Death

Question
I just had a male Ginny pig die 2 unknown reason I believe a heart attack he was a heavier pig but with in the range .yesterday there was a lil food left over from the day before just thought they wasn't hungry then to day I found him died . I donno what 2 do I believe my other boy that lived with him is depressed and is afraid he will die as well but theres no vet around my area that does with pigs.HELP

Answer
This is something that happens to nearly every pig owner at one time or another. We make the assumption that the little guy died of a heart attack, but we actually have no way of proving that. Every living thing dies of 'cardio-respiratory arrest.' That's a fancy medical term that means your heart stopped beating and you stopped breathing. It doesn't tell you why.

I have friends who are breeder/exhibitor veterinarians and even they will tell you that you cannot always determine the cause of death of a guinea pig. A necropsy (animal version of autopsy) is most often inconclusive as well. The cost of doing a necropsy is about $100 and the only absolute conclusion that you will get for your money is, "your animal died".

This is not meant to be a smart aleck response, but simply to let you know that you will not likely find the answer, not even at the vet's office. As for the remaining roommate I honestly don't think they grieve the way we do. My observation over the years has been that cavies take these things as part of life, and for the remaining pigs life just goes on.

Dogs will grieve deeply over the loss of their owners, but the bond between them is extremely strong. The story of Grey Friars Bobby, the dog in England that spent twelve or so years going to the cemetary and lying over his dead owner's grave every day is a prime example. Many animals mate for life and will not look for another mate when losing their first.  Cavies?  I'm not so sure.

I've seen mothers give birth to stillborn pups and they don't spend any time trying to figure out what happened. They just move on. When a cage mate dies they seem to just accept it. So I'm not sure that your other pig is actually grieving in the sense that we do.

As humans we have to have an answer for everything so that we can accept life's circumstances. It's what defines us from animals. We don't like facing these things if we can't find an answer as to why. Cavies are notoriously stealth and secretive about their ailments until it is often too late. Perhaps that's a survival tool from when they lived in the wild.

Yes, it's possible he had a heart condition. But that's just a guess as would be anything else.   I don't think there's any reason your other pig should be in danger. You can be sure of this: it wasn't anything you could have prevented and it didn't happen because of something you did. It was just one of those bad times in life that we have no control over.