My guinea pig died :( - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**joylam** · #1 03-09-06, 09:28 am

Can anyone please tell me reasons my guniea pig may have died? I had 2 of them a female and male, and they have been together since they were small. We only have had them for 3 months. It seemed both were eating fine, the only thing I noticed is my female hid all the time and didn't seem to be growing at all. My male is nearly full grown already. Tuesday night I was holding both of them and they seemed fine. Last night my daughter went to clean their cage and she handed me the female one and the pig was twitching, and like gasping for air...eventually she just died in my hands. I felt so bad for my daughter...but really have no idea what could have caused our guinea pig to die. Any ideas? I don't want the same thing to happen to our male.

**nikilovesdogs** · #2 03-09-06, 09:32 am

First of all, let me say that I am very sorry for your loss.

You stated in your message that she was never very sociable, and you also said that she was not growing. I'm not trying to attack you here, because it's a little too late, but why would you not take this poor piggie to the vet at the first sign of her not doing well physically? There are a multitude of ailments that could have caused this. She needed medical attention, clearly.

**valerie k** · #3 03-09-06, 09:33 am

Im very sorry to hear of your loss

**BabyGrl** · #4 03-09-06, 09:36 am

The only way you are really going to know is to take the girl to the vet. Did you get the pigs at a pet store? Pet store are notorious for selling sick animals and may have given you one that was ill. I am sorry for your loss.

**pamziaw** · #5 03-09-06, 09:41 am

I too am very sorry for your loss. As for not taking her to the vet earlier, well theres nothing that can be done now but can i make the suggestion that you take some time to look around this site and the associated sites as you might find the answer in one of the links. Can I suggest that you also use the medical info on guinea linx to give your remaining male a clean bill of health? We don't recommend buying from pet stores as far too often they sell sick animals and more than often the owners end up heartbroken. Guineas tend to hide their symptoms so when you notice something wrong generally its further developed than you think. All i can say is if you notice anything wrong with the male then take them to the vet quick as it may be your only oppertunity to. This website is the best for guinea info, for the sake of your pigs use it as much as you can.

**nikilovesdogs** · #6 03-09-06, 09:41 am

I need to add that you should get your male to a vet IMMEDIATELY - today! Please don't wait. If it was a communicable disease, he could possibly fall ill. I would not take any chances.

**joylam** · #7 03-09-06, 09:41 am

The reason I never took her to the vet was because I had read that female guinea pigs were less sociable than males, and would hide more. When we did take her out of the cage and played with her she was fine, and would talk to us like crazy. I guess maybe I should have brought her in just to be sure. And yes I did get her from a pet store...a few people have told me that was my first mistake. Thank you for your concerns.

**nikilovesdogs** · #8 03-09-06, 09:44 am

I understand possibly not taking her in for the antisocial behavior. That's pretty common.

However, I don't understand owning an animal for three months, and ignoring that it is failing to gain weight. In the future, if your piggie isn't gaining weight and growing into a healthy animal every week, know that *something* is wrong and immediate medical attention is needed.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss. This is a sad thing to have happen.

**joylam** · #9 03-09-06, 09:47 am

I guess I just should have taken her to the vet...I just wasn't educated enough and was reading all these things about females tending to be smaller than males...and kept telling myself she was purring all the time so must be happy....I just feel terrible...and feel awful for my daughter who is devestated by this. I don't even think I should replace it now because our male is so much bigger....unless I get another cage maybe. Any suggestions?

**nikilovesdogs** · #10 03-09-06, 09:51 am

1) Remember that they are, indeed, herd animals. They need the company of other guinea pigs. Please consider rescue if there is one in your area, rather than purchasing from a pet store.

2) Please make sure that your male is healthy before introducing a new guinea pig. Get him to a vet first.

3) Make sure that the cage you have is appropriately large enough to house two full-grown cavies. If you need a larger one, either purchase it or build a C & C one, which is inexpensive and relatively simple to do!

Again, I feel so badly for your loss. I know that it is difficult. I applaud your efforts to learn more all the time about these wonderful critters.

