Sudden death of 2-year-old male gp

Question
Our guinea pig died suddenly last night. When we found him this morning he had small orange bugs on him. He was always a bit of a runt (very small) and timid. Over the past couple of days he seemed a bit less active and wasn't eating as much, but he seemed fine when we held him and was eating something and drinking. He certainly didn't seem that unwell. A few months ago he had a problem with his back leg (we think his older brother damaged it by mounting him) so we took him to the vet. We separated the two boys and his leg got better, although it wasn't as strong as the other leg. I guess I'm not sure what happened- he is young to have died and I want to make sure that he didn't have an infection that could harm his brother (moved to a new cage in case there is an infection). Are the bugs anything to do with his dying or perhaps they latched onto him after he died? Thanks.

Answer
Hello Lynn!
I am so sorry about your guinea pigs death! The orange looking bugs sound like a sort of mite or lice. I would go get a spray or shampoo or both that treat lice for guinea pigs. And i would use them on your other cavy to make sure he doesn't get them. Then clean both cages VERY good with bleach and spray it with mite and lice spray!
I don't see how the bugs would have latched onto him after he died, but it sounds like he had them for awhile and that may have caused his death.
Thanks for asking and Feel free to ask any other questions!
Holly