Loss Three of my Guinea pigs died today

[Pomegranate]

From just four days ago, the two white ones are the two I have left.
:sad:

 

[BaconAndEggs]

Once again, I am so very sorry for your loss. Mistakes happen, and, though we can sometimes prevent them, what comes out in the end is what was meant to happen. Don't scold yourself for it-remember that you tried last time, and will do better the next. You had beautiful piggies, and now they are popcorning happily up in piggy heaven, where they are so high up no one can bring them down. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

I understand how you feel-I was in the same situation not long ago. My Pug, Chunky, died from "suffocation" on a hamburger. I sat and watched him die, as my mom begged him to spit it out, to keep breathing. Afterwards, the corner of my living room where his cage used to be felt so empty without his presence, his loud snores and snorts. I kept thinking, "Why did I feed him that?" and, "Why did we not notice he was so sick, unable to swallow his food because of paralysis in his throat?". But the vet called us the day after and told us that he had bone marrow cancer and would've had to be put down anyway. In the end, I'm glad his suffering ended. (You can hear his full story in my blog article)

Keep going. Your past and present piggies are lovely, and your remaining two need you more than ever. Put your energy into them, and mourn the deceased by letting them know that you won't give up.

 

[Pomegranate]

[MENTION=33364]BaconAndEggs[/MENTION] - thank you for such kind words, it means so much. I'm sorry to hear about Chunky (that name is amazing!) - it must have been so traumatic for you to see.

I have been struggling these past couple days, it's really hard thinking of what happened to my pigs, I've gone through feelings of guilt and anger and so much sadness. I cleaned out their bed this morning, my two little pigs stay in the kitchen most of the time at the moment, just the two of them, it should be five of them. I've been remembering their traits, and I can't believe I'll never see them again. I really, really miss them.

 

[Lagertha]

@BaconAndEggs - thank you for such kind words, it means so much. I'm sorry to hear about Chunky (that name is amazing!) - it must have been so traumatic for you to see.

I have been struggling these past couple days, it's really hard thinking of what happened to my pigs, I've gone through feelings of guilt and anger and so much sadness. I cleaned out their bed this morning, my two little pigs stay in the kitchen most of the time at the moment, just the two of them, it should be five of them. I've been remembering their traits, and I can't believe I'll never see them again. I really, really miss them.

I know how you feel (lost one of my dogs that I had for over a decade to aggressive lung cancer. It took over her so fast we had to euthanize her)
Just keep in mind that grieving is completely okay! Let yourself cry, let yourself remember them. It hurts SO MUCH, I know, but every time you remember them the less and less it will hurt. I hope for peace of mind for you in this time. And you will still see them! You have so many memories of them to hold onto and smile on But for now, allow yourself to grieve and find comfort in your two gorgeous white angels that are still with you. <3

 

[just8be8free]

I am very sorry for your loss
RIP little piggies [emoji173]️

 

[lisanjake]

Your story made me tear up! im so so sorry for ur loss, its such a difficult time when they go... <3

 

[GuineaPiggies7]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you feel better

 

[duke8888]

This morning I had five pigs. I now have two.

I put them out as usual on the lawn, it is quite suddenly very hot in the UK. It is hot in the room where they live, so they had to go out this morning. I put there small house in their outside run, and I rested their large box (stack and store I use to carry them all from house to garden and back) next to the cage and it shaded half of the cage.

For the next few hours, I was in and out of the garden, I was doing small jobs, watering, planting etc. I realised they were very hot, they were all spreading out their bodies. I didn't have any frozen bottles for them, as I regularly did last summer, so I put 7 in the freezer, thinking even if they got slightly cold, I can give them to the pigs to lay against.

I had my lunch and I went to check the bottles. I saw I had some frozen fruit pieces, I put some in a bowl for the pigs and took them to them.

I saw two of them were dead, i knew straight away. The two youngest were running around, startled as they're still nervous of me. My eldest was laying, sleepy looking, I grabbed her first, i ran inside with her, she was limp, her eyes open, not blinking. I rinsed her face and lay her down in the sink. I didn't know whether she was alive or dead but I knew the youngest ones were still alive so I raced outside to get them. I hurriedly put the other two dead pigs in with them, I wasn't even crying at this point, I was in utter shock. I kept saying 'what the hell what the hell'.