**WEAVER** · #11 03-09-06, 09:51 am

Let me begin by saying I am sorry for your loss and feel badly for your daughter having to see her guinea pig die.
I do believe though that when something is wrong with your pet, you can not, and should not wait to bring it to a vet. Obviously there was something wrong with her for sometime, not only emotionally but also physically. She should have been taken to a vet.

I hope you decide to take the other one to the vet to check his health--a guinea pig should not die at such a young age, there was/is something going on.

**WEAVER** · #12 03-09-06, 09:55 am

I am also curious was either of these piggies fixed?? THey can get pregnant at very young ages. Maybe she got pregnant and was having complications with being so young and frail herself...?????

**VoodooJoint** · #13 03-09-06, 09:57 am

I too am sorry for your loss.

I'm not going to "get on your case" about any mistakes you may have made. What's done is done and we all start somewhere. Unfortunately, you and your daughter had to suffer a horrible loss before you found a reliable site to help you and your pets.

I do feel that your male should see a vet as soon as possible. I also feel it would be a good idea to have a necropsy done on your female. That way you will know exactly why she died and know if your other GP is in any danger.

Guinea Pigs are sociable animals. You male will be lonely now that his friend is gone. You absolutely should build a bigger cage (as shown on this site) and then adopt a same sex friend for him. I know that Wisconsin and the Chicago area is choked with homeless GPs ready for adoption. We would be able to help you rescue a great new friend (or 5). That way you can avoid the petstores and give a homeless animal a new life.

Whatever you do don't get another female unless you get your male neutered or the female is spayed. There is a HUGE GP overpopulation problem. The last thing anyone needs is for more babies to be born right now. You (and your daughter) also do not need the heartbreak of a sow dying from birth complications, still born babies or any of the problems that can arise from breeding.

**nikilovesdogs** · #14 03-09-06, 09:57 am

Weaver,

TOTALLY off topic, but I noticed we're the same age.

Do you have pics posted of your cage anywhere?? It sounds awesome!

**aqh88** · #15 03-09-06, 09:57 am

That's the first thing I noticed. A male and female together for 3months? Pigs can get pregnant as young as 4weeks and their gestation is a little over 2months. That makes them way too young to give birth and usually means a death sentence unless you rush them to the vet as soon as they go into labor.

**joylam** · #16 03-09-06, 10:13 am

Okay...both my female and male were fixed...no worries of babies.
I will look into rescue for finding a playmate for my male.
I also have an appointment to take my male to the vet this afternoon...I'll let you all know what was said.
I know we have washed his cage out really well, and all of his food bowls and I got a completely new water bottle, because I didn't want to take a chance of him getting sick as well. Thank you all for your help.

**VoodooJoint** · #17 03-09-06, 10:15 am

Good job Joylam! Please keep us updated.

It's great that your male is neutered. A rescue in your area would LOVE to adopt you a girlfriend for him. I swear nothing makes rescuers happier then neutered Guinea Pigs.

**nikilovesdogs** · #18 03-09-06, 10:16 am

joylam,

It is the open-mindedness of people like you that makes this forum such a great place! You're doing all the right things. Please keep us posted on everything, ok?

**MissDaisy** · #19 03-09-06, 10:28 am

I'm so sorry!

I just experienced death last week with my first piggie. We only had her 2 weeks. We think she had an illness when we got her and didn't realize it.
We found her at a petstore.

Be sure to take your other one to the vet soon.

Good luck.

**C&K** · #20 03-09-06, 11:22 am

I am so sorry for your loss.

It will be impossible to know exactly what went wrong unless you bring her in for an autopsy.

I was really surprised when I joined this site and found out that so many piggy illnesses where actually very treatable, and vet visits very worthy with a sick pig. My uneducated self had thought that they would be too small to respond to treatment. Fortunately, I found out the truth the first week I owned a guinea pig, and not after something happened.

Please don't be too hard on yourself.

Also, GL has some of the best care advice out there. I would go over it with a fine tooth comb. One important thing to do to try and detect early problems is to weigh your pigs at least weekly, and check them over everyday.