Very ill guinea pig

[Turquoisesea]

One of my guinea pigs is very poorly, it started last week when she was more lethargic and not really coming out of her sleeping area but she was still eating & drinking. I took her to our local vets who couldn’t see anything obviously wrong with her but weighed her & said she was quite light (she had always been quite chubby before). They gave me some critical care food & pain relief medicine but over the weekend she has really gone downhill. She is now not eating or drinking, is very skinny and eyes look sunken & not coming out of her sleeping area at all. I’ve just tried to syringe some of the critical care food into her mouth, but I think she found it quite distressing and not sure how much she swallowed anyway.

Just wondering whether I should take her back to the vets or just leave her with the other guinea pig who is constantly lying by her side? She’s not even old, only 3.5 years & up until last week was perfectly healthy,

I’m not sure what the vets would do or whether they would just pts in which case I think it might be kinder just to let her slip away at home.

Not sure what to do for the best.

I'm so sorry to hear this.

Whenever I've been in this situation I've kept them at home, with their cagemates (so long as her friend isn't too boisterous). So long as she seems not to be in pain she'd probably be happier there that having to put up with the stress of a journey.

If you do take her I'd take them both, so things are as normal as possible, and let her friend see her body so she understands.

Thanks for your advice. I just don’t know whether she is ill from the not eating & if they managed to syringe feed her she could recover. I don’t want to leave her if there is a chance she could get better but it’s not looking hopeful at the moment

Poor love . I'm assuming your vet ruled out teeth and injury/abscess etc as a cause .

It is hard to syringe feed them and sometimes they end up wearing most of it and you feel that you're traumatising them by trying to do them good ! She might find the CC hard going, make sure its really runny so she can swallow it easily and get some fluids too. If your vet didn't give you a syringe , use a Calpol syringe. Put it just behind the front teeth a squirt a tiny bit , let her chew the syringe then she'll actively swallow, don't squirt it into her throat , there's a risk she'll choke.

Will she take tiny handfeeds of chopped cucumber or parleys? Carrots grated or peelings?

It sounds sadly like she's on her way and her cagemate knows this. The sad thing about guineas is they hind their illnesses so you don't get a chance really to turn them round.
They're animals that live to eat and when they stop, its a sign (unless teeth/injury etc) that they've called time .
If you can keep them quiet and comfy, little chat to them and just stroke her back. Nice plump cushion of hay (though our GP 4 took herself off the hay to sprawl on the cage floor, you cannot pre-empt them)

I had a pig put down last year, it was a huge decision but she was deteriorating . Her pig husband went with her. She had 2 injections (some vets will give a waft of gas first ) very peaceful. Last thing she saw was GP6 , last thing she heard was DD and I. Last thing she did was pee on the table [sigh].
All the rest went at home.

3.5 is middle aged for a piggie. From the way she sounds (and the way her mate is acting) I think you'll have your answer in hours not days.

very sad .

I took her to the vet to see if anything else could be done and they advised having her put to sleep which we have done. I am so upset, she was my sons guinea pig & he is off school today poorly. I have brought her body home and we have said goodbye. So upsetting & I know the other guinea pig will be so lost as I’ve had them both since babies.

So sorry to hear that. x

How very sad. Hugs for you and what's important is that your little piggie was safe, happy and loved every day of her life. When our darling guinea pigs died, we read the following out loud with the children and it brought comfort.

