General Cuddle Cup/Hidy/Tunnel/ Toy Ideas?

[Rayvn]

Well, Leonardo, my piggy, has almost completely grown out of his old hidies (I got them when he was three months old, and now he's nine months old), so he mostly just sits on top of them now. I'm thinking of giving his cage a makeover, so I was wondering if you guys have any links to cute cage toys/hidies? I'm mostly looking for hidies with two entrances because I'm getting him a friend soon, but all ideas are welcome! He's currently in a 2x6 grid C&C cage by himself, so there's plenty of room to decorate.

PS.

I was wondering how you guys manage to give your piggies so much variety in their veggies and not have any of it go to waste? I'm giving Leo three different kinds of lettuce daily (red leaf, green leaf, romaine), with other veggies rotating, but the staple is zucchini, green bell pepper, cilantro, and yellow bell pepper. I have to eat like six bowls of sallad every week so that none of it goes to waste.

 

[tatertot101]

I've tried this cozy, and it's really great!
Here's the link:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...ke-cuddle-cup-requires-sewing.html#post209007

 

[Holly&Fred]

Here's a link to my shop listing on Guinea Pig Zone. I make lots of guinea pig "toys" -- tunnels, fleece corner forests, and cozy sacks for cuddling and hiding. Penny Gig Designs

My veggie staples are green leaf lettuce, cilantro, and green bell pepper. Those are what the piggies get every meal, every day. Then I take parsley, basil, and other types of lettuce from my garden every week. Outside of that I just give them whatever's in season that I have around the house. There are usually carrots and other types of bell peppers around for them, but most of the variety just comes from random celery, fruits, zucchini, and so on that we buy for our meals and share with the pigs.

 

[Holly&Fred]

Holly........I too make all my own items, but don't sell them. You have some cute color combinations! Do you use a heavy interface in the tunnels or near the opening in the cozy sack to reinforce it and keep it open? It's a little stiff in the beginning, but seems to soften with subsequent washings. Otherwise, my boy just plops himself on top of it.

With regard to cuddle cups......do you overstuff them? I have been just using good batting, but I find that without some weight to it, Chester manages to rest his front feet and chin on the side (from the outside), and I find him wearing it like a hat! Looking for a solution that will still wash and dry well.

I actually haven't made cuddle cups yet -- I just haven't found a design I like, yet, for it. Mine love it when I flip their cuddle cup upside down and let them hide under it! As for my tunnels and things, I just roll a cuff. It's a LOT of layers of fleece and has really destroyed my sewing machine, but they come out really stiff around the edges. My piggies like to sleep on top of them, too, but even after they trample their toys, the openings usually stay well enough open that they come back by later and open them up on their own. If you really want something that is going to stay open forever and not allow for any piggy trampling, sew a ring of boning inside the cuffs. But be careful to make sure it's completely secure and covered so it doesn't hurt any pigs.

 

[Holly&Fred]

I don't hand sew anything on my tunnels. It's just a double row of topstitching over a cuff that's been rolled twice to hide the unfinished edge. It's murder on a home sewing machine. If you don't have a commercial one, I really don't recommend it. I have ruined the timing, the tension, and the stitch selection mechanism on my home machine, as well as broken a dozen needles, making these tunnels. All those layers of fleece are what keep them rigid though, so I keep on doing it.

Shearling fur works great for the inside of cuddle cups. It has a small enough pile that the pigs don't get it nasty, and it's usually fine in the wash.