Just trying to understand. RIP Gary our sweet G man.

[Bryck123]

We lost our Gary today. While we don’t know his exact age he was 14-18 months old which just seems so young! We got him on his own last February and a few weeks later got him 2 friends. All was good though the 3 of them did scuffle for dominance now and then. A few months ago we noticed it start to get bad. Following the advice we saw we separated them for a day or 2 and re integrated them. Things would be fine but in a few hours four would fly again. It came to a head when Gary was bugging Eddie and Eddie turned and took a bite out of Gary’s ear we noticed a couple of small cuts on his body at that time. (We monitored the ear and cuts but they healed normally. We decided that it was time to separate them for everyone’s good. We temporarily housed Gary for a few weeks in a pet store cage until we could get his own C&C set up. That happened last month. We left frank and Eddie together in the bigger C&C but made sure they all had ample room and lots of hay, greens, treats and water. Their cages were set up next to each other so they could still communicate. Another tip we picked up online. Everything seemed good and a week or 2 ago we noticed Gary was spending lots of time in his new soft tunnel. We thought he loved it now I question if he was ill? I don’t know... last night before bed he was just kind of staring off in the distance so I picked him up to check on him. He didn’t scatter but did eat out a yell. Once I had him up he seemed himself so we thought nothing off it

then we fed them all in the morning and they all seemed good.

Then.... he was dead. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him on his side which isn’t like him. I went in and called his name he didn’t move. I picked him up and he was cold.

Did separating him kill him? We tried to give him everything he needed but he just couldn’t get on with frank and Eddie. we are devastated that his life was so short and are at a loss to understand why

 

[spy9doc]

Did separating him kill him? We tried to give him everything he needed but he just couldn’t get on with frank and Eddie. we are devastated that his life was so short and are at a loss to understand why

I'm so sorry about the death of your G-man. Fly free over the Rainbow Bridge, sweet Gary.

Nothing you did with separating him contributed to his death. In fact, it sounds as though it was the sensible thing to do under the circumstances. Cavies are such fragile little creatures and have such short lives......way too short for those who love them passionately as most of us do. I'm sure that you have read that cavies are very good at hiding illnesses and consequently we don't pick up their being ill until it is too late for medical intervention to work.

I had a boy die suddenly just about three weeks ago. He was dead within hours of my noticing that anything was wrong. Given the signs & symptoms at the time, I feel sure that it was an intracranial hemorrhage that took his life. Since Gary was so young, my first thought is that it was a genetic issue which is something that simply couldn't have been prevented by any amount of loving care. Sometimes these things just happen, and there is no answer.

Give your remaining boys lots of love and please.........don't add a third piggy to the mix. As I'm sure you know by now, three boars housed together almost never works and there are many examples of that here on the Forum.

 

[Bryck123]

Thanks

3 was never our plan. When we found our Gary he was on his own and we knew they thrive in pairs. When we found frank I actually didn’t see Eddie until I went to pick frank up and I couldn’t bring myself to leave him on his own. We will have them both hopefully for long healthy happy lives.

Thanks again. Loosing him so soon is such a shock. The idea of some kind of genetic defect certainly crossed my mind

 

[Bryck123]

And so sorry to hear about your Cavy as well.

 

[bpatters]

I'm so sorry you lost him.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I'm so sorry about Gary.

As you've already been told, sometimes there just isn't an answer. He was still such a young pig, but I'm sure he appreciated the life you gave him.

Rest in Peace, little G-Man. Find your place at the Rainbow Bridge and enjoy your time in the sun.

 

[Bryck123]

Well 2 days out and though many many tears remain we are finding comfort in fond memories and giving extra love to Frank, Eddie and Sweetpea (the cat) while I still wish we could have noticed something and run him off to the vet the reality of this being something unavoidable or preventable seems to be setting in.

Received a lovely card from the vet. I opened it in the mail room assuming it was a reminder to bring in the cat but it was a sweet sympathy card..... so there I was crying in our mailroom.

Such tiny paws leave such huge prints on our hooman Hearts.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Received a lovely card from the vet. I opened it in the mail room assuming it was a reminder to bring in the cat but it was a sweet sympathy card..... so there I was crying in our mailroom.

Such tiny paws leave such huge prints on our hooman Hearts.

Those cards from the veterinarian, though a small gesture seem carry a lot of weight. I received one last year from the animal hospital that I took my boy Sly to when I had to let him go. They had never seen him before, and yet they took the time and treated him like the treasure that he was. I received a similar card a few days later.

I have a woodburned plaque at home with that same quote on it, with a woodburned etching of my Pooper pig.

 

[spy9doc]

I too received a similar card from our personal Vet who practices in a large facility after the recent death of our Chip. I was touched that Dr. Albin had taken the time to write a personal note. Just made me realize why I continue to choose him for my cavy care. Knowing Dr. Albin, I'm certain that he probably does this for many of his patients, and yet the gesture really touched me.

 

[amber89]

I am so sorry for your loss.

Popcorn free, G man!