February 7, 2025, 9:06 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Guinea pigs are among the most popular pets, partly because they are easy to keep and quickly become trusting. Unfortunately, these rodents can also die suddenly. PETBOOK explains how this can happen.
Guinea pigs actually have a life expectancy of five to seven years. But sometimes, guinea pigs can die suddenly, and owners are completely surprised and unsettled by the unexpected death of their pets. If you know the possible causes, you can at least avoid some of them and thus reduce the risk factors for the sudden death of your guinea pig.
Overview
Reasons Why Guinea Pigs Suddenly Die
Guinea pigs are very social animals, and group cohesion is particularly important to them. However, sick or weak individuals are often expelled from the group. This is a precautionary measure taken by the animals to prevent other guinea pigs from catching infectious diseases. To avoid being expelled from the group, the rodents often do not show the outside world when they are unwell.
Guinea Pigs Also Conceal Serious Illnesses
If guinea pigs are ill, they simulate that they are perfectly healthy for as long as possible. Therefore, it can quickly happen that animals that are actually ill might appear healthy to the owner. If the disease has progressed too far, the guinea pigs can die very suddenly. Even a simple cold that develops into pneumonia can lead to death – and without much notice.
Most Common Cause of Death: Gastrointestinal Diseases
Gastrointestinal diseases can also go undetected and quickly lead to the animal’s death. These can be caused by certain husbandry errors. These include, for example, incorrect feeding, undetected parasite infestation, or dental disease. Accordingly, the animal’s metabolism quickly becomes disrupted. Painful constipation or diarrhea, as well as gassing, are the results. These diseases often lead to death within a few hours due to the animals’ rapid metabolism.
Kidney and Liver Diseases
Another very common reason why guinea pigs die suddenly is unrecognized kidney disease, which leads to failure of the organ. The signs are rather subtle, as guinea pigs hide their symptoms well, as mentioned above. However, the animal drinks more and eats less. The coat may also appear dull and shaggy due to poor nutrient supply.
You can prevent this by offering the animals mainly fresh food because dry pellets with too little water intake – which the animals actually do through their food – can promote kidney disease. The same applies to fatty liver, which can also be promoted by too much dry food. However, this fatal disease usually shows no symptoms at all.
Heart Attack and Stroke
Guinea pigs are very skittish animals. Even a relatively quiet but sudden bang can lead to a heart attack in the animals. They then simply fall over. However, this usually affects animals with a weak heart. Owners should, however, acclimate guinea pigs to home background noise from an early age so that the sounds become familiar and do not startle the animals. A stroke in guinea pigs can occur just as quickly as a heart attack and can also lead to the sudden death of the animals.1
Daily Check-Ups Are Important
Because guinea pigs are adept at concealing illness, owners should perform daily check-ups on their pets. Is the animal still eating its favorite snack? If not, it may be ill because guinea pigs then stop eating very quickly, which can lead to further problems.
Owners should also check the droppings or abdomen of each guinea pig. If the droppings are greasy or even runny and the fur on the animal’s bottom is, as a result, dirty, owners should see a vet quickly. Rapid or labored breathing, on the other hand, may indicate a respiratory infection.
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What to Do When a Guinea Pig Dies Suddenly
While the grief for the lost animal is profound, it is equally important to ensure the well-being of the remaining guinea pigs:
- Guinea pigs are dependent on the company of conspecifics. If a single animal remains after the sudden death of a guinea pig, it should be united with a partner animal as soon as possible. This may mean that a new guinea pig moves in, or the remaining pig is added to an existing group.
- The remaining animals must be thoroughly examined. If it is discovered after the death of a guinea pig that it was suffering from an infectious disease, all animals must be taken to the vet as a precaution. If they are also infected, for example, with a cold or a gastrointestinal virus, they are also at risk of death if they are not treated.
- The deceased animal should be removed from the cage as quickly as possible. Some owners have it buried in a pet cemetery. If you have a garden, you may also bury small animals there. However, if in doubt, this should be discussed with the local municipality. Finally, veterinary practices also offer the professional disposal of animal carcasses for a small fee.2
Sudden Death Not Always the Owner’s Fault
“Many pet lovers feel very guilty when their guinea pig suddenly dies in its cage. However, in the case of a heart attack or stroke, there is nothing the owner could have done to prevent it. In order to detect infectious diseases in the animals, they should be thoroughly examined by their owners on a regular basis. This can also be done in passing during daily cuddling and playing. However, in most cases, feeling guilty about the sudden death of a guinea pig is unnecessary and can exacerbate the grief.”