my guinea pig died

Question
my gp stopped eating on Thursday (and drinking I think) and wasn't making his 'noises' so on Friday I took him to the Vet they gave him iv fluids under his skin, vitamin C and an antibiotic.  This was Friday - I woke up n Sat am and he had died...I'm sooo upset Iv;e cried all day yesterday and again today...he seemed to be a bit better on Frid night so I tought for the best.  I'm soooo upset - as is my daughter (she';s 12) she wants to go get another gp today and I'm  to sad to, what do we do?  why did he die??  We got him 3 yrs ago - I don;t know how old he was then.  I'm so upset and dont know waht to do....we spent $130 at the vet and that was $$ I didn;t have.... I read earlier that a Vet giving a GP an antibiotic was deadly - is this true?  Do you think my baby suffered??  I am SOO SAD and can;t stop crying...

Answer
Hi Laura,

Please stop blaming yourself. You did the right thing in taking him to a vet, and he or she will have done their best job to save him. The antibiotic will have acted as a pain-killer for your piggy and helped to fight off infection. If you can find a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet, they will have specialist training in caring for guinea pigs and will be better at diagnosing illnesses, but they are not particularly common.

Unfortunately, guinea pigs hide their illnesses as a defence mechanism. In the wild, they are a prey animal, and so if they show weaknesses they will be picked off. This doesn't help owners at all; even the most vigilant and experienced owner won't notice some illnesses until it's too late. By the time a guinea pig lets us know something is wrong, they are often too far gone to be saved.

I feel your pain when it comes to finances. One of my babies became suddenly very ill overnight, and I ended up with a vet bill of 65 pounds (around 120 dollars), even though my little one had to be put to sleep. However, because we love these little animals we have to do what's best for them, even if it does end up costing us money. At least you know everything was done to save your piggy. And I'm sure you'd rather he passed away in his sleep than went on to suffer from a long-term illness.

Don't get another guinea pig until you're ready, unless your dead piggy has left a cagemate behind, in which case get a new one ASAP. I'm very sorry for the loss of your pet but please don't let it put you off keeping these adorable creatures. They're just like people; you can never tell when they're going to take their last breath. I've had piggies die at 10 months of old, and others live to six and a half years.

I hope you and your daughter feel better soon, and that you can find room in your hearts for a new piggy (or two!).

Best wishes,
Jenny.

PS - If you have any other questions ... just ask!