HEAT RELATED DEATH
- SoCalCavies
- Partners in Crime
It's taken me a few days to be able to log on here, but I felt I needed everyone to benefit from the excruciating lesson I just learned about heat and guinea pigs. (I didn't find much about it on this website.)
On Monday, April 20th, 2009, the temperature reached 106 degrees in Escondido, California. I was at work all day and when I came home, I found one of my 4 pigs, Bucky, dead - and the 3 others in critical condition.
I have no idea if the other 3 (Boo, Bandit and Bonsai) will make it. I assume they will, as they have been cared for by multiple vets, but nothing can cure a broken heart. Boo is the one who is clearly suffering the most. He was Bucky's brother, cagemate, and best friend. I have heard that animals know when something dies, but what I have witnessed in the last 3 days positively verifies that for me. He just lays in the cage now, staring at nothing.
I want everyone out there to know that if you even THINK it might be too hot (or cold) for your pigs, PLEASE PLEASE do something about it!!! I never even heard of freezing water bottles to put in their cage until now - and now it's too late.
I thought I was the most attentive pig owner out there. I have been teased for years about how they are my whole world. I was so meticulous I even weighed all their veggies every time I fed them. I also weighed them every day. I constructed an insane cage made out of the best materials. They have beds with pillows that are changed twice a day. Cuddle cups, muliple water bottles, hay bins, a window view, separate play pens - you name it! But none of that matters if you don't think about their care 24/7. Looking back now, considering what's happened, I realize just how quickly something bad can happen. PLEASE don't make the mistake that I made. THINK before you decide not to check on them, or to go home for lunch, or to realize that it's too hot outside, because believe me when I tell you - you don't want to be responsible for killing your beloved pet. I cut Bucky's life short by probably 5 years. I took him away from all of us. And I can honestly say, I will never be the same again.
Thank you for your time.
On Monday, April 20th, 2009, the temperature reached 106 degrees in Escondido, California. I was at work all day and when I came home, I found one of my 4 pigs, Bucky, dead - and the 3 others in critical condition.
I have no idea if the other 3 (Boo, Bandit and Bonsai) will make it. I assume they will, as they have been cared for by multiple vets, but nothing can cure a broken heart. Boo is the one who is clearly suffering the most. He was Bucky's brother, cagemate, and best friend. I have heard that animals know when something dies, but what I have witnessed in the last 3 days positively verifies that for me. He just lays in the cage now, staring at nothing.
I want everyone out there to know that if you even THINK it might be too hot (or cold) for your pigs, PLEASE PLEASE do something about it!!! I never even heard of freezing water bottles to put in their cage until now - and now it's too late.
I thought I was the most attentive pig owner out there. I have been teased for years about how they are my whole world. I was so meticulous I even weighed all their veggies every time I fed them. I also weighed them every day. I constructed an insane cage made out of the best materials. They have beds with pillows that are changed twice a day. Cuddle cups, muliple water bottles, hay bins, a window view, separate play pens - you name it! But none of that matters if you don't think about their care 24/7. Looking back now, considering what's happened, I realize just how quickly something bad can happen. PLEASE don't make the mistake that I made. THINK before you decide not to check on them, or to go home for lunch, or to realize that it's too hot outside, because believe me when I tell you - you don't want to be responsible for killing your beloved pet. I cut Bucky's life short by probably 5 years. I took him away from all of us. And I can honestly say, I will never be the same again.
Thank you for your time.
This come up every year. Last Summer I posted about two little girls I was supposed to be pig-sitting but when they got here they had heat stroke and died. The owners left the pigloos in the cage in the heat.
It's a terrible thing to watch them die while you're trying to get them to the vet wrapped in cool towels.
It's a terrible thing to watch them die while you're trying to get them to the vet wrapped in cool towels.
- Catie Cavy
- Supporter 2011-2020
I'm so sorry for the loss of Bucky. Thank you for posting in your time of sorrow to warn others