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Break The Boredom! Time For Toys!
Like any animal, whee guinea pigs can get bored. Some signs of boredom include, not running around as much, overeating, barbering (chewing the hair of ourselves or another guinea pig) and biting cage bars. These things can be annoying and upsetting to your hoomans
Our dear little Bingo was very badly behaved and like bar biting
There are things other than toys that can prevent boredom. The most important ones are:
– A fellow piggy as a furfriend. This is super important. Whee guinea pigs need companionship or whee can become very lonely.
– Hay, Hay, whee always love a bit of hay! Unlimited hay is not only needed for good health but also a great thing to play in
– Fresh fruits and vegetables. Try to change it up. You wouldn’t like eating the same thing efurryday and neither do whee.
– Regular floor time. Running in the garden in a run or inside the house in a piggy proof area gives us stimulation and keeps things interesting!
– Cuddles with hoomans and interaction. Whee often squeak to our hoomans and have long conversations. Hoomans aren’t great at listening and don’t always seem to understand but with practice they improve!
Now onto the fun part! The toys! Firstly, the very best toy whee can suggest is a hidey place. Some hoomans say that you shouldn’t give us a hidey because whee will just hide and never get used to you but our Mummy found that letting us hide and slowly gaining our trust was a far better option and now if whee really don’t want cuddles or to talk to anyone whee can hide. In the wild whee are prey animals so whee run and hide when whee are afraid or want to be alone. Mummy says they make us feel more secure and that is true. Good hideys include:
– Cardboard boxes, a favourite of ours. Shoe boxes are best!
– Shop bought ‘igloos’ fondly known as pigloos in the cavy world!
– Wooden huts, also available from pet shops
– Fabric pet shelters such as tents or other animal beds
This leads us neatly into snuggle toys such as:
– Flat cushions, these can be bought or hand made quite easily. The one Buddy models below was a first attempt by our hooman. She just used a fleece blanket and some pet safe wadding bought from an arts and crafts shop.
– Blankets, most fabrics are ok but fleece is best
– Dog, cat or rabbit cosies and beds (or the little hoomans build a bear dog bed toy for their teddy!)
– Cuddlecups which are essentially fleece snuggle pouches. You can make your own or buy them using online guides
(Even our Mummy has made them so it can’t be too hard!)
A baby Buddy enjoys cosy testing!
– Fleece tunnels, also can be made or bought using online guides (relatively advanced though so not for your average can only just sew in a straight line hooman, like our hooman!)
Finally toys to chomp and chew and play with!
– Brown paper bags. Primark in the UK do some good one’s for this. Stuff them with hay and treats for good fun.
– Screwed up balls of newspaper (sometimes hiding treats in there is fun as it makes us forage like whee would in the wild)
– Kitchen and toilet roll tubes. Stuff them with hay and treats and you have hours of fun.
– Tennis balls or other sports balls so long as they’re a good size and fun to push around.
– Plastic tunnels you can buy in most pet shops.
– Wooden garland gnawing toys, available in most pet shops. If you have bar biting piggies hanging these across the affected areas can help deal with this by giving us something else to chew on.
– Willow twig balls and twigs to play with. Mummy uses the twigs to kebab veggies on for us as something fun to do sometimes. In hot weather, high water content veggies on a kebab are a fun way to keep cool.
– Slightly messier but still good fun, a plant pot or container, stuffed with shredded newspaper, hay, bedding and strip of fleece and fabrics. This works with most animals as a good toy, just adjust the size of your container to match your pet!
– Maze of books and boxes. Our little hoomans love designing mazes for us to play in. They have a toy piggies which is the same weight as us and life size so they can be sure it is a safe. They hide treats and whee have great fun tracking them down!
– A wash cloth cut into strips (not completely, leave a 2cm gap uncut at one end) and hung across the cage can be fun to run under and play in.
– Mirrors. Whee are slightly obsessed with our reflections so bird toy mirrors are really good fun.
There are plenty of fun things you can make or do for your piggies. Imagination is key! Mummy just spent fifteen minutes playing with Basil and a square of tissue he liked chasing and shredding. Whee don’t need you to spend money to have fun!
An old pigture of Nutty who also love the tissue game!
Do you have any boredom busting tip? What are your favourite toys?
