At 11:54 a.m., Sunday, August 13th, 2017, Bramley passed away in my arms.
He was underweight. He had been in the 700's then in the 600's... The past month or so he's been acting very vulnerable around me and Flynn, his cagemate. He had been crying and squeaking when Flynn or I got too close. He wasn't like this before. Flynn had been bullying Bramley a bit; he was stealing his food from his mouth, blocking the veg/forage/whatever. When Bramley went to go grab a piece, he would hesitate under Flynn's chin and he would cry for a few seconds. He wasn't eating much and he was clearly underweight so on Saturday I decided to separate them. I split the cage into 2 so that each pig would have a 2x3. I gave Bramley a nice fleece blanket to burrow underneath, a fleece forest, a massive pile of hay, etc. He had been eating a little that day, but not as much as I wanted him to. He seemed kind of out of it...he would space out and stand with his face in the corner, near Flynn's side. I thought that once he was at a healthy weight and he wasn't acting so vulnerable and weak I would re-bond him with Flynn. I had not expected him to pass the next day...
I remember he had displayed this...behavior many times that day and yesterday. At first, I thought he was only trying to scratch himself, and losing his balance and therefore falling over. However, when he was doing it the 3rd time maybe he was thrashing and kicking his legs in the air, his mouth open. This scared me to death and I rushed to help him. I examined him; his eyes were watery those last 2 days (Saturday and yesterday), and he had some discharge in his nose and in his eyes... once I wiped it off it didn't return. He didn't look well.
Yesterday morning I tried to try syringe-feeding him as he wasn't eating his veggies by himself. He wouldn't take it. He would swallow at first, but then he stopped and he let the mush of veggies sit in his mouth. I didn't feed him all of it. Instead, I put him back and tucked him into the blanket he had on his side. He displayed that same behavior, the tipping over while scratching and struggling to get up several times. Each time I helped him get back up. I picked him up each time but he didn't stop. His teeth made contact with my hands several times. I then soon realized that what he was having were seizures. It was then when I realized it was already too late. I had had him in my arms, trying to calm him down. I didn't know what to do... I just held him close to me, hoping that the seizures would stop. He was breathing heavily and I didn't know how much longer he had. He was breathing rapidly for maybe a minute or 2, after having another seizure... and he went limp in my arms. The next few hours were the worst of my life.
I buried him, along with the blanket I was holding him in and one of his chew toys he had in his old home, on a little hill in front of my house. I mourned and sobbed over him for hours. Despite the short time we had together (a little over half a year), I had grown very attached to the little guy and I believe he did the same with me. He meant so much to me. I let Flynn say goodbye before burying him.. which happened around 2:20 p.m.
I don't know where Bramley came from. His old owner claimed he came from a pet store. She wasn't even sure when she got him; she said she thought he was 2 years old... he could've been 4 or 5 or 6. I don't know. I know when he came to me he was already underweight and he was not fully healthy. After a while of trying to make him gain weight, I just came to the conclusion that he was just a small guinea pig.
I have lost 3 guinea pigs in just 1 and a half years. Koda, my first pig, also died of a seizure...he came from Petco. He passed away on February 25th, 2016. Kasper, passed away suddenly. I never figured out why. He came from PetSmart. He passed away on January 30th, 2017. And Bramley, he passed away this Sunday, August 13th, 2017, 11:54 a.m., in my arms, from what I don't know. I don't know what caused the seizures. I don't know if it was because he was underweight or if he had bad genetics... I don't know.
Flynn has lived with all 3 of these guinea pigs. It's not just me who lost them. They were all once Flynn's cagemate and friend.
The feeling I feel cannot compare to anything. The amount of grief and sorrow... it doesn't let me feel anymore. I feel empty. 3 deaths that I have no idea if I could have prevented. 3 deaths that could be my fault. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong... I feed a great, balanced diet. I provide a large environment for them. I give them care and love...
Flynn's left all alone now... After all that's happened I don't think I can make myself get another one, even if it is for the sake of Flynn. I know he needs someone now... but it hurts to think that I can replace yet another one so fast... as if he was meaningless.
...I came home today at around 3 p.m.; I went to the little hill to visit Bramley at his grave... and what I found...
The hole was dug up. His blanket was peeking out from the dirt. The sight made my heart drop. He's gone. I found bits of torn fur in the dirt... all that was left was his fleece blanket and his chew toy... but no Bramley. I don't know who did it.. I don't know if it was a fox who did it and if he was eaten or.. it kills me to know he's gone. His body is gone, his grave dug up. Seeing that made me want to scream at the world, for taking someone who meant so much to me... letting them get eaten... letting them get taken away from me completely.
I don't know what else to say...Writing this brings me to tears.
The Last Picture Taken of Bramley.
R.I.P. Bramley
I love you, forever and always. You will be missed, my love Fly Free Over The Rainbow Bridge.
