Just want to start by saying thanks for all he help this forum has given me over the years, I have never actually registered but as a guest browsing the forum it has been a brilliant source of information.
Unfortunately I lost a piggie last night, "Nibbles" passed away aged 3.5 years old in circumstances I am struggling to make sense of.
I have had several piggies in my lifetime and dealt with many health problems either myself or by bringing the ill pig to the vets, but I can’t understand what happened to my precious Nibbles.
Saturday evening he was fine, his usual playful self. I fed him some of his favourites and even took some pictures that night. Sunday morning (about 8-9 hours after last seeing him) I immediately knew something was very wrong with him.
Not eating or drinking, eyes half shut, non responsive to petting, no reaction to attempts to feed him his favourite treats. Picking him up gently made him squeal and he just did not want to be around anyone. He would walk very shakily and slowly into the nearest corner, his legs shaking and twitching, especially his rear legs.
I attempted to force him to feed but he just had no interest in anything. I was happy to see him attempt to drink when I held the bottle to him but almost right after drinking he made an awful noise and the water he drank was all over my shirt.
I knew something was terribly wrong and he was not going to last long but no vet would see him until Monday morning at 8.00. It became obvious last night he was not going to last the night, cold to the touch and he could no longer even move. All of his attempts at moving just resulted in his legs failing, he seemed to be in pain.
He died within 20-28 hours of his first symptoms, we already miss him very much and I cant help but feel I could have done more but I just did not know what to do for him.
The way he died makes me scared of this happening again to my other pigs and being in a situation where I can not get them to a vet.
Can anyone shed some light on what they think happened to Nibbles?
Thank you very much
- Chiam
Figuring out what went wrong
I"m sure others will chime in but in my experience the twitching and issues with the back legs often indicates some sort of neurological issue. Maybe a stroke? If that were the case then there is nothing that your or a vet would have been able to do. I'm so sorry for your loss. Nibbles can hang out with my Autumn and Thistle, who recently passed, over the bridge
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I am so sorry you lost him. It sounds like he was greatly loved.
Unfortunately, to know exactly what happened, you need to have a necropsy performed. A gross necropsy looks for physical signs in the organs of the cause of death. With more detailed necropsy, usually the vet has some idea of what might have been the cause and collects samples to have analyzed by a lab.
There are so many causes that it is pretty much impossible to know for sure if this was a problem just for Nibbles or if it is a contageous disease.
Right now weigh all your guinea pigs daily and watch for signs of illness. Your pig may indeed have had something neuroligical going on. There may have been a blockage by a stone that started him shutting down. If you wish to have a necropsy done, I would contact your vet asap. Ideally, the body would have been refrigerated since his death.
I am so sorry you lost him.
Unfortunately, to know exactly what happened, you need to have a necropsy performed. A gross necropsy looks for physical signs in the organs of the cause of death. With more detailed necropsy, usually the vet has some idea of what might have been the cause and collects samples to have analyzed by a lab.
There are so many causes that it is pretty much impossible to know for sure if this was a problem just for Nibbles or if it is a contageous disease.
Right now weigh all your guinea pigs daily and watch for signs of illness. Your pig may indeed have had something neuroligical going on. There may have been a blockage by a stone that started him shutting down. If you wish to have a necropsy done, I would contact your vet asap. Ideally, the body would have been refrigerated since his death.
I am so sorry you lost him.
I have no experience with the symptoms you describe, therefore I cannot comment on what may have went wrong. I do want to say that given how quick he passed, there may not have been anything you could have done; sometimes the only thing you can do is provide comfort and love, which you have done. Please continue to monitor your guinea pigs and weigh them daily for awhile, like Lynx suggested.
Do not beat yourself up for Nibbles passing, they are fragile creatures sometimes. I am so sorry for your loss, just know that Nibbles will wait to be reunited with you by the rainbow bridge, until then he has a lot of friends, endless amounts of grass, and lots of fields to popcorn through.
Do not beat yourself up for Nibbles passing, they are fragile creatures sometimes. I am so sorry for your loss, just know that Nibbles will wait to be reunited with you by the rainbow bridge, until then he has a lot of friends, endless amounts of grass, and lots of fields to popcorn through.
Thank you for your replies
seraphanjil - I personally suspect a stroke was the cause, my doubt was that the information I managed to find on a piggy having a stroke was vague and said they where rare. I did not mention in my original post but my neighbours/kids set off loud fireworks during the night, perhaps this caused the (suspected) stroke.
Lynx - He is already 3 feet under the ground in my garden so the necropsy will not happen.
My other pigs seem to be very upset and they have lost some weight over the past few days (weighed daily since Nibbles death) they are not drinking much either. Eating plenty of hay however and plenty of fruit/veg but will not touch their pellets and very little water from the bottle.
They have become more timid and shy, which they are naturally but more so since it happened (Nibbles being the boss and personality among my pigs)
Crazy4me - It’s been hard, broke my heart burying him, but like you said I doubt there is anything I could have done or even a vet. I am quite certain now it seems to have been a stroke and it may have just been "one of those things"
He lived a very happy life, that I am sure of.
Thanks for your support and opinions, if anyone has anything else to add to possible causes/advise etc on guinea pig stroke I would appreciate it
seraphanjil - I personally suspect a stroke was the cause, my doubt was that the information I managed to find on a piggy having a stroke was vague and said they where rare. I did not mention in my original post but my neighbours/kids set off loud fireworks during the night, perhaps this caused the (suspected) stroke.
Lynx - He is already 3 feet under the ground in my garden so the necropsy will not happen.
My other pigs seem to be very upset and they have lost some weight over the past few days (weighed daily since Nibbles death) they are not drinking much either. Eating plenty of hay however and plenty of fruit/veg but will not touch their pellets and very little water from the bottle.
They have become more timid and shy, which they are naturally but more so since it happened (Nibbles being the boss and personality among my pigs)
Crazy4me - It’s been hard, broke my heart burying him, but like you said I doubt there is anything I could have done or even a vet. I am quite certain now it seems to have been a stroke and it may have just been "one of those things"
He lived a very happy life, that I am sure of.
Thanks for your support and opinions, if anyone has anything else to add to possible causes/advise etc on guinea pig stroke I would appreciate it
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Bookfan
- For the Love of Pigs
One of our pigs (6 years old) had been just fine & my daughter noticed her walking with a wobble. Then she feel on her side & my daughters held her until she passed about 45 minutes later. We assumed it was a stroke, but have nothing to back that up with. I suppose a heart attack or other things could cause the same behavior. I just don't know, but I doubt there was anything you could do.
I'm sorry he's gone.
I'm sorry he's gone.
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