Happy Saturday
Nutty, Nacho, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Pigs Is Pigs?
Whee only just found this but it gave us a good giggle! Walt Disney – Pigs Is Pigs
How whee came to be know as “pigs” is a mystery that only our dear ancestors will ever know the answer to. One idea is that some of our squeaks reminded hoomans of a pig squeal. Whee are shaped quite like pigs too. Whee have a large head compared to our bodies, a short neck, and a rounded rump (yes ’rounded’ Mummy, not fat as you like to say) Also, like pigs, whee do spend most of our of time eating.
Our name sounds much like whee are pigs in many languages. The German word for example is Meerschweinchen, literally “little sea pigs” (sailing ships stopping to get provisions for the New World would pick up groups of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat. Whee are not to happy about that!). The Welsh term is mochyn cwta (‘little pig’), the French Cochon d’Inde (Indian pig), the Dutch used to call us guinees biggetje (Guinean piglet). In Italian the term is either Porcellino d’India (Little Indian Pig) or Cavia Peruviana (Peruvian Cavy). This is not universal but yes, hoomans do think of us as pigs. Not an insult really. Whee know many pigs who are very nice but whee are not pigs!
The scientific name of our species is Cavia porcellus, with porcellus being Latin for “little pig”. Cavia is derived from Portuguese çavia from the Tupi word sawiya, meaning rat!
The origin of “guinea” in “guinea pig” is even harder to explain, and like the pig part, unknown officially! Whee will leave that for another day. For now, here is a diagram which essentially explains us!
(source: Guinea Pig Zone – click on the pigture to see their page)
Nutty, Nacho, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Smile It’s Saturday
Have a great Saturday efurryone!
Nacho
xxxx
ps. An old video with our favourite song ever! I’m not in it but our bootiful Nibbles (RIP) is. Enjoy the smiles
Confessions of Cavy Criminals!
Today whee have been naughtier than usual. So whee are in the ‘dog-house’ as it were. Currently watching the hoomans fussing and cuddling Nutty and Nacho and feeling a tiny bit jealous.
Whee feel that whee must confess our naughtiness to get the hoomans to forgive us so here goes.
Bad Boy Basil
My naughtiness was from early this morning when whee were allowed out in the garden, before it got to hot outside. Mummy was keeping a careful eye on us as it was already quite hot. But obviously not careful enough because one minute I was sitting there in my tent looking angelically up at her and the next time she looked I was the wrong side of the run nomming on a particularly tasty patch of grass!
She made a high pitched very piggy like squeak which I managed to translate into “OMG!” and dropped to her knees and crawled commando style towards me cooing and reaching slowly.
Completely cool with this development I let her grab me where she cuddled me close muttering what a bad boy I was. It took her less than a minute to find the small gap I had dug out and squeezed under the run. Considering how chubby I am getting she was impressed I had managed to fit.
She borrowed a plank of wood to block up the gap and checked carefully for anymore before flopping onto the garden bench with a huff. She is not as impressed by my Houdini antics in the garden as she was inside when I broke out of my cage! Sorry Mummy!
Bit Bratty Buddy
My naughtiness tracks back to yesterday but Mummy only admitted it to her Dad (who is even less impressed than her!) today. The hoomans have been enjoying the sunny weather and discussing where they would go on holiday this year. I do not like the hoomans going away. Even though I get the bestest love and care from our holiday hoomans I miss my Mummy a lot.
So you see my crime has the best of motivations!
They had maps and brochures everywhere so when I had my floor time I crept up to one and within seconds I managed to tear off most of the South Coast! Try going on holiday now hoomans! I mean, I am very sorry Mummy.
Whee know Mummy will forgive us but whee can’t help being a little naughty sometimes!
Yours, the currently in disgrace
Buddy & Basil
xxxxx
Buddy And The Better Blog Style?
Well firstly, what do you guys think of the new style to the blog? Whee had a few people say the old background flashed a little too much and hurt their eyes. Also, after losing Nibbles it was upsetting to have his bootiful fluffy faced portrait in our header so whee designed a new one! Whee hope you like it!