He was underweight. He had been in the 700's then in the 600's... The past month or so he's been acting very vulnerable around me and Flynn, his cagemate. He had been crying and squeaking when Flynn or I got too close. He wasn't like this before. Flynn had been bullying Bramley a bit; he was stealing his food from his mouth, blocking the veg/forage/whatever. When Bramley went to go grab a piece, he would hesitate under Flynn's chin and he would cry for a few seconds. He wasn't eating much and he was clearly underweight so on Saturday I decided to separate them. I split the cage into 2 so that each pig would have a 2x3. I gave Bramley a nice fleece blanket to burrow underneath, a fleece forest, a massive pile of hay, etc. He had been eating a little that day, but not as much as I wanted him to. He seemed kind of out of it...he would space out and stand with his face in the corner, near Flynn's side. I thought that once he was at a healthy weight and he wasn't acting so vulnerable and weak I would re-bond him with Flynn. I had not expected him to pass the next day...
I remember he had displayed this...behavior many times that day and yesterday. At first, I thought he was only trying to scratch himself, and losing his balance and therefore falling over. However, when he was doing it the 3rd time maybe he was thrashing and kicking his legs in the air, his mouth open. This scared me to death and I rushed to help him. I examined him; his eyes were watery those last 2 days (Saturday and yesterday), and he had some discharge in his nose and in his eyes... once I wiped it off it didn't return. He didn't look well.
Yesterday morning I tried to try syringe-feeding him as he wasn't eating his veggies by himself. He wouldn't take it. He would swallow at first, but then he stopped and he let the mush of veggies sit in his mouth. I didn't feed him all of it. Instead, I put him back and tucked him into the blanket he had on his side. He displayed that same behavior, the tipping over while scratching and struggling to get up several times. Each time I helped him get back up. I picked him up each time but he didn't stop. His teeth made contact with my hands several times. I then soon realized that what he was having were seizures. It was then when I realized it was already too late. I had had him in my arms, trying to calm him down. I didn't know what to do... I just held him close to me, hoping that the seizures would stop. He was breathing heavily and I didn't know how much longer he had. He was breathing rapidly for maybe a minute or 2, after having another seizure... and he went limp in my arms. The next few hours were the worst of my life.
I buried him, along with the blanket I was holding him in and one of his chew toys he had in his old home, on a little hill in front of my house. I mourned and sobbed over him for hours. Despite the short time we had together (a little over half a year), I had grown very attached to the little guy and I believe he did the same with me. He meant so much to me. I let Flynn say goodbye before burying him.. which happened around 2:20 p.m.
I don't know where Bramley came from. His old owner claimed he came from a pet store. She wasn't even sure when she got him; she said she thought he was 2 years old... he could've been 4 or 5 or 6. I don't know. I know when he came to me he was already underweight and he was not fully healthy. After a while of trying to make him gain weight, I just came to the conclusion that he was just a small guinea pig.
I have lost 3 guinea pigs in just 1 and a half years. Koda, my first pig, also died of a seizure...he came from Petco. He passed away on February 25th, 2016. Kasper, passed away suddenly. I never figured out why. He came from PetSmart. He passed away on January 30th, 2017. And Bramley, he passed away this Sunday, August 13th, 2017, 11:54 a.m., in my arms, from what I don't know. I don't know what caused the seizures. I don't know if it was because he was underweight or if he had bad genetics... I don't know.
Flynn has lived with all 3 of these guinea pigs. It's not just me who lost them. They were all once Flynn's cagemate and friend.
The feeling I feel cannot compare to anything. The amount of grief and sorrow... it doesn't let me feel anymore. I feel empty. 3 deaths that I have no idea if I could have prevented. 3 deaths that could be my fault. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong... I feed a great, balanced diet. I provide a large environment for them. I give them care and love...
Flynn's left all alone now... After all that's happened I don't think I can make myself get another one, even if it is for the sake of Flynn. I know he needs someone now... but it hurts to think that I can replace yet another one so fast... as if he was meaningless.
...I came home today at around 3 p.m.; I went to the little hill to visit Bramley at his grave... and what I found...
The hole was dug up. His blanket was peeking out from the dirt. The sight made my heart drop. He's gone. I found bits of torn fur in the dirt... all that was left was his fleece blanket and his chew toy... but no Bramley. I don't know who did it.. I don't know if it was a fox who did it and if he was eaten or.. it kills me to know he's gone. His body is gone, his grave dug up. Seeing that made me want to scream at the world, for taking someone who meant so much to me... letting them get eaten... letting them get taken away from me completely.
I don't know what else to say...Writing this brings me to tears.
The Last Picture Taken of Bramley.
R.I.P. Bramley
I love you, forever and always. You will be missed, my love Fly Free Over The Rainbow Bridge.
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