Have you ever wondered what your pets do when you’re not home?

Portland resident Brian Balla did, so when the web designer had to take a sudden trip to the East Coast in 2009, he set up four live webcams so he could keep an eye on his cavies.

Fortunately for thousands of guinea pig fans, he never turned the cameras off.

Balla had adopted the animals only shortly before the trip, and he wanted to make sure they were being well-cared for while he was away. And, let’s face it, he was curious.

“It’s the pet owner’s conundrum,” he says. “They think their pets have these crazy, insane parties you’re not invited to. That, unfortunately, was not the case.”

Now the world can watch the adventures of Hammy, Feebee, Buttercup, and Dot on a 24-7 live guinea pig webcam (the world's only, according to Balla) on HappyCavy.com.

You can watch Hammy and Buttercup during any time of the day or night at HappyCavy.com.

The webcams have drawn more than 3 million views, nearly 2,000 Facebook fans and more than 600 Twitter followers.

Balla hopes the site will provide entertainment as well as education for prospective owners or cavy connoisseurs alike.

He receives about 30 to 40 e-mails each day from people with questions about guinea pigs and addresses the most common ones in a column entitled "Ask Hammy."

HappyCavy.com features a column addressing common guinea pig health, diet and care issues.

Balla is still happily bewildered by the site’s popularity.

“I thought would be cool to show people what guinea pigs look like,” he says. “I never thought people would continue following and checking in every day.”

For more guinea pig viewing, check out the HappyCavy YouTube channel.

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