Now I thought you might like to see these pigtures of me. Whee have been stuck inside for so long with it being soo hot. Me and Basil have been waiting for it to cool down. (and tearing up all our bedding and chucking the hay out of the cage in protest about lack of grass access. Running on the carpet isn’t the same, it doesn’t taste as nice for starters!)
And it is finally cool enough for us to spend a little while outside!! Here is me enjoying some time in the garden today!
Please let us know what you think of the new style and be completely honest!
Have a Super Saturday!
Buddy
xxxx
EDIT – Trying a new header with pictures of us instead now, let us know what you think!
Your Face Looks Furmiliar . . . ?
So those of you who followed the blog back when I was a little baby (ok, it wasn’t that long ago but I am trying to sound grown up here!) may remember the below pigture on the left, however the one on the right isn’t me! Who is that impostor copying my cute-bag-nesting-style?!!
The new kid Nacho does look rather like me. Though not as cute, of course
Yours, the slightly insecure
Basil
xxxx
Quicky News
Well whee have been melting in this hot weather but whee have to pop back here to say:
Happy Blogaversary to Mollie & Alfie, don’t forget to pop over to theirs this Tuesday to enjoy a pawty to end all pawties!
The second little bit of news in case you didn’t know is our furfriend Nylablue hasn’t been feeling very well. Whee are sending healing huggles to her and cuddles of comfort to her hooman. Paws crossed she gets well soon.
Whee have a couple of interesting posts planned for this wheek if whee can gets the hoomans to do anything in this hot weather! Can’t get the cavy slaves these days!
Nutty, Nacho, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Basil Birthday Bonanza
Basil: *wakes up and then gives an excited squeak seeing the calender* Morning guys! Do you know what today is?!
Buddy: *yawns* No, why? Is something happening?
Nutty: *yawns louder* Nope.
Nacho: Extra treats day?!
Basil: Oh (Did they all forget my birthday? I guess I’ll just take a nap. Maybe the hoomans will remember it)
Later on . . .
Mummy: Morning, boys!
Basil: Wheeky wheek, morning Mummy!
Mummy: You look happy boys. I’ve got some things to do. Behave and I’ll chat to you later.
Basil: (They’ve forgotten too. Oh dear, my very first birthday and everyone’s forgotten *sigh*)
Later still . . .
Mummy: Baaaaaaasil?!
Basil: Wheek? Yes Mummy?
Everyone: SURPRISE!!!!!
Basil: Wow! You guys didn’t really forget! Thank you! Oooo some birthday cards from my furfriends, I’m so lucky!
Basil: Thank you efurryone. You sure know how to make a little man feel special! What’s this? A birthday cake?! Wowee. Thank you hoomans!
This is the best birthday ever! Thanks efurryone and enjoy the pawty. There’s cake suitable for all pets, veggies, green spaghetti grass and live music from the car stereo in the street . . . there are some very noisy builders next door today! Hehehe
Basil
xxxx
Wordless Wednesday – Safe From The Sun
It is too hot outside today so whee are staying indoors. My favourite spot is on the plastic hidey, which is cool and lovely to lie on!
Where’s your favourite place to relax when its sunny?
Nacho
xxxx
Too Hot To Handle!
Well whee are feeling hot hot hot here. Mummy complains every day that she might melt from the heat and has completely burnt her shoulders. Whee, on the otherhand, spend only short amounts of time in the garden first thing in the morning or very late at night, just before it gets dark.
I was getting so hot in my tent today that I decided to hide under it. It didn’t work, I was still too hot and didn’t get to cuddle up to my ice pad! Me and Buddy are particularly stroppy in this weather which is completely at odds with the domestic bliss between Nutty and Nacho!
Here are some pigtures of me hiding, I do look rather grumpy don’t I!
Are you enjoying the nice weather? Or are you hiding under you’re tent too!
Also, whee are looking for ideas of things to write about, more educational posts like our one about heat stroke. If you have any ideas of important topics whee could cover, please let us know!
Have a top notch Tuesday!
Basil
xxxx
ps. whee have to recommend that piggy owners in particular check out this post about the danger of having a broken water bottle over at BunnyZenMode so they can see the importance of regularly weighing their piggies and and making sure they are able to eat and drink. Piggies go down hill very fast, particularly in hot weather. The post proves that being attentive and knowing your piggies can save their lives
Hutch A Good Life 