Hay-in-a-tube treats

Hay-in-a-tube treat: oat hay on the left, timothy in the middle, and orchard grass on the right

Sometimes when our slaves have extra cardboard tubes, they make us these hay-in-a-tube treats. They first got the idea from this useful list of ways to entertain your piggy. It's really easy!

Basically, they just take cardboard tubes (from paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls), remove all the excess glue and whatnot, then stuff them with hay. Our humans always stock timothy, orchard grass, and oat hay, so whee get three different types of hay in our treat rolls. Dispensing hay to us in a different manner makes it more challenging and entertaining for us, plus then whee get to throw the emptied tubes around with our teeth afterwards. Occasionally, they also stuff some wheatgrass in there, yum!

Just a word of caution, it is advisable to cut a slit down the tube so an overzealous piggy won't get stuck like Poof here!*

*Note: no piggy models were harmed during the taking of this pigture. The tube was removed from her snout immediately after.

Toys: Tubes and Logs

Even though cozies and huts are fun to snuggle up in, sometimes a simple cardboard tube or log works just as well! One of Morry's favorite things to do is cozy up inside a tube and take naps. Other times he likes to perch inside while keeping watch over his domain. Here he is sitting inside an empty Quaker Oats container with the top and bottom removed. Sharky likes this log tunnel that has another opening up top and small viewing holes on the side. When laid on its side, this also works as an alternate entrance.

"My tube is better than your tube!"

Piggy Pic of the Day: Sleeping on the cozy

In addition to sleeping inside the cozy pouch, Truffle also enjoys using it as a cushion and laying on top of it. Of course, the downside to this is that the rest of us piggies can't nap inside!

Our new hideaway hut

Our slaves surprised us with a new addition to our cage - a hideaway hut from Jens Custom Crafts! These washable huts are similar to pigloos, except they also have a nice, comfy bottom with a removable pad that the slaves can wash for us when it gets too dirty. In some ways, these are even better than pigloos because they are more cavelike.

Our favorite thing about our new hut is how lovely and soft it is, since it is made out of fleece and cotton, it is both comfortable and fun to look at. Our slaves got us a pre made hut decorated with a tomato pattern. Just looking at it makes us hungry! Whee were very excited, as soon as they gave it to us, we started exploring it immediately. Currently two of us can fit in there comfortably. Whee can jam three of us in there, but far less comfortably... as long as *ahem* certain cavies don't keep putting on weight so quickly. Anyways, this hut is certainly a hit with us, another piggy approved addition to our space!

The new hideaway hut

Fits two pigs comfortably

The humans are blinding us with their camera flash!

Fits one pig even more comfortably

Comfortable and soft for sleeping

Investigating the hut some more

Why Whee Like Treat Balls

Treat balls are fun toys to have in our cages. They are durable metal cage balls that have openings so food and treats can be put into them. Treat balls can be hung from the top or sides of the cage at various heights. At first whee were startled by the jingling bell on the bottom, but we quickly got used to it. Not only does it provide an entertaining way for us to receive food, but it also motivates us to get some exercise by stretching and reaching for it. Our slaves fill it with whatever fresh greens they have on hand, or if we've already had plenty of greens for the day, with fresh timothy and orchard grass hay.

In the YouTube video, Coppy and Morry demonstrate how we use the treat ball! On this occasion it was filled with baby lettuce, radicchio, and a few dried corn husks.

New Toys!

"May I have some too please?"

Three cozies, four cavies in a row

Whee are especially excited to show you the new toys we got today! Our slaves went to an adoption/education event held by Orange County Cavy Haven and came back with not one, but three cozy sacks for us! Whee piggies love it whenever our slaves attend one of their events, because it always means that they come back with new toys or treats for us.

Cozy sacks, also known as cozies, are portable roomy guinea pig sized pouches for us to sleep, hide, and play in. They are quite multifunctional - sort of like a sleeping bag and a cave rolled up into one, and are usually made with fleece so we will stay dry even if we decide to go to the bathroom inside. Human slaves also find these useful for carrying us, especially because most piggies become nervous when being transported somewhere. Letting us hide in our cozy allows us to feel safer and more secure while simultaneously allowing the human to carry us without the usual squirming.

Our slaves picked out three for us, two have a ladybug pattern and the other has a colorful heart pattern. In the meantime, feel free to look at our pictures, all of which are clickable so you may see our cuteness up close (no, whee are too cute to believe in modesty). We've spent the last few hours playing in them and have worked up quite an appetite, so its off to munching on some hay!

"Wait, this isn't the entrance!"

Demonstrating the sleeping bag function

All snuggled up

Piggy Pic of the Day: Edible Beans and Non Edible Beans

Coppy eating some beans while sitting next to some toy beans (our slaves tell us that they were featured in Toy Story 3). Apparently, toy beans are not edible beans. What a shame, whee think it might be rather fun to eat beans of that size.