Lethals 5 Month Old Male Charlie Blood from Nose

[TheToid]

Hello,

I read this thread here - https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/119558-Bleeding-from-nose

This recently happened to my beloved Charie (only 5 months old), I found him lying in the cage just after eating COS lettuce for lunch (which I rinsed well under the tap before giving to him, he also seemed fine when I gave him the lettuce). He had a significant amount of blood coming from his nose and was barely breathing.

I picked him up to inspect closer but he died in my arms a couple of minutes later :’’’( He was meant to be part of our family for years, I cant believe he died so young with what seemed a such horrific way. Like the person in the linked post I just couldnt bare to have the necropsy done, but I am sort of wishing I had now as i really want to know what happened, did we do anything wrong?

We had him for 4 months and he always seemed fine. Does anybody know what causes a Guinea Pig to die in such a way?

Once our family recovers from this loss, I would like to consider adopting another Guinea Pig, as Charlie brought so much comfort and joy to our lives, but I cant bear to do it again if this could happen, so I really would like some ideas as to what may have went wrong.

We fed charlie lots of hay, cos lettuce and gave him a big chunk of red capsicum every day, he also always had a supply of timothy hay to eat too, the occasionally piece of apple (1-2 times a week - no seeds of course) we used puppy pads with straw on top for bedding. The day he died was warm but I checked him prior to giving him the Cos Lettuce and he didnt seem lethargic or anything at all and he also ate most of the Cos Lettuce before whatever happened to him happened.

One thing we were always concerned about was that his water never seemed to drop much, we used a self feeder with the little metal ball in the end, but he never showed any signs of dehydration, and ate lots of Cos Lettuce so we just put it down to him getting the water he needed from the lettuce. The puppy pads underneath were always wet when we cleaned the cage.

He had such a great personilty, it has only been 4 days since this happened, and im so saddened by this, i keep getting waves of grief not knowing what happened to the poor little man, not knowing what we did wrong?

Please help me understand what may have happened to him.

Note, I do have photos here that I took just after he passed away, but didnt want to post them straight up as they are not nice to see, if you think this might help with determining what happened please let me know.

Thank You in Advance

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Firstly, let me say that I am so, so sorry for your loss. Losing a pig especially in that fashion is heartbreaking.


I have heard of this happening a few times, and although I don't have a definitive answer for you it may be entirely genetic. Unless you had dropped him or he had fallen, or a predatory animal got to him I just don't feel as though you could have done anything wrong. Having a necropsy done may or may not have given you the answer, but for me personally it doesn't bring them back and it just hurts to think about.

Some pigs are big water drinkers, and some are not. My first two pigs were not huge water drinkers, my next two were intermediate, and the two I have now, one drinks a fair share and the other is a water hog. He's been like that from day one, it's nothing for him to drain a 12 ounce water bottle in a day.

I would advise against posting the photos, instead offering to email them or whatnot to an interested party. We do have younger members here and I feel it would only upset them. Hell, it would upset ME.

The only thing I can think of that you could do differently in the future, are perhaps two things.

1. Use a different method of bedding. Puppy pads are not a great alternative for pigs, as they like to chew them. I've heard of pigs that will dig them right out if they find them. You would be much better off using fleece, or perhaps paper bedding. Wood pellets covered with fleece make for an excellent, low cost bedding alternative.

2. Guinea pigs are herd animals and will always do better with a friend. Males should only be kept in pairs, but females you can have more provided you have ample space.

To those of us who have had pigs for awhile, there is no end to the joy they bring. But in the end, eventually, you will lose them. I have lost 4 in the last 4 years, and each one takes a piece of my soul with them. It am not over losing the first, never mind the latest. But I love them and I will always try to give them a forever home no matter how much it hurts. Maybe you have that spark inside your heart, too.


Again, my most heartfelt condolences on the loss of Charlie. Perhaps he has already met my Punkin and Scooter, and they're already teaching him how to raise a little hell at the Rainbow Bridge.

 

[Kelsie]

I am so sorry that your first post here had to be under such a sad circumstance. My deepest sympathy on the loss of your precious, Charlie. @Guinea Pig Papa made such an eloquent post and there isn't much more that I could offer you as to why Charlie passed away. It certainly sounds like you did everything correctly. The only thing that I could offer is that Charlie had a possible genetic disorder that was not obvious. I know you said that you wished that you had done a necropsy on him but take my word from someone who saw many necropsies done in the years that I worked in veterinary medicine. Rarely is anything obvious ever found. The veterinarian might be able to make an educated guess but seldom is anything definitive ever seen. Not to put a dollar and cents amount on it but it can be expensive and in the end you most likely won't have an answer.

I certainly understand your pain with losing Charlie at such a young age when you expected to have years with him. I know it's little comfort but please remember that even for a short time Charlie had a wonderful life with you. It's certainly unfair that he wasn't allowed to enjoy a full lifetime with you but I'm sure that he loved every minute of life with such a dedicated owner.

May his beautiful spirit rest in peace

 

[TheToid]

Thank you for this very detailed and informative post Guinea Pig Papa, your words do give me some comfort, I will definitely consider those two items you posted before we eventually engage in another piggy. That is how I felt about the necropsy too, and just the thought of that being done to him without getting any answers makes me happy I didn’t go down that path.

 

[TheToid]

Thank you for your reply Kelsie, its great to have support and understanding of more experienced Guinea Pig lovers, your words are very kind and bring some comfort to what happened.