Belka and Truffle turn one!

Truffle blowing out the candle

Belka and Truffle turn one this month! Of course, nobody knows their actual birthday, but our humans estimated that it is sometime in July. Belka and Truffle are sisters from the same litter. Judging by Truffle's size,  which is a lot smaller than Belka, whee guessed that she is the younger of the two. However, you certainly wouldn't be able to tell by her attitude - although she's the smallest, she makes up for it with her bite. Often, just a glare from her is enough to send the much larger Peaches and Belka running for cover. Or downstairs, whichever is closer. But whee digress.

Guinea Pig Playing Cards!

Peaches strikes a pose next to one of her playing cards

For today, whee are presenting our very own, special, personalized guinea pig playing cards featuring yours truly, the piggies of the Cali Cavy Collective!

Meet the Piggies: Revy

Name: Revy, short for Revy the Pirate. Also for her bubbly piggy vocalizations

Age: estimated 1 year

Weight: 1153 grams/ 2lbs, 8.7 oz

Description: black and white Abyssinian with a white eyepatch, white patches along her left side, and white-socked paws

Portrait of a Peruvian

Peaches here, presenting Morry, our herd's only boar, and only Peruvian! A Peruvian is one of those long-haired breeds, Morry's fur grows pretty quickly so our slaves need to give him trims regularly. Morry's fur parts in the middle straight down his back, and when left to its own devices, grows forward over his nose in front.

Revy's SuperWheek

A video featuring Revy's super loud wheek! The rest of us were quite startled the first few times she did this.. none of us had ever squealed so loudly before in our lives. We quickly learned that her earsplitting wheek is a good thing though because if anything, it makes our slaves move even faster to give all of us food.

DIY guinea pig toy: Hay 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 humans have extra cardboard tubes they make us hay-in-a-tube treats. They first got the idea from this useful list of ways to entertain your piggy.

Our playpen

Our play area

Today whee wanted to show you all our playpen! This is our play area outside of our regular cage. It's a 5 by 7 foot enclosure, with several protective layers of fleece and towels over a rug. Our humans fenced it off using some of the grids left over from our C&C cage, and put cardboard around the perimeter because certain piggies like to spray pee really far outside. Although whee secretly think Belka does so as revenge against the humans for creating such an escape proof enclosure.

Summer lawn fun

Here's an older video of Sharky, Coppy and Cinnamon relaxing outside in the grass on a warm summer day. Sharky and Coppy went scampering off into their favorite hiding spot in the bushes while Cinnamon continued to eat happily. Hmm, whee would like some grass right about now...

Revy, Up Close and Personal

It has officially been one week since our humans brought home our new roommate Revy! She's been settling in nicely and after an initial bout of shyness, has started establishing herself in her new home.

Abyssinians With Attitude

All three of our resident Abyssinians here at the Cali Cavy Collective have quite the personalities. They are all bossy, stubborn, and throw a fit if they don't get their own way. (Perhaps they watched one too many Burger King commercials and are convinced that they must have it their way?)

Water Bottle and Brick

Today whee will be explaining our water bottle setup! Our slaves put these objects they call bricks underneath all of our water bottles to absorb any leaks or drips. That way our bedding stays dry. Bricks also have the added benefit of helping us wear down our nails so trimming is easier - on our front paws at least. We even have the option of laying on them to cool down on warm days.

Our new roommate Revy!

Revy

Our humans had quite a surprise for us after they returned this weekend from their drive to southern California - a new roommate! Whee haven't met her yet, but they told us the new piggy's name is Revy, and that she is a talkative black and white Abyssinian named after a pirate, or the sound a car makes when you step hard on the pedal. The humans said they adopted her from our favorite rescue organization, Orange County Cavy Haven, where she was being cared for by her foster family.

Belka's Tips for Escaping and Exploring

My escaping butt

A few days ago, my fellow piggy adventurer Sherlock (wheek at him @chewing_my_foot) asked me for some tips on going adventuring outside his play area. He successfully managed to wiggle out beyond his fence, but sadly, was discovered by his human and quickly whisked back behind cage bars before he could grab a single souvenir. Since I, Belka, am a Houdini-pig-in-training, I shall share some of the tips and tricks I have learned from the more seasoned explorer Coppy with you!