guinea pig death
my guinea pig, aged 7 and a half just passed yesterday. I had found a lump on the lower side of her body 6 months previous towards her genitals. I presumed it to be a mammary tumour and contacted my vet in the area. unfortunately I live in rural Ireland and so there are no small animal clinics on the entire south half of my country, the vets generally only work with large animals such as cows, horses, dogs and cats and so last time I brought a guinea pig to the vet purely because she wasn't eating they put her under anesthetic and she passed. for these reasons I was very apprehensive to let them operate on my second guinea pig when I discovered the lump, she was eating fine, drinking fine and acting completely normal bar the lump toward the lower side of her belly! I found her yesterday morning when she was deceased, as I was burying her I was removing the bedding around the lump and discovered maggots and flies eggs around the area. I was completely horrified. I had picked her up regularly when she was alive and there had never been any eggs or maggots there before. the lump was closed and there was no hair loss around it, but now it was open and had maggots in! I was hit with the enormous guilt that perhaps this wasn't a tumour and began furiously researching maggots and fly strike. all of which said you can see the maggots on live guinea pigs if they have fly strike and generally occurs due to dirty cage conditions. when she was alive I cleaned her cage out every 2 to 3 days and I never saw any physical signs of fly strike. is it possible for her to have had fly strike rather than a tumour and show no outer symptoms of this?? or is it likely that these flies laid their eggs in the last 24 hours as she was dying? I did notice spots of blood on the day she died, could this have been the flies? I would really like your input as I'm completely distraught to discover this, the trauma of losing her was enough but now I'm left wondering if I could have done something all along?? can guinea pigs live happily for 6 months with fly strike?? or was is likely a tumour like I previously thought? as she was 7 and a half years old and I know guinea pigs are susceptible to tumours. please help and give your input, many thanks.
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I am so sorry you lost her. We do our best when we are taking care of our pets.
It is difficult to know if fly strike was involved but my impressions of it when life threatening are that there are multiple lumps with maggots that debilitate the animal. Not just one. What I have seen on squirrels that come to my sliding glass door is a large, oblong lump. If the lump was round, it is unlikely to have been caused by the fly I have observed.
Using google, I found an old thread covering various aspects of fly strike:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2645
It sounds like there are several types of flies and most you might find near the anus. I was thinking of the cuterebra when writing above (anywhere on the body).
It is difficult to know if fly strike was involved but my impressions of it when life threatening are that there are multiple lumps with maggots that debilitate the animal. Not just one. What I have seen on squirrels that come to my sliding glass door is a large, oblong lump. If the lump was round, it is unlikely to have been caused by the fly I have observed.
Using google, I found an old thread covering various aspects of fly strike:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2645
It sounds like there are several types of flies and most you might find near the anus. I was thinking of the cuterebra when writing above (anywhere on the body).
thank you for condolences and help.
I searched cuterebra, the one you mentioned and it mentions that they leave breathing holes in the flesh and it seems to be the same with most cases of fly strike, that there seems to be an open wound. the lump however was round and completely closed and was covered with completely undamaged skin, it was about an inch in diameter. I think it was most likely a tumor as I initially had thought as fly strike seems to leave symptoms and also kill quickly. she died within the night and I couldn't bare to bury her until about 4 pm the next day meaning there was a 9 to 18 hour period depending on what time she died during the night, where she deceased and in the cage which according to facts I found on the Internet flies eggs can take anywhere between 8 to 20 hours to hatch meaning there was time that flies could have laid eggs and hatched into maggots while she was deceased. I'm really hoping this was the case with her as the thought of her harbouring maggots whiles he was alive is almost unbearable.
I searched cuterebra, the one you mentioned and it mentions that they leave breathing holes in the flesh and it seems to be the same with most cases of fly strike, that there seems to be an open wound. the lump however was round and completely closed and was covered with completely undamaged skin, it was about an inch in diameter. I think it was most likely a tumor as I initially had thought as fly strike seems to leave symptoms and also kill quickly. she died within the night and I couldn't bare to bury her until about 4 pm the next day meaning there was a 9 to 18 hour period depending on what time she died during the night, where she deceased and in the cage which according to facts I found on the Internet flies eggs can take anywhere between 8 to 20 hours to hatch meaning there was time that flies could have laid eggs and hatched into maggots while she was deceased. I'm really hoping this was the case with her as the thought of her harbouring maggots whiles he was alive is almost unbearable.
thank you so much, I did my best to try and give her a good life and I really hope I succeeded.
thanks for your kind words, they really mean a lot.
thanks for your kind words, they really mean a lot.