My girl Daisy has died and i am destroying myself over it

[agraham]

Hello all, I came home today after three days away and they had no water and I forgot to fill their bottle completely with water. My favourite girl called daisy I had found dead. I had recently introduced her to the family of four and they seemed to get on. I messed up and made the biggest mistake and hate myself so much and miss her but would it have been dehydration or would the others have killed her as she was new and older? Poor little one. I rehomed her on her own at first as the ones she was previously with bullied her. I didn't have her long and really wish I could go back in time. Either way it was my fault the poor little girl

[deguconvert]

I am so very sorry for your loss. It is difficult to say if the cause of death is dehydration. If they were completely without water for the full three days, if your home was really warm/hot, and if Daisy was in less the full health, then you might see a resulting fatality. Do you see any lethargy in the other three girls, or any symptoms that could suggest that they suffered with dehydration from the three days you were away? When you discovered Daisy, did you thoroughly examine her body? If you did, did you find any injuries, bite marks, scratches, or any pools of blood in the cage? If there were none of these things, there is nothing to say that she was bullied or savaged by the other girls.

We had one of our boys die while we were away on vacation three or four years ago. We had friends that were coming over to the house to feed, water, and check on them. Though they were monitored, Reep died. They put him in a sealed bag and frozen him for us to examine when we got home. There was nothing to tell us why. No injuries. No evidence of illness. Nothing. Our friends were distraught. We were deeply grieved as he was our friendliest and most affectionate degu. There was nothing that could have been done before that would have prevented his death. Had we been home, I am convinced he still would have passed. Perhaps Daisy would have died had you been home as well.

[uglibug]

So sorry for your loss. We lost one of our girls suddenly. We were home, in bed. She gave no warning signs at all and had no injuries or anything. Even if you were home theres no way to know if you could have prevented it.

[agraham]

Thank you both. I am absolutely destraught. The other girls seemed fine. I looked at her body but can't tell as they ate part of one side of her unfortunatly. I really feel like I have let her down she was my favourite and so beautiful I should have paid more attention and it breaks my heart that she is gone

[yasmin]

Sincerest condolences. My heart goes out to you. What happened to your poor Daisy is a recurring nightmare that I have had since I was a child – but, as deguconvert and uglibug said, you do not know what she died of. If all of them died, then maybe the lack of water would have been the cause; but, because the others are okay, you need to assume that this would have happened whether or not you were away.

Please allow yourself to go forward. The other degus need you; focus your energy on them – let them be your source of peace and strength.

[animalmadchloe]

Sorry for your loss

[bouncy]

Agraham, any number of factors could have contributed to Daisy's death, and it's very unlikely you'll ever know the reason behind it.

Regarding the water bottle, there was more than likely water in there before you left, and you were only away three days. Degus have been known to survive 13 days without water in the wild.

Focus on being a mum to your remaining goos.

[deguhooman]

Sorry for your loss!