Well, today, all of our guinea pigs have officially passed. Truffles was the one that survived the longest, and my god, she was quite the trooper. She survived so much (couple of conditions over the years that required the vet and diligent help, etc) and then she died suddenly today. I can't help but feel guilty. Both her and my our first guinea to pass happened to die when I was holding them, and I'm worried I accidentally did something to kill them.
In both cases, I was holding the guinea and they were fine, and then suddenly they'd go kind of limp. When I put Truffles down, she was laying on her side and gasping for air. I panicked, but I didn't want to leave her because with our first guinea that passed, she died really quickly when this happened. Truffles held on for a precious few minutes, though. Me, my sister, and my mom sat with her outside in the grass and pet her. I don't think she was choking on anything, as she wasn't eating when I took her from her cage and I had been holding her a few minutes before this happened, but I do regret not checking anyways. I did check the mouth, but not the throat. I'm hopeful she spent her last moments feeling at least somewhat at peace in the sunshine and being pet, as the couple ones before her (we had 4 guineas total. I know you're not supposed to have a guinea pig live alone, but Truffles hated all the guinea pigs she's met except for her original cage mate, which had been the first one to pass. And she got lots of attention and food! She seemed pretty peaceful and okay with being alone..) passed in quick succession a while back when nobody was around to see it. I think she was about 7, so she's lived a decently long life. I wish I spent more time with her recently. Ironically, I had picked her up with the intention of clipping her nails and then letting her hang out outside. Guess I should've ignored her for once, maybe. But she did get a nice treat of blueberries earlier today. Her symptoms do seem to fit that of a stroke, so maybe it was that, but I know I'll never really know, and there's always regrets in hindsight.
Here's an old picture from some Christmases ago. I don't have many recent pictures of her, sadly.
Sorry for the long ramble, I just needed to get this out. While I loved the other piggies fiercely, I definitely had spent the longest with Truffles, so this is hitting the hardest. RIP Truffles, I hope you're having fun over the rainbow bridge with all the other guineas. <3
In both cases, I was holding the guinea and they were fine, and then suddenly they'd go kind of limp. When I put Truffles down, she was laying on her side and gasping for air. I panicked, but I didn't want to leave her because with our first guinea that passed, she died really quickly when this happened. Truffles held on for a precious few minutes, though. Me, my sister, and my mom sat with her outside in the grass and pet her. I don't think she was choking on anything, as she wasn't eating when I took her from her cage and I had been holding her a few minutes before this happened, but I do regret not checking anyways. I did check the mouth, but not the throat. I'm hopeful she spent her last moments feeling at least somewhat at peace in the sunshine and being pet, as the couple ones before her (we had 4 guineas total. I know you're not supposed to have a guinea pig live alone, but Truffles hated all the guinea pigs she's met except for her original cage mate, which had been the first one to pass. And she got lots of attention and food! She seemed pretty peaceful and okay with being alone..) passed in quick succession a while back when nobody was around to see it. I think she was about 7, so she's lived a decently long life. I wish I spent more time with her recently. Ironically, I had picked her up with the intention of clipping her nails and then letting her hang out outside. Guess I should've ignored her for once, maybe. But she did get a nice treat of blueberries earlier today. Her symptoms do seem to fit that of a stroke, so maybe it was that, but I know I'll never really know, and there's always regrets in hindsight.
Here's an old picture from some Christmases ago. I don't have many recent pictures of her, sadly.
Sorry for the long ramble, I just needed to get this out. While I loved the other piggies fiercely, I definitely had spent the longest with Truffles, so this is hitting the hardest. RIP Truffles, I hope you're having fun over the rainbow bridge with all the other guineas. <3