Loss Did my guinea pig die of shock from being squirted with water?

[marxgards]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to get some clarification, my daughters had until yesterday a pair of 5 month old boars. They were extremely well raised from the local breeder, and when they started their new life with us my daughters and their younger brother cared for and loved them, always handling them well, cleaning and general responsible care.
The 2 pigs were always put in their run on our lawn and the same was done yesterday.
It was fairly hot in the garden so we ensured the pigs were in shade with water to drink and the usual hidy box. Now I'm not sure if this is a big coincidence, but my nearly 3 year old boy had a drinks bottle with some water in it and in a flash walked up to the run and squirted some water at the pig I rushed over and said no to him,he thought he would give them a drink!! just then we noticed it on its back looking like it was having a fit, I got the pig out and it had a bit of water on it's fur but worryingly he appeared limp. From that point on he stayed limp and lethargic, also his legs seemed to have given way, an hour or so later he passed away whilst wrapped in a blanket, I was left with 2 broken daughters and we buried "todoe" on our riverbank.
So, was this shock from the water?, or coincidence? Any help would be gratefully received.

 

[sallyvh]

I would think it would be highly unlikely that a squirt from a bottle would do any harm.

However, you mention it was hot when you put them outside, what was the temperature? Guinea pigs are extremely susceptible to heat stroke and do not handle high temperatures well. Anything over 29°C or 85F can be deadly for them.

 

[marxgards]

Hi, Thanks for the reply,
The temp was around 23C, one minute busy scoffing the grass, next minute fit/heart attack.

 

[marxgards]

We also ensured the pigs were in the shade, it seemed that the water squirt and the "fit" happened at the same time.

 

[bpatters]

I doubt seriously that it was the shock of the water. They're not that fragile. It could be heat stroke, especially if the pig had very long hair. It could have been an insect bite, or he could have ingested something poisonous to him.

I'm sorry you lost him.

 

[Arwyn]

Actually the combination of the child running at it and the water being squirted could have easily caused it. I had a pig who died from a Peacock squawking by his cage scaring him to death. He couldn't see it and the sound frightened him so much he passed away. They are jittery and frighten easily, and it can cause heart attacks. It is more common than you think. Guinea pigs are also originally from very hot countries so they are not as susceptible to the heat as we think also. But yes, no direct sunlight.

 

[bpatters]

Actually, @Arwyn, guinea pigs are from the Andes mountains, and are much more comfortable with cold temperatures than with hot ones. Anything above 85 degrees can cause a heat stroke, and even temperatures below that can cause them if the pig has a lot of hair, or if there is some underlying disease.

In my years of dealing with guinea pigs, I've never heard of a guinea pig being scared to death. Pigs do occasionally die suddenly. Only a necropsy can tell why, but when they've been done, they've found some disease process -- usually infection or heart disease.

 

[Arwyn]

Guinea pigs can be found all over the place, They run wild is Peru, New Guinea, Etc, where is also very hot. They eat them in these countries which is gross. I have heard more of Pigs dying from being scared to death than by the heat. Yes it is important to keep them from over heating, and out of direct sunlight cause they don't swet. No all pigs come from the Andes, as there are different breeds, just like dogs. Some are better than others in different situations.

 

[bpatters]

Most sites say that there are no wild cavies any more. There are some website from individual people that say there are, but they offer no supporting evidence that I can find.

From (broken link removed) "This species no longer exists in the wild."

From (broken link removed) "Guinea pigs, also known as cavies, no longer exist in the wild."

 

[Arwyn]

The places that catch them and place them in big runs to sell for food would say otherwise. I did studies on it a few years back for a paper, It's amazing how much is left out about Guinea pigs in websites as people don't know much about them and made there own observations. when i was a kid there was very little about them. Over the years more and more has come out of the woodwork as they become more popular. but lots of it is purely speculation from owners and breeders. When i was a kid they were only said to live 3-4 years. As you know that has changed and be proven to be wrong. But again, they are still coming out with different information every day. I spent a couple days looking a various websites and while some info was the same lots of it was different and there was no real definitive, just a lot of about this or around that kind of thing. Did you know that Guinea Pigs don't like their cage on the floor cause the movement of walking around them like giants startles them a lot? yes people put their cages on the floor. Floor time is different cause your down there with them.

 

[pigmommy89]

The ones that are kept for food are not wild. If they are captured from the wild (and I truly doubt a herd could survive in the wild unless there were no natural predators ) those pigs are most likely pets or food animals that were released and became feral.

 

[bpatters]

Here's a fairly definitive article on guinea pigs in the wild: https://www.britannica.com/animal/guinea-pig.

Domesticated guinea pigs are the species cavia porcellus, and they do not exist in the wild any more. There are other species of cavies that do exist in the wild, but they have some differences.

What's interesting to me is that we've had some users from South America on the board in past years, and their guinea pigs look a little different than the ones we usually see. They have "sticky-up" (erect) ears, whereas most GP ears flop. I assume the differences are because the species interbred at some point.

 

[marxgards]

Thanks for all the comments, this thread seems to be going off the point now, but thanks anyway..