"Lord, you have embraced a good friend and loving companion.
While we mourn what we have lost, we do celebrate what we had...
and in saying goodbye, we renew our pledge to love and care
for any creature you entrust to us for its time of life.
Thank you, Lord, for the joy this loved one gave us and for making it
possible for us to have made this friend's life a good one. "

Oh I'm so sorry your little guinea is unwell!!! [Flowers]

Thank you, that’s lovely. We are going to bury her in our garden later & will say those words, I think that will also help the children to say goodbye

Poem : "
Today you did the bravest thing ". by Debbie Gaskin
Today you did the bravest thing,today you set me free
.Thank you for showing me the ultimate dignity.
I'm sorry that my leaving has broken your kind heart.
But we knew this day would come, the day we had to part.
Don't think I did not hear every last word you said.
Don't think I did not feel,your trembling hand touch my head.
Today you did the bravest thing, today you set me free.
Thank you for a wonderful life,thank you for loving me. ❤
Debbie Gaskin

There's this one too :

Thank you so much, what a lovely poem. I still feel very guilty & hope I did the right thing, but I knew she wasn’t going to get better & I didn’t want her to suffer. She was the sweetest little thing & so nice natured, it just doesn’t seem fair. We will miss her so much.

So sorry to read about your loss. It is very upsetting when they go. How is your remaining guinea pig finding life without her friend? Mine was very subdued when her companion died. I had to find her a new friend pronto!

It is a tough call , I know when I had to take GP5 (she'd been to the vet,) then I had to go to my DParents so DD was Pig Wrangling and did very well too. Then the day before I came home she told me GP5 was worse so I had to book her in.
Its much easier when they potter off themselves than you have to decide, unless the animal is obviously in pain or distress . But guineas are quiet little loves and I think by the time they get to 'that' stage they've more or less closed down , its their way as a prey animal.

I drove an hour to the PigVet. It was £35 (on top of her original care). Don't get me started on every wa**er who said " £35 on PTS a guinea-pig , they only cost you a tenner" .

But she was my guinea-pig.

Extra cuddles and parsley for the remaining sea-pig

Thank you all. I actually haven’t had a pet since I was a child (that was a guinea pig too) and even though they are the DCs I do most of the looking after of them so am really feeling it. I had forgotten how sad you can feel. We’ve given the other Guineas pig lots of cuddles & food & at the moment she seems OK but it’s early days. Don’t like the thought of her being by herself but not sure whether she would tolerate another guinea pig. She has always been the dominant one.

What I did last year when Polly died, on advice from here, was to get two babies as company for Hazel. Having two means they can annoy (chase) each other without disturbing my older girl, yet she still has their company so isn’t alone. I’m not sure she thinks this was the best idea I’ve ever had, as they do eat her food and the exercise she gets watching them run around is too much for a senior pig used to the quiet life, but I think they’ve been good for her! I swear she’s taught one of them to beg!

Thanks, did she take to them straight away or did you have to introduce them slowly?

Thanks, did she take to them straight away or did you have to introduce them slowly?

I kept them apart for a w(h)eek (sorry, couldn’t resist), just to make sure the wee ones were healthy. They were all in one room, so could hear each other, but couldn’t see each other. I always made sure I fed Hazel first so her nose wasn’t put out of joint, even though this meant passing the wee ones with food.

I introduced them in the kitchen, which is where they go when I scrub their cage out each Sunday anyway. I threw a huge pile of food down first, so they were more interested in that than each other! At one point I walked in and Felicity ran to Hazel and hid under her long fur!!!!! Then they just went into the cleaned, large cage and peace reined.

There have been the odd few squeaking matches, and I think they occasionally wound Hazel up, but they’re absolutely fine now. As I said, the babies chase each other and Hazel sits and watches (whilst she eats the food!)

That sounds like a good idea. Will see how she gets on in the next few days, but don’t like the idea of her being lonely. So will definitely think about getting another one or two!

I got another guinea pig from a rescue. The lady who ran it suggested that I bring my remaining girl (dominant, elderly) & introduce her to some other female rescue piggies of a similar age. When we found one that seemed to get along with my girl, I took her home with me and they were together from that day on. For the first couple of days, my girl almost ignored the new one (but seemed much happier in herself). Then they started to interact and became very close, following each other around, snuggling up at night etc. It really seemed to help my original girl.

Thank you, that sounds like a good idea. I will look up local rescues and see if I can do that