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SUDDEN DEATH IN RODENTS, GUINEA PIGS AND RABBITS

First broadcast on www.provet.co.uk  


This information is provided by Provet for educational purposes only.

You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Rodents, Guinea Pigs and Rabbits are popular pets which are relatively easy to look after. Occasionally apparently healthy individuals are found dead - why ?

Like many wild animals rodents, guinea pigs and rabbits can  instinctively hide the fact that they are ill, because to show external signs of disease would make them easy prey for predators in the wild. So, sometimes pet rodents, guinea pigs and rabbits appear to die suddenly when in fact they have been ill for some time.  On the other hand there are acute diseases in which an individual may show no signs at all other than sudden death. Here is a list of the most frequent reported causes of sudden death :

 
Species Reported Causes of Sudden Death Comments
Gerbils
  • Exposure to cold 
  • Exposure to excess heat
  • Dehydration
  • Neoplasia (cancer)
  • Septicaemia
  • Starvation
  • Administration of streptomycin
  • Exposure to various toxins
  • Trauma
 
Guinea Pigs
  • Antibiotic administration
  • Dehydration
  • Dystocia (difficulty giving birth)
  • Exposure to cold
  • Exposure to heat
  • Gastrointestinal disease - inflammation or twisting of the caecum or intestines
  • Pneumonia
  • Pregnancy toxaemia
  • Salmonellosis
  • Septicaemia
  • Toxaemia
 
Hamsters
  • Amyloidosis *
  • Antibiotic administration
  • Atrial thrombosis * 
  • Dehydration
  • Exposure to cold
  • Exposure to heat
  • Gastrointestinal disease - eg "wet tail" (proliferative ileitis)
  • Myocardial degeneration *
  • Neoplasia (cancer)*
  • Pregnancy toxaemia (rare)
  • Renal failure *
  • Salmonellosis (rare)
  • Sendai virus infection (rare)
  • Streptococcal infection (rare)
  • Trauma
  • Tularaemia (rare)
  • Warfarin poisoning
* These conditions are mainly seen in old hamsters
Mice
  • Administration of antibiotics
  • Administration of chloroform
  • Ectromelia
  • Exposure to cold
  • Exposure to heat
  • Dehydration
  • Infectious diseases eg Candidiasis
  • Mouse hepatitis virus
  • Organophosphate toxicity**
  • Pseudomoniasis
  • Salmonellosis
  • Sendai virus
  • Toxaemia
  • Trauma
** Pet mice should not be exposed to common organophosphate products such as flea control sprays.
Rabbits
  • Bacterial infections (eg Pasteurellosis**)
  • Enterotoxaemia
  • Mucoid enteropathy
  • Myocardial disease
  • Myxomatosis 
  • Neoplasia (cancer)
  • Rabbit pox
  • Retained placenta in does
  • Salmonellosis (rare)
  • Septicaemia (due to colibacillosis)
  • Toxaemia (eg clostridium following pregnancy)
  • Toxoplasmosis
  • Tularaemia
  • Urolithiasis
  • Viral haemorrhagic disease ***
**Snuffles can appear to be very innocuous with mild signs such as slight ocular discharge, but it may lead to rapid death due to overwhelming infection

 

*** Often external haemorrhages present

Rats
  • Inappropriate bedding eg cedar wood shavings
  • Degenerative diseases *
  • Dehydration
  • Exposure to cold
  • Exposure to heat
  • Gastrointestinal disease eg megaloileitis, twisting of the caecum
  • Malnutrition - starvation
  • Pneumonia
  • Stress
  • Suffocation - during transportation
  • Trauma
* In older rats

 

Updated October 2013