Untimely Death

Question
3 times, our Guinea Pig, Bashful, has had a "hairball."  This was diagnosed by
the vet and cleared up every time by syringe feeding him pineapple juice,
yogurt, and a alfalfa/veggie mash.  Last night, we found him listless, making
pitiful sounds, laying on his side in his cage.  We took him downstairs and
immediately administered the special diet.  He didn't chew, and all the while
made the pitiful sounds.  His right eye seemed like it wasn't working, but my
son touched the eyelid a bit and then it seemed OK.  When we put him back,
he was sitting normally again, and I was hopeful.  Unfortunately, we found
him stiff and dead in the morning.  He was just about 2.5 years old.  His
companion seems fine but I think he misses him.  Any idea what went wrong?

Answer
Hi Judy,

I'm very sorry to hear about the death of Bashful. It's never easy to lose a pet, regardless of the circumstances. Unfortunately, without having seen him in his fnal stages, I can't even hazzard a guess at the cause of his passing. Presumably though, it was not his "hairball" as the medicine did not alleviate the problem.

Guinea pigs are very similar to humans in their illnesses (hence their history in the medicial lab), so their sudden deaths are often ones that humans can also suffer from. If you suddenly found him in a very bad way, a stroke is possible, and contingent with his eye not working correctly. In February I lost a young piggy (10 months) to a gastro-blockage that came on very suddenly, and is apparently a condition that some piggies are born with a predisposition to. He just seemed to be walking a bit funny one evening, and the next morning had to be put down. Guinea pigs hide their illnesses, so often we don't know that anything is wrong until it's too late. Of the seven guinea pigs that I have lost over the years, five died for unknown reasons (one was put to sleep, and one died of old age). As they can go downhill exceedingly quickly, it is very common to lose them overnight with little or no idea that anything is wrong with them.

If your other guinea pig seems fine, then it is unlikely that Bashful was suffering from anything contagious. Your other piggy will however be mourning, and is at a risk of becoming depressed. Treat him like a grieving human; with lots of TLC. Give him lots of cuddles, his favourite foods, and make him feel extra-loved. If he is still young, you may wish to consider getting a very young boar (under 10 weeks) to pair up with him. I know you won't feel ready for this, but if he's still young, it's only fair that he lives out his life with a cage-mate, and you should ideally do this within a month.

If you have any other questions, or need advice on pairing up two unrelated boars, just ask.

Best wishes,
Jenny.