Life on the Balcony

We've been watching you garden-dwelling pigs for years now. And we've been jealous. But now we have the balcony. Okay, not exactly the balcony since mom thinks that's too high (and hot). But today the balcony was brought to us during play time. And we loved it!

Hurray! It's food and a tunnel

(Coco) Nomnomnom

(Bo) Hey, this helps

(Bo) Coco! Move your big butt!

Sabotage

(Coco) Victory!

(Bo) Mine.

(Sjeuf) Hey girl

And while our gentleman finally gets to eat, the girls sleep..

Introducing Bugzy and Links

Bugzy

Links

We received these very cute pigtures this morning. Bugzy and Links, welcome to our blog and thank you for contributing such lovely pigtures! We hope you don't mind that we edited this post a bit. We'd like to know more about you guys (Bugzy looks like Bo's long lost brother). So if you have any more information, feel free to put it in the comments below. We'll tranfer that into this text.

Revenge of the Guinea Pigs

We did a slightly different type of photo shoot. Instead of looking as adorable as possible, we got into the characters of villains (undercover agents come with evil guys, right?) And what would be more appropriate than taking it out on the humans?

We want 24/7 access to the fridge!

Accessorize this!

Lab rat?

  

P.s. No guinea pigs or humans were harmed during this photo shoot. The pig in the fridge is a stuffed toy ;-)

Friday Video: Pinky and the Brain

We're so sorry that we've forgot to post a friday video yesterday! So to make it up to you, we're posting one of our favorite cartoons this wheek



Hope you're already having a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: Bunny Mission Impossible

We're sticking with the buns this wheek. Apparently they are secret agents too..


Have a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: the Binki Returns

No, we haven't forgotten about Friday Video, we just liked the fourth of July pigtures so much that we gave then some extra time in the spotlight. But, for your viewing pleasure, here come the rabbits!
To make up for our untimely behavior, we're also posting a video with 2 humans that channel the awsome happiness that makes us popcorn. We especially like the enthousiasm in the male human (and we're laughing like the female human) Have a nice Wheekend!

Happy Fourth of July

Agent Yougie (Gruden von Squeakycheeks) and Agent Cannonball (Benito) are celebrating Independence Day in the USA!

Friday Video: I'm not a Gerbil

A classic today from the infamous Bing. We've all been there, haven't we?



Have a nice wheekend!

Calendar Piggies: June 2013

Just before the month ends, the calendar piggies from June would like to say hello.

Bo, Sjeuf and Coco

(Coco) welcome to our crib! We are the Winky Team, and this is where I welcome our guests and place our orders for our waitress.

Three carrots to go please!

Our cage was bought a few years ago, and it's 140cm x 70cm (55 inches x 27 inches). We've actually bought this online since our staff cannot be bothered to make one for us (humpf). But as you can see, it is quite big and rather sturdy. When we moved from Haarlem to Amsterdam, the movers actually named it the Jacuzzi, and our slave (who is tall and squishy) can easily fit into it. Not that we like it when she does. But never mind. To your left, miss Bo Peep is taking a nap. We do most of our home decorating ourselves. We're actually kinda proud of the nest that we've built.

Bo

Sjeuf is also sleeping in our 2 door bedroom. It was built by grandma's boyfriend and has been a favorite ever since. I'll wake Sjeuf so that he can show you around the kitchen.

Sleepy Sjeuf

(Sjeuf) welcome viewers of Undercover GP. I know everybody says this, but the kitchen is where the magic happens!! Today we're having a salad of herbs. Very nommy if I may say so. Our staff grows this stuff fresh on the balcony. Yes, we are living the good life here in Amsterdam ;-)

Sjeuf having lunch

We always have a stash of pellets ready for a midnight snack (or midday.. or morning..). Today, we've made the cage extra fancy and placed 2 extra pellet bowls in the cage; one for each guinea. Although the setup of our cage varies weekly, you can see that we also have some bricks in the cage for wearing down our nails. We actually prefer this bit of high tech furniture to our pedicure lady, but you didn't hear that from me *wink wink*.

