What You Need to Know About Owning a Potbellied Pig

Before You Buy

Usually, when people think of pets, they think of cats or dogs. After all, books and movies are littered with stories about these kinds of pets. All you have to do is remember titles such as Old Yeller, Where The Red Fern Grows, or the books by Rita Mae Brown featuring cats that help solve mysteries to see that dogs and cats are popular as pets. However, recently, there is a new type of pet that some families are considering, and that is the potbellied pig.

Many families are choosing the potbellied pig over other pets because of their keen intelligence and dynamic personalities. But whether it is for these reasons, or because they saw a cute little piglet and decided they just had to have one, lots of people are taking potbellied pigs to heart and taking them home with them.

One problem with just up and adopting a potbellied pig is that most families don't realize that while potbellied pigs are cute when they're babies, they don't stay cute. One minute they are holding a cute little baby piglet and before they know it, they are looking at a short legged pig with drooping jowls and stiff hair. Suddenly their pet isn't so cute anymore. This can come as quite a shock to many families if they've never had a potbellied pig before.

Another problem that comes up when families bring a potbellied pig home for the first time is that they don't realize that their pet is not going to stay miniature sized. While potbellied pigs are considerably smaller than their barnyard relatives, families need to know that they are not going to stay small forever, potbellied pigs can weigh up to 125 pounds when fully grown.

Another thing that new owners of a potbellied pig may not realize is that that keen intelligence they are known for can become a problem if they are not properly mentally stimulated. In other words if the pig is bored, the pig can become destructive doing things like overturning smaller pieces of furniture and even wrecking property. So, unless a family is willing to take the time and energy needed to keep their potbellied pig properly mentally stimulated, they should probably pick another pet.