Mysterious Death

[SJane3384]

A few weeks ago, my husband and I came home and found our 3 year old piggie, Lazlo, dead in his hidey-house. It was pretty traumatizing, as he had been acting completely normally up until that morning when we went to work. He had been very active, and eaten voraciously when we fed him his morning veggies.

We ended up taking his body to the vet, along with our other piggie, Red, to see if she could figure out what had gone wrong and make sure that Red would be ok.

She checked over Red first, and said that other than his nails being a little long (she trimmed them for us), he was absolutely fine. She told us to go home and that she would check over Lazlo for us.

She called back the next day, and told us that she had done a thorough exam, but that she couldn't determine a cause of death on him. I asked if she thought there was any chance the same thing would happen to Red, but she seemed to think it was a fluke and said just to keep a close eye on him for the next couple of days.

I was wondering if anyone here had had anything similar happen, and if so, should I be worried for Red. I've tried to go by what the vet said and just see it as a fluke (maybe some genetic problem, or a heart issue...I got Lazlo from a pet store before I knew better, so who knows what kind of background he had before coming to our house). I just can't seem to let it go, and am getting to the point where I'm afraid to go to work and leave Red by himself.

[Maisiepaisie]

I'm so sorry for your loss (((hug))) For me, death is much harder to deal with when it comes out of the blue. I have had a few pigs die who had seemed healthy previously. I don't know why this happens sometimes.

[OSUCavies]

I am very sorry to hear this. I have a 3 year old sow that I just adore, if I came home to find her dead I would be so devastated.


I wish I could give you some insight, that is so strange to hear that they could not find the cause of death.


I hope Red is okay.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss. I'm happy hear that you took him to the vet to find the cause of death rather than just burying him or disposing of him without further examination.


Lazlo is resting in peace.

[Rattie Mom]

I'm so very sorry about Lazlo. Losing a dear little friend is hard enough. But when they are taken suddenly and for no apparent reason, it's just that much harder.

I just adopted my first piggies a few months ago, so haven't yet had to endure a loss. However, I have had many ratties over the years and certainly had my share of losses. An unexpected loss really can stay with you for a long time and it can be hard to get over. It sounds like you may never know what took him, but hopefully it appeared as though he went peacefully in his hidey-house. I lost a perfectly healthy and beautiful little 4 month old rattie girl. We woke up one more to find her "gone". She had no evidence of falling, choking or anything. Her death haunted me for a long long time (still does to some extent). We just have to assume it was heart or possibly anurism related.

Lazlo would not want you to continue to fret about how he left you (I know, easier said than done) But perhaps one day soon, you'll be able to think of all the wonderful memories of your little friend.

I hope Red continues to be healthy and happy.

[aqh88]

We lost a guinea pig with a heart problems like that. One day fine and running around the next found dead curled up in her house. Another possibility is a blood clot in the brain or other brain damage. I've known a few horses found dead in their pastures with no obvious cause that the vets finally decided were due to issues in the brain. Some of these things can be very hard to find and anything that stops the brain or heart could result in a very quick death with no symptoms prior to it or injuries found later.

[Wheek Weak]

I am so sorry about little Lazlo.

I can't offer any solutions for you. Have you checked with GuineaLynx to see if they may have some suggestions as to what happened?

Rest in peace Lazlo, it sounds like you are very missed and loved deeply.

[lynn's Cavies]

I'm so sorry for your loss. The same thing happened with my guinea pig, Corky. He was perfectly fine the day before and then in the morning he had passed away, but he was almost 5 years old. I suspected a stroke or heart attack. It is always very difficult when you do not know the cause of death, especially after having an post-mortem done. Please try not to worry too much because it sounds like it was nothing contagious or poison but instead his heart or blood clot. Keep an eye on your other pig, just incase but unfortunately, these things happen. I'm truely sorry, I know it's heartbreaking. Give yourself time to grieve.

Take care,
Lynn

[Char-x]

So sorry for your lost, it must have been awful discovering him. I really hope Red continues to be alright. I couldn't imagine what I would feel if I just found one of my precious babies dead...I would be distraught so my thoughts are with you.

I guess he had a peaceful death, must have gone in his sleep, not knowing any better...I hope that is one factor that can put your mind at rest.

Many ((((hugs))))

X

[Maisy]

sO Sorry for your loss. May Lazlo rest in peace and finds new friends. Hope Red will be fine.

[aNiMaLsAmArItAn]

I got a beautiful lionhead bunny from Petco a last year (before I knew how ignorant that was). She had crystal clear eyes, a clean, thick, non-tangled coat, and a sweet disposition. Two months later, I came in to give her morning veggies, and she was on her side, limp, with her eyes closed and a steady chest. She was dead. Her food bowl had plenty of pellets and her waterbottle was full, and her litterbox had very little in it. Since I have heard about viruses and bacteria and disease resulting from bunny mills, I suspect she had a genetic disease or a hidden ailment from being in close, unsanitary conditions.
Rest in Peace, my baby Simba (by the way, she was about 8 months when she passed on.) You will always be in my heart.

Don't buy anything from pet stores that sell animals! Together we can make a difference!

[SJane3384]

Thanks everybody for your sympathy. It's been a little over a month now, and Red is doing very well (and I think getting a little spoiled being an only pig). We just finished making him a whole new cage custom fit to our new apartment, and every morning when we come in with his veggies he runs circles for us. I still miss Lazlo very much, but I know now that it was probably a fluke, and Red will be ok.

[Noodles]

Oh, your story makes me so sad. Something similar happened to me about a year ago. My two guinea pigs Romeo and Juliet were about 4 or 5 years old (give or take) when I suddenly discovered Romeo dead in the middle of the cage with Juliet hovering in the corner, nearly dead herself from the trauma of her partner dying. To this day, I have no idea what happened. They had been eating just fine, acting normally, and always got along very well. The only thing I could trace it back to as a possiblity was when I took them to the vet a two or three years earlier for to check a lump on Romeo's back. The vet told me that Romeo's lump was benign and unless it got any larger or looked as though it was hurting him, I should just leave it alone. Although it's been over a year, I can't help but get tears in my eyes thinking about Romeo; he was such a wonderful guinea pig. The worst part is that I feel as though I can't let go of him simply because I have no idea what happened. Be strong and remember that you're not alone.

[Weatherlight]

Good luck to Red Hope he lives a long, happy, healthy life.

Did you vet do a full necropsy? It doesn't sound like it. I had one done recently and the lab results were very informative.