Loss Do guinea pigs know when one has died, if they arent shown the body?

[ghostieberry]

A week ago one of my girls passed due to an accident, she shared a cage with her mother, sister, aunt, and her brother, though he was fenced off in his own area. Theyd shared that cage for almost 2 years and they saw her die, however we didnt let them see the body after she had fully died. It wasnt something we were familiar with.

Do they know she's died? Do they care? The first few days without her they were very quiet, but now it seems they've pretty much gone back to normal. They do eat a lot more now. She was always picked on by the others, especially the more aggressive one, and she always shared a little house with her mom even though we had enough for all of them.

Do they understand what happened to her? Have they even really noticed shes gone? How would i know and what should i do to help them if its not too late.

 

[sallyvh]

They will all likely be fine and back to normal. If she was still alive when you took her out of the cage, then all they will know is that she isn't there anymore. However, if she passed in the cage, I think they understand that their companion is gone.

There really isn't anything to do though, especially when they still have cagemates. Guinea pigs don't grieve like humans do. They will just continue on with their routine.