health of new pig

Question
We just got a new pig yesterday at Pet Smart. I know your team does not recommend pet stores for purchase, but I know of no breeders in the area. We selected a small male pig who was approx. 3 months old. He was very calm when handling and the lady at the store said he had been sleeping. She listened for resperatory problems and checked him out ok. Now 1 day later, I have not seen him eat or drink anything and he just sits under his igloo. We have tried to hand feed him or give him water but he will not take it. He moves around a little bit when handling but appears much calmer than others I have known. I have heard at least twice when handling a short quick almost "breath-like" or jump in his tummy. This concerns me. Could this be respiratory problems or something that only young pigs do? Why is he hiding and not eating?

Pet Smart "said" we have 14 days for refund or exchange and if he appeared sick to have their vet look at it. What is your opinion of Pet-Smart's vet? I know of no exotic vet around here and my current vet does not know much about pigs.

Please advise and answer all questions above. Thanks.

Answer
I am not a big fan of PetsMart just for this reason, I have been in my local store many times and have seen sick pigs or ones with mites, and of course they are suppose to be vet checked, but the chain has to make money some how so any animals just stay there. I like Petco's guinea pigs much better, I currently have 2 rescues from Petco and a long hair breeder and I have never had any problem with their pigs. He does most likely have a respiratory problem, the person you talked to was probably just trying to sell you the pig. I would however take out the igloo at least for a couple of hours and see if he gets up to eat and drink then, sometimes when pigs have an igloo all they want to do is sit in it and not come out. Most babies should run around, squeel and eat and drink while they are out and in their cage. Many times pigs will not show any obvious breathing difficulties with upper respiratory infections until it is too late, just one day you'll find a pig in the corner with eye and nose drainage almost dead. I would definately return the pig to PetsMart as soon as possible, I'm not sure how their exchange works, I only know Petco's and Pet Supplies Plus, but I am sure that they can not refuse to take him back, the sad thing about it though is that they will probably just place him back with all of the other pigs and get them sick. You could try to increase his vitamins with guinea pig vitamins in a syringe mixed with unflavored Pedialyte, then squirt it in his mouth. You could also give him 1/4 tsp Robutussin cough syrup once a day, and a dab of Vicks Vapor Rub on his nose. Other than that most pigs with URI's need antibiotics, usually sulfur based. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Brittany