I put the two dead pigs in the sink, they were definitely dead, i have had so many pigs, seen so many dead, i knew they were gone - I picked up my unresponsive eldest pig and I rubbed her tummy over and over, I desperately begged her to wake up and the tears came. I realized my two beautiful pigs were dead and I was losing hope for my eldest one. My husband came home about ten minutes later and I was still trying to revive her. He helped me put the two that were dead in a box for burial but I couldn't bear to put my eldest pig in, so desperate for her to 'wake up'. She had no heartbeat and she wasn't breathing, my husband took my hand and said 'she is gone'.

My beautiful piggies. I cannot believe it, I have cried all afternoon and at one point I just stopped. I swept the poo from their fleece and I put the two young guineas, who had been patiently waiting in the kitchen, back into their cage. It is empty without my pigs.

I feel a fool, I have taken away my Guinea's lives so needlessly. I have had pigs for over a decade and I have never ever lost them to something like this. I am not writing this as a 'beware of the sun and pigs' because I know so many of the members on here are 100% clued up on Guineas, I am just writing it to say, i have lost my poor pigs in a shocking and preventable way. I expect I may get a lot of anger in response, I am angry at myself. If I could go back and cuddle my beautiful pigs...I can only wish.

I realise, with hindsight, I should have realised they were struggling with the heat. I should have realised, but I thought they'd be as okay as they were in the garden last year the year before, and as okay as my previous pigs always were in the summer. I learnt a terrible lesson. To lose one would have been a tragedy, to lose three is a nightmare. My poor guinea pigs. I am heartbroken.

I lost my 2 Guinea pigs on Saturday
I had them outside for an hour
It was 80 degrees with a beeeze
They died of heatstroke. I’m devastated
They had been out before for 6 hours. I just don’t understand why they died

 

[bpatters]

I'm very sorry you lost them.

But guinea pigs are very susceptible to heat stroke. If it's anywhere close to 80 degrees, they should never be left in the sun, and should have ice packs close by that they can get on to cool off.

 

[duke8888]

I'm very sorry you lost them.

But guinea pigs are very susceptible to heat stroke. If it's anywhere close to 80 degrees, they should never be left in the sun, and should have ice packs close by that they can get on to cool off.

I never would of suspected that! I had other pigs in the past that were outside all day long in the summer. It’s just so strange this time around I feel horrible

 

[Soecara]

From what I have observed guinea pigs seem to fair better in the heat when they are younger, or have a lower boy weight and a thinner coat.

I have had so many people argue with me that guinea pigs can be kept outside in the Australian summer with 40+ Celsius temperatures because their guinea pigs did and they lived a long time. When I ask how old were they exactly it turns out they died when they were 2 years old in summer. So they survived the first summer when they were babies/young adults and then died in their first summer as full weight adults. When I tell them guinea pigs can live 6-10 years they don't believe me.

I also had my air-conditioner fail several years ago overnight during summer, when I woke up it was too late for three of mine, those that didn't make it were my largest boy, my largest girl, and my girl with a very dense coat. Of the five that did make it all had signs of heat stroke except for my youngest, she was about 5 months old at the time, she was the only one that seemed completely fine.

Also keep in mind summers are only getting hotter. So even if past years have been ok that doesn't mean that will still be true the next year.

 

[4boipigs]

It's true that pigs are very heat sensitive. I had one stop eating and have diarrhea after we came back from the vet visit. He wasn't the patient, but he was the patient's cagemate. I had the AC on in my car and it was probably 90 degrees outside. Luckily he recovered from it no problem. But it was scary!

 

[TinyPiggy]

I'm very, very sorry for your loss.
Rest in peace, little ones.

 

[CavySpirit]

I am not writing this as a 'beware of the sun and pigs'

But, it is a cautionary tale. And that's good. It's a reminder and a wake-up call to many who have pigs, and just like you, we can get complacent in various ways.

And it's a cautionary note for many newbies who may not be familiar with just how sensitive pigs are to heat -- outdoors AND indoors. And as climate change heats us up, it's not going to get any better. People need to understand that hot rooms in hot houses without AC can be a serious problem as well. Thank you for having the courage to share your story.

Everyone makes mistakes, and we have to bare the burden. Forgive yourself. Just by sharing the story, you've probably helped another few pigs or more on this planet.