Our pet Guinea Pig died

blossomhill_2

redrufus wrote: »

a lot of piggies these days struggle to reach 2/3.

I think that is true but I also think it is rather preventable, with a little know-how; I advise any new owner to invest in two books by the late Peter Gurney "The Proper Care of Guinea Pigs" & "Piggy Potions" and reach for them at the slightest sign of anything

Especially react quickly if you find your pig puffed up - quick action in getting to a vet will probably save them

(Sorry to hijack your thread OP but I didn't think you'd mind if it helps others to manage what you achieved in raising a 7 year old)

redrufus

Your right blossomhill, personally I think quite a bit of research needs to be done when taking on a GP, many don't realise the dietry requirements and how sensitive to temperature they can be. We had quite a few guinea pigs brought in, I'm a vet assistant/nurse, through the cold snap that had basically caught a chill and other are obviously lacking vitamin C, especially ones that come in with their rabbit friend!

Lisa_Spiller

Thank you so much for your replies.. I am not sure what breed he was he was tan and black...he lived indoors in a very big cage and my step daughter was excellent at looking after him she always noticed if his food hay or water was getting low and would top him up...he was a character and she has even said we cant get another one as it wouldnt be the same..we also have two terriers which is why coco had to live in her bedroom...we didnt want him to live outside as we back onto open farmland and I was worried about foxes..

Well we picked his ashes up from the pet crematurion on friday (who were wonderful I must add) and buried him yesterday with the children...we all shed a few tears and we have put a little tree on top of where we buried him as rememberance of him...

antw23uk

Sorry for your loss, 7 is a really good age, you must have been doing soemthing right

If you do decide to replace him in the future please get more than one as they are such sociable little creatures and love the company of other cavies. 7 years with no company must have been hard for the little chap

Lisa_Spiller

We brought him from pets at home and they advised us to get only one as they would fight otherwise of course as time went on we realised this was not the case by that time we were advised he was too old to introuduce a new one too so it was a shame he was on his own

antw23uk

Good 'ol PAH Lisa, you cannot fault them and their incompetant staff

With a bit of patience you can actually introduce a very young boar to an adult boar as they are no threat to them ... Just a bit of usless information for you ... I'm a wealth of that :rotfl:

Lisa_Spiller

Yeah we realised that after - what a shame for him bless, still like you say he lived to 7 so I guess he must have been happy !!

blossomhill_2

I know he could have perhaps lived with another boar but having him as a spoilt singly probably contributed to his friendliness as he bonded with you instead of a hutchmate, so it all worked out for him

Glad to hear he has a little tree...our garden has so many little trees now we could never move house!