I wasn't sure if I could post in this forum or if I should use the one about other animals, so feel free to move... Also, I won't mention any names since the animal who passed away wasn't my own.
My friend flew home over winter break to see her family and left her sweet little guinea pig in my care. I received her a few days before Christmas and weighed her (as I do with my cats every week) at 507g. I have almost no prior experience with guinea pigs and I thought the little sweetie was under a year old, so that weight made sense to me, although she felt a little bony (which I just attributed to maybe her breed or young age). She had such a healthy appetite, and would devour the veg I gave her every day. About a week in I had texted her current weight to my friend (501g), but she couldn't remember what her previous weight had been, but she didn't seem too worried, so I didn't worry.
For a week and a half everything was amazing. Little girl was eating tons of hay, drank almost her whole bottle of water every day, and ate the 1/2-2/3 cup of various veg I gave her every day. By day 4 she was squeaking at me for food when I entered the room, or out of boredom, and waking me up several times a night with her activities!
But then one day I noticed she didn't eat any hay or drink any water. I texted my friend and she said that the piggie sometimes didn't eat for a day so I should just wait and observe for another day. The next day, she didn't eat any hay or drink water, and she only ate the softest parts of the veg I gave her (the greenest bit of leaves, insides of cucumbers, wouldn't touch carrots or bell peppers) so I knew something was wrong (I suspected tooth problems). I brought her into the emergency vet the next day, where they were able to give me her previous records. About 3 months ago she had weighed 800g! I was absolutely astounded at the weight loss. And turns out she was around 2 years old, which was so much older than I had thought, and meant she was severely underweight for a female guinea pig. I felt so stupid. I should have asked her age right away!
The emergency vet and I were in contact with my friend through the whole process, and she told them to keep the guinea pig overnight and give intensive critical care treatment. She hadn't realized her girl had lost so much weight either. I went home that day feeling like I had failed my friend and failed the sweet little guinea pig. I was halfway through my humane society volunteer shift the next morning when I got the information that she'd been euthanized, as there wasn't anything they could do for her. And now I feel terrible. If I had just brought her in a day earlier she might have had a better chance! She was such a sweet little girl who loved to just cuddle up on my chest and chew veg contentedly. I'm absolutely frustrated with myself for not noticing the signs earlier! I should have followed my gut! Being able to feel the ribs and spine so clearly aren't normal, but I just assumed she was healthy when I got her. I'm such an idiot and now she's dead...
So, basically, even though I won't mention the name of the piggie, if anyone can send good thoughts/prayers her owners way, I would really appreciate it. She doesn't return from vacation for another couple weeks, so I can't imagine how awful she must be feeling. I'm absolutely heartbroken and I only knew the sweetie for two weeks, her owner had her for 4 months and must be in immense pain. I don't know how I'm going to face her after this. Just the few phone calls we've had have been so sad. So please, prayers for her to feel better and recover from the loss of her beloved pet would be really appreciated. Thank you all.
My friend flew home over winter break to see her family and left her sweet little guinea pig in my care. I received her a few days before Christmas and weighed her (as I do with my cats every week) at 507g. I have almost no prior experience with guinea pigs and I thought the little sweetie was under a year old, so that weight made sense to me, although she felt a little bony (which I just attributed to maybe her breed or young age). She had such a healthy appetite, and would devour the veg I gave her every day. About a week in I had texted her current weight to my friend (501g), but she couldn't remember what her previous weight had been, but she didn't seem too worried, so I didn't worry.
For a week and a half everything was amazing. Little girl was eating tons of hay, drank almost her whole bottle of water every day, and ate the 1/2-2/3 cup of various veg I gave her every day. By day 4 she was squeaking at me for food when I entered the room, or out of boredom, and waking me up several times a night with her activities!
But then one day I noticed she didn't eat any hay or drink any water. I texted my friend and she said that the piggie sometimes didn't eat for a day so I should just wait and observe for another day. The next day, she didn't eat any hay or drink water, and she only ate the softest parts of the veg I gave her (the greenest bit of leaves, insides of cucumbers, wouldn't touch carrots or bell peppers) so I knew something was wrong (I suspected tooth problems). I brought her into the emergency vet the next day, where they were able to give me her previous records. About 3 months ago she had weighed 800g! I was absolutely astounded at the weight loss. And turns out she was around 2 years old, which was so much older than I had thought, and meant she was severely underweight for a female guinea pig. I felt so stupid. I should have asked her age right away!
The emergency vet and I were in contact with my friend through the whole process, and she told them to keep the guinea pig overnight and give intensive critical care treatment. She hadn't realized her girl had lost so much weight either. I went home that day feeling like I had failed my friend and failed the sweet little guinea pig. I was halfway through my humane society volunteer shift the next morning when I got the information that she'd been euthanized, as there wasn't anything they could do for her. And now I feel terrible. If I had just brought her in a day earlier she might have had a better chance! She was such a sweet little girl who loved to just cuddle up on my chest and chew veg contentedly. I'm absolutely frustrated with myself for not noticing the signs earlier! I should have followed my gut! Being able to feel the ribs and spine so clearly aren't normal, but I just assumed she was healthy when I got her. I'm such an idiot and now she's dead...
So, basically, even though I won't mention the name of the piggie, if anyone can send good thoughts/prayers her owners way, I would really appreciate it. She doesn't return from vacation for another couple weeks, so I can't imagine how awful she must be feeling. I'm absolutely heartbroken and I only knew the sweetie for two weeks, her owner had her for 4 months and must be in immense pain. I don't know how I'm going to face her after this. Just the few phone calls we've had have been so sad. So please, prayers for her to feel better and recover from the loss of her beloved pet would be really appreciated. Thank you all.