be going wrong. Or if the guinea pigs really do have some sort of disease. I'm sorry for you that they keep dying. I know it must be awful. But keep pushing your parents to take him to the vet! That is, in my opinion, the only solution.
 
I had no idea I swear! Well with Sparky and Gimli they got fed veggies about once every other day... Pippin and Mouse a little less so and then veggies almost stopped for a while then I started (after mouse) feeding Frankie and Pippin really nice grass but veggies almost stopped :/ But when my parents get lettuce I always feed it to the pigs... Though I don't think veggies had anything to do with Pippins foot? I looked like 2 toes were like melded together and pushed into his foot and it was really red with a white ball? I didn't know until he was dead...
 
PS: many shop piggies come with infectious problems like mange mite, fungal or respiratory infection.

Could you please tell us whether you have noticed any common symptoms like crusty eyes or bald skin patches, apart from weight loss? the mutilated foot means that he was in great pain.

Muesli is a dry food mix as opposed to pellets, which all look the same.
 
Guinea pigs can get bacterial infections in their feet from vitamin C deficiencies and unsanitary or overly humid conditions. Were you changing them out regularly? Also, his foot could have been mutilated from walking on a wire floor. If the base of your cage is made out of wire, you should cover it with towels and blankets. x
 
I really feel for you as you are obviously desperate to find out what is wrong. You have had a lot of good advice from other answers in this thread but, please remember, we are not qualified vets . If an animal is sick - it should be seen by a vet.
 
So sorry... For some reason it wouldn't let me on e.o I normally clean out his cage every 4 or 5 days. There were no bald patches that I noticed on Pippin. I didn't see any crusties around his eyes... But I have noticed a little bit of crust around Frankies eyes. I don't know anything about Frankies past he was surrendered to petco and so they knew nothing abolut him except his name age and that his favorite hobby was watching movies... And the bottom of his cage is just the normal plastic.
 
Is it ok that I just put the hay on the floor of his cage or does it need to be raised? I'm trying to make everything easy for him... He has hay in his house and I put some food for him in there to... He is all puffed up and looks like a hair ball :( Does that mean he's cold? I put a towel on top of his cage but I cant put it around the whole thing because he tried to eat it last time...
 
OH I have one more idea... Though I cant see what it would have to do with Pippins foot. I have a terrible time with keeping my room clean though its usually pretty good but I put the hay bag or bedding bad by his cage and I found the plastic eaten... I don't do that anymore... The times it did happen were just an accident...
 
Poor you and poor piggy. You obviously love him very much and it is so worrying for you that you can't afford to take him to the vet. He really does sound poorly and does need to see a vet. Is there no way you can persuade your parents to have him seen?
 
I will try again.. When I first got my guinea pigs (about a year ago) my parents had me believing that small animals didn't get sick they just died when it was their time... So to get my pigs I made a deal with my dad for no vets :/ At the time I didn't know small animals needed vets but I of course know now that was extremely stupid and irresponsible of me to make that deal!
 
I put the hay on the cage floor too, so that's fine. But honestly your dad should never have even offered you such a "deal". The animal will suffer if he is ill, it doesn't matter how small he is. Perhaps a guinea pig was the wrong choice of pet for you if your parents really can't afford the vet bills. But don't blame yourself hun, if you didn't understand then it's not your fault. Maybe you could try showing your parents this thread? Have them read our responses so they get the idea that Frankie really does need to see a vet. x
 
Guinea Pig Geek said:
I will try again.. When I first got my guinea pigs (about a year ago) my parents had me believing that small animals didn't get sick they just died when it was their time... So to get my pigs I made a deal with my dad for no vets :/ At the time I didn't know small animals needed vets but I of course know now that was extremely stupid and irresponsible of me to make that deal!
Click to expand...
A parent shouldnt make that deal that Is not fair on the animals and is illegal in uk. When you describe him as geing puffed up they usually do that when they are not well.

Have you been giving plenty of hay it should be 80% of their diet
 
Don't blame yourself honey, we all make mistakes and it's about learning from them and not repeating them. I think it is very irresponsible of your parents to allow an animal to suffer and am sure we all appreciate that you are a bit powerless at the moment. Speak to your parents again, try to get piggy to the vets. I really hope he pulls through for you. Please promise you won't get any more animals until you are able to afford any vet treatment that may be required. I think all you can do for piggy otherwise is ensure he has plenty of hay and fresh water nearby and if you have any tasty bits of fresh veg that he could nibble on if he gets hungry. Do you feed him on pellets or the mixed food? It pellets you could mush some up with water and try to get him to eat that from a small spoon unless you have a syringe you could feed him with?
 
You should always do research before bringing any sort of animal into your home. Your parents should have read about guinea pigs. They are a very big responsibility and can be quite expensive to look after. I suppose people just assume that small animals don't get ill, but they shouldn't. Every animal can get ill in some way. So you should always consider whether or not you can afford their medical care before buying them. It was totally irresponsible of your parents. The blame isn't on you at all. You really care about your pets so I feel sorry about this whole situation. I hope Frankie gets better x
 
The only veggies I have that I can feed him at the moment is baby carrots an lettuce... I printed out a list of safe food for him from HappyCavy.com and they said to feed baby carrots in moderation because its highly acidic? I gave him one last night and he ate it really fast and easy but I'm afraid to give him another... I don't know how much "moderation" there needs to be? Also I discovered that the lettuce we have is iceberg so I haven't fed it to him O.O He has been gaining some weight back since yesterday, but Gimli gained weight and then died suddenly soooo.... I've always fed hay but I will feed more, and also I just asked my dad about the vet again and he was like, we had a deal and told him things changed I did more research I've joined a website and everyone says he must see a vet. I also told him it was animal cruelty and he responded with there's only $59 in the food budget left... I have $24 I asked if I could borrow and pay back with my chore money and now he is mad at me...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top