Guinea pig heartbroken?

[mbator]

Does anyone know this answer, I had two male guinea pigs whom I gave to a friend for her classroom, the children are not allowed to handle them, they only feed them and all was fine, however, yesterday they found one of them dead, he was upside down. I was told they always had water and plenty to eat so I do not think this was in anyway neglect. My question then is it possible for a guinea pig to just be heart broken, you know like he miss his old environment? They are in a C&C cage and have plenty of room to run, but he was always in his house, so I wonder perhaps he was just ill and no one knew. Any answers would be nice, its sad.

[krystia]

The others may know more, but I doubt that was the reason. He may have gotten sick. I'd have your friend watch the other pig very closely, and maybe take him to the vet, too, in case. You can never be too careful.

[akstrohm]

I definitely can't say for sure, but it could have been a heart attack. They have been known to occur with some frequency even in relatively young pigs. Otherwise a different illness is more likely than being heartbroken, especially since he still had his cagemate.