guinea pig health

Question
We took our male guinea pig Murphy in to have him fixed so we could house him with our 2 females. He went in a week before the surgery for a pre-exam and was given a clean bill of health. During the surgery (performed on 2/16/09) he went into a form of cardiac arrest and they stopped the surgery and said they would do the other half in a couple weeks when he recovered. A couple of days after i brought him home I noticed he wasnt eating his favorite treat parsley and he was still very swollen so i called the vet and he put him on an antibiotic and some pain medication. Yesterday we woke up to find he had chewed half of this swollen area off so i called the vet and took him in and they called me to tell me he had a tumor that was eating his blood supply from the inside out and in Murphy's best intrest we should put him down so we did. we are all very sad at the loss of our beloved Murphy and dont understand how he was healthy, happy and energetic a week ago and now he's gone. Did we miss something?

Answer
Guinea pigs like most rodents are very good at hiding their illnesses until it is critical. It is sometimes hard to catch things in time until its too late. In your case you took him to the vet multiple times,which is the best thing you can do. The doctor did what he could and you made a good desicion to put him down so he would not suffer. For future references their is some thing you can keep an eye on for guinea pig health.

Signs of illness and possible causes:

   - Refusal to eat or drink (anorexia) -- URI, Malocclusion,
   - Weight Loss -- Malocclusion, other
   - Labored breathing, wheezing -- URI, Circulatory Problems,
   - Crusty eyes, sneezing -- URI,
   - Rough or puffed-up coat -- URI,
   - Swollen abdomen -- BLOAT, other
  - Dull and/or receding eyes -- URI,
   - Lethargy, hunched posture -- URI,
   - Drooling -- Malocclusion,
   - Watery diarrhea -- Diarrhea,
   - No feces -- Anorexia (not eating), Bloat,
   - Unable to urinate -- Bladder Stones,
   - Blood in urine -- UTI, Bladder Stones, Pyometra,
   - Bleeding from rectal area -- UTI, Bladder Stones, Pyometra, Retained Placenta,
 
-Limping, hopping -- Injury, Vitamin or Mineral Deficiency, Arthritis,
   
    - Hair loss, excessive scratching -- Mange Mites, Fungal Infection,
   
    - Loss of balance -- Ear Infection, Injury, Poisoning,
   - Head tilt -- Ear Infection, wry neck,
   - Delivery problems -- Dystocia, Retained Placenta,


Here are some links for more reading:

http://www.simplepetcare.com/pet-health/8/GUINEA-PIG/

http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/piggyhealthcheck.html


Thank you for asking and taking such great care of your pet :)