Our cage

You can also see our play pen in the distance. We play on a nice green blanket, surrounded by a big pet run. Well.. we hope you've enjoyed the Winky Team mansion. Thank you for stopping by, but we have very important business to take care off. So off with ye. Bye!!!

Nomnomnom.. very important.. nomnom

Friday Video: Guinea Pig Armor

This was all over the internet this wheek.  If you haven't seen it, here's your chance


Have a nice Wheekend!

PLAY: Cool Summer

Out of the archives, Igor's PLAY research report on how to enjoy a cool summer. We did update the link list because most links in the old post were gone or outdated

Igor, studying hard

(Igor) This wheek I want to explain to you how you can get the most out of the cold object that your slave has placed in your cage because the weather is too hot. I actually don't have any experience with these since my current home has been very agreeable thus far. But I wouldn't be a professor if I couldn't supply you with useful information. So, I have interviewed Suus and Yaya and I've also conducted an in-dept analysis of the photo archives. And last but not least, my lovely assistant Lonneke has reviewed the extensive literature study concerning cavies and summer that is already online. We've included a literature list at the end of this report for your convenience.

What is it?:

Concept: a cold object in your cage, preferably when it's warmer then 30 degrees (Celsius = 86 degrees Fahrenheit). You can lie against this object in different kinds of ways to make your life a bit more comfurtable.

Material: in our home we use plastic soda bottles filled with water. These come from the freezer and to make sure our paws and tongues do not stick to it, there is a towel wrapped around them. Instead of the freezer, you can also use the fridge. This is less dangerous, but it stays cold for a shorter period of time.

Variations: besides the bottles there are also other options available (see the literature list for more information). Some slaves put bricks or clay tiles in the fridge, others use ice substitutes with cooling fluid, other use beerbottles or beer/soda cans (from the fridge!! Do not put beerbottles or cans in the freezer).

Dangerous?: Keep in mind that guinea pigs always test for ediblility. Especially ice packs with a cooling gel can be dangerous. If you use a soda bottle filled with water, make sure it not too full because water expands slightly when it's frozen, and this can damage the bottle (and you won't notice until the ice has melted). The use of a sleeve or towel is recommended. It’s comfortable and keeps us from contracting frostnip. If you do not want to use a towel or sleeve, wait a little while to make sure the bottle is no longer sticky due to the cold.

Application: During the interviews and going through the photos archives I was able to abstract the following positions:

1. Going the Distance. You don’t have to lie on or against the cold object. Just the presence of a cold object in a cage will lower the temperature by a few degrees. Suus suggested that it would be a good idea if I'd wave some cool air in her direction with a fan. Tsssskk.. little princess..
2. The Cool Cashew. Wonderfully demonstrated on the pigture by Robbie. Yes, fellow guinea pigs, you have to admit, the cashew position is the best position if you want to get comfy, right? Robbie shows how you can combine this optimally with a cold object.
   
   
   
3. The Belly Flop. Auntie Guiny demonstrates how to stand against the bottle with her belly. Suus assured me that according to auntie Guiny this was very comfortable and refreshing. Whatever it was, it was also very effective against auntie Guiny’s sloshing armpits.. 
4. The Standard Pose. In other words, just lying next to the object. In the pigture you can see Jan the boar doing an attempt to drape his chin flaps over the bottle as sexy as piggidly possible. Yaya on the other paw, is positioned full-lenght next to the object. According to Yaya, this is the optimal position for enjoying your cold object, it takes very little effort (in comparison to the belly flop) and the body-bottle contact zone is maximized. 
5.  The Pancake. Ideal when you get a (hot) water bag filled with ice cubes or a tile from the freezer. You just climb on and spread out.. 

DIY-factor?: Almost every slave has an empty bottle somewhere. And I don’t think they have a shortage in towels (at least not when I have to take a bath :-S). So this should be easy to make. If you're going with the tiles, just drop by a hardware store and buy a few. It shouldn't be very expensive and the advantage of the tiles is that you can fit more of them into a fridge of freezer. The bottles keep cold longer.

Target audience?
For every cavy that lives in a space that can heat up to over 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Overheating is very dangerous for us, so I'd really recommend that your staff looks into this.

