Why did my guinea pig die?

[Mons.s]

My guinea pig was young and active one day but the next day I saw her sitting in her cage not moving but heart beating heavily. She didn’t even move when I got the hay out which usually gets her excited to be fed.. We tried taking her to a vet but there was only one exotic pet vet close by and we called ahead and told them about our guinea pig and they said if we could make it there before closing, they’d see us but it was too late. She was walking around in her cage on the way there. When we brought her back home, I looked at her in the cage and saw that she wasn’t even breathing anymore and looked lifeless so my bf took her out and found out that she passed away. What could have been the reason given the symptoms? How long should we wait to get her cage mate another guinea pig and how should we conduct the quarantine process? We took her cage mate to the vet the next day to see if anything was wrong with her because that guinea pig was acting strange (I thought it was grief) to see if anything was wrong with her because she wasn’t eating as much. She’s also been hiding all day. The vet said she was gassy and gave us some stuff to take care of that. What could it have been?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry for your loss.

I'm afraid we cannot say why your piggy passed away. As a prey species, they hide their illness so often by the time you see symptoms it can already be too late. Sometimes, things happen suddenly and there is nothing anyone can do.

Ensure you weigh your guinea pigs weekly (its part of routine lifelong care) as it is the only way to know they are eating enough hay (you cannot judge hay intake by eye). Often weight loss can be the first sign of a problem before other symptoms become evident. Weighing them weekly can alert you to a problem and allow you to step in with syringe feeding while waiting to get to the vet.

If your remaining piggy isnt eating properly, then you must step in and syringe feed her. They must have fibre rich food going through the system all the time to prevent it from shutting down. You will need to switch from weekly weighing and instead weigh her daily so you can be sure in real time that she is getting enough hay and syringe feed.

I will add in guides below which will help you with more information than I can type here. It explains how to syringe feed, as well as information on dealing with gas and bloating issues.

A piggy who is grieving but otherwise ok in themselves and eating can wait a couple of weeks before finding a new cage mate. If she is acutely grieving then you will need to get her a friend ASAP.

The best way to find a new friend is via dating at a rescue centre. That way your piggy can choose her own new friend and you cam be assured that they like each other and have character compatibility.
If rescue dating is not an option and you have to get a new piggy from a pet shop, then you will need to check the sex of the new piggy yourself and carry out the bonding procedure yourself at home correctly (guide on how to do it below). Always having a plan b in mind in case they don’t bond (needing to live side by side in separate cages).

Regarding quarantine, if the new piggy you get is under four months old then you cannot quarantine. You must carry out the bonding procedure as soon as you bring the new piggy home. Piggies under four months old are too young to ever be alone. You have to take the chance and if the new piggy does bring an illness in, then you will need to treat them both.

The guides below will help further

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[Claire W]

I’m so sorry for your loss x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry for your loss. Guinea pigs can sadly die very suddenly out of the blue, leaving an owner with lots of unanswerable questions. Please be aware that it is very normal to experience some strong soul searching and feelings of guilt or failure at the onset of the grieving process; this is even stronger when you are dealing with a sudden mystery death.

My guess would be that your piggy could have died from sudden acute heart failure, seeing the heaving breathing but you not mentioning any symptoms that could point towards sudden onset pneumonia. I have lost two youngsters of mine that way if it is any consolation to you - one within 12 hours of presenting with the first symptoms and despite her being seen as an emergency at my local vets within half an hour. She was sadly living with a genetic time bomb in her body that could have gone off any time due to the uncontrolled inbreeding in the hellhole her pregnant mother had been rescued from - one of the few cases that got as far as a court case and conviction. Sadly most of Telyn's generation of youngsters died young from heart related issues. However, that is just a wild guess; but whatever it was, it was NOT your fault and it would have been sadly very doubtful that she could have been saved even if she had been seen sooner. Be sad, but please do not feel bad!

Please read our green guide links in the previous post; you will hopefully find them very helpful both in what you can do for the companion and for your own grieving process and shock.