Literature list
Keep guinea pigs cool and comfortable in summer heat - Guinea Pig Today (June 8, 2012)
Heate-Stroke in Guinea Pigs - Peter Gurney
How to keep your guinea pigs cool in the summer - Happy Cavy Blog
In the heat of the moment - Guinea Pig Welfare

Friday Video: another Bond Video

Hurray! We've found another Guinea Pig Bond video! Enjoy!



Have a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: the Chicken or the Egg

What came first, the chicken or the egg?


Have a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: Somebody's Watching Me

Hmm.. this sounds all too familiar..



Have a nice wheekend!

Piggy Carriers

Our local animal rescue has started selling cardboard carriers for people to take home their adopted pets. Here is a photo of one. You can see a pigture of a piggy on the side so one would assume that piggies could be put inside.

Here is a pigture of me. Agent Big Red, sitting next to the carrier. How am I going to get inside?

Here's how! Whoops! Too small.

 Our Slave brought home a Vivid Arts model pig in a box the same size as this carrier.

Her box had better airholes in it too.

We don't think much of this box and think that the people who made it should not have put a piggy on the side. Here is a better use for that little box. A nice hidey for a model piggy.

We don't think cardboard boxes are very suitable for piggies. Agents Curly and Wizard were brought here in this one.

That size box is the right size for one of our mousefriends, although she could have gnawed her way through it on her way home from the rescue. Slave always takes a plastic carrier when she collects mice. This is our mousefriend Lady Grey.

This is one of our carriers. Slave has several for when we need to travel. Much safer for piggies. Thank you for reading this. Agent Big Red.

Agent Zeppelin reveals all

We've travelled to the south of the Netherlands for an exclusive photo shoot with Agent Zeppelin. We've told you that Jimmy is an extremely handsome boar. But we admit, it is kinda hard to see with all that hair..

So here he is *drumroll*



As you can see, he has a very cute nose

 

He also has a very cute cagemate; the lovely Pepper (who won't sit still, so that is why her staff is standing by in the back of the pigture)

Friday Video: Jumping for Parsley

As promised, a video with guinea pigs (and parsley!). Enjoy!



Have a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: Perfect Balance

Today a video that is very different from what you've come to expect from us. We promise we'll put up a piggy video next week. But for the agents amoung you, this human and her balancing skills are a real inspiration. Make sure you watch it until the end!


Have a nice Wheekend!

Calendar piggy: May 2013

This months Calendar piggy is the lovely Clover. Here you can see her spring pigture that is in this month of the Undercover Guinea Pigs Calendar 2013. Clover tells her story below...

----

Hello everyone,
my name is Clover, aka. Agent Dahlia. My real name comes from the fact that I was born on St. Patrick's Day. My secret agent name comes from the fact that I like to pose for pigtures by flowers, as you can tell from my calendar pigture; especially dahlias. I am a 2 year old Sheltie and I live with my mom Flower, and my Abyssinian friends, a mother and daughter, Nutmeg and Cinnamon. You can see a pigture of my mom and I here.

I have a not-so-secret admirer next door, Barney, who always looks at me longingly. He tries to chew through the bars of his cage so we can be together, but it hasn't worked so far. I am very special pig to my human, because my dad died unexpectedly 2 weeks before I was born, and my brother died when he was only 1 year old. To my human's surprise, I look almost identical to my dad! My favorite things to eat are parsley and cucumber and I really enjoy grazing outside and running up the stairs. I turned 2 years old in March and had a party for my birthday with my favorite foods. Here is a pigture of me in my party hat.

Thanks for reading about me!

Sincerely,
Clover aka. Agent Dahlia

Friday Video: Jamie

This week a little pig who couldn't be happier with his bed. Hat tip to the Cali Piggies for the link



Have a nice Wheekend!

Food from the balcony

We are currently enjoying the balkony very much. We have gotten seeds from the Guiny girlz and our waitress has planted them in a pot.

Since she has sown too much of them, she picks a little every day and we get to eat it!

The waitress rinsing off the dirt

Yum! We loooove these!

The balcony where our waitress likes to bask in the sun like a big pink lizard when she is not busy bringing us food. She is also growing strawberries and a variety of herbs so we are looking forward to the summer.

Friday Video: the Desert Rain Frog

For an animal without fur, this desert rain frog is pretty cute. Or to be more precise; sounds extremely cute



Have a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: Guinea Pig Washing

So humans, are you paying attention? THIS is how you take a bath


Have a nice Wheekend!

We meet a VIP

It was a very special day at Piggyfriends yesterday as we had a visit from a VIP piggy person. It was the famous Ann Evans from the GPDD. She spent Tuesday visiting our Rodentologists and on Wednesday she came to see us. We were very honoured to meet such a important guest. Ann was so very nice and picked us all up for a cuddle. She agreed to have her photo taken for the blog and I was chosen to be in the pigture as I am the biggest ( although most of me is my curly coat ) and would show up better than the smaller Piggyfriends.

Ann brought Slave a bottle of wine and some yummy chocolate from her trip to France and we were able to give her a bottle of Vet Sect Repel shampoo for her piggies back home in Piggyville, Florida. She can't buy this wonderful shampoo in the US.

Ann and her husband went out for breakfast and dinner with Slave and her family but, for some reason, piggies are not allowed in restaurants so we had to stay home. We had a lovely day and wish that she did not live so very far away.

Agent Curly

Friday Video: Pumkin does Guinea Pig Tricks

This week the lovely and clever Pumkin. Enjoy!


Have a nice Wheekend!

Woopy turned 5 today!

Today, 16 April our girl Agent lil'Woop turned 5 years old!

In an attempt to actually film a sleeping Daisy (the one with grey and white head), Woopy shows us how agile she still is, putting her backleg up in the air.
Lily is munching hay and pellets on the right, Roos is mostly out of view...



Slave also did an earlier attempt to film the sleeping Daisy, but Roos barges in...



Happy birthday Agent Lil'Woop!
Even with her age, she is still the boss over the other girls Lily, Daisy and Roos.

Carrot beers or juice all around...

Calendar piggy: April 2013

This months calendar piggy is Agent Magician also known as Poof. She will be sharing her story with us. She frequently features on one of our favorite blogs: the CaliCaviCollective (see link below)

She has a lovely Bond girl pigture in the Calendar.

-----

Agent Magician aka Poof, reporting in: 

A big wheeking hello to everyone and everypig! 

My story begins when as a baby cavy, I was abandoned in a cardboard box on the side of a freeway. A kindly human found me before it was too late and brought me to a local rescue. Although I was thankful to have food and a cage to stay in, I was very shy and nervous around people. I lived there for several months before my humans stopped by for a rescue event.

Poof at the Rescue

Slave was working her way down the row of cages, saying hello to and feeding all the other rescue pigs before she came to my cage - the very last one in the row. Even though she wasn't looking to adopt, she couldn't leave me there after holding me and hearing my story. I went with her to my forever home that very same day. 

After a mildly bumpy introduction process I settled down with Agents Acorn, Godiva, and Mango (Belka, Truffle, and Peaches). To my humans' amusement, I rule over my cagemates with an iron paw - no one is welcome to share MY pigloo when I am occupying it - but am very sweet towards my slaves during cuddle time. 

Poof with Peaches, Truffle and Belka

Things that make me a happy peeg include eating herbs, grazing grass, and napping on soft cozies. Things that make me an unhappy peeg include bubble baths, having my authority challenged by my new neighbor Abby-Roo, and visiting the vet. I am currently in a relationship with a handsome boar named Winks who lives in the UK. 

In addition to my regular job as full time pig, I moonlight as a piggy model/food critic on the Cali Cavy Collective guinea pig blog (along with the rest of my herd). Since my responsibilities consist of eating food, providing an opinion on said food, and looking cute, I can't complain!  

Best wishes and much food to all,

Agent Magician

Friday Video: James Bond

We would like to applaud the makers of this video for their clever use of a tube



Have a nice Wheekend!

Friday Video: Car wash

The pigs from the Happy Cavy blog wrote an excellent post on how to clean your guinea pigs ears. And they posted a video to go with it (with a soundtrack!!!). Go there. Check it out. Do not just watch the video here, the whole blogpost is awsome.

Have a nice Wheekend!

p.s. as an extra giggle for the wheekend; check out this pigture we found on the facebook page of Gorgeous Guineas