Potbellied pigs

Question
I am thinking of getting a potbellied pig, but I have a few questions. First, are the males or females smaller? Does the sex have anything to do with their temperament? I know I will have to get it fixed, how much does that run? I've heard if you get it fixed earlier, it will stay smaller, and protect it from health problems. Is that true? I've heard they are good with other animals, and don't like to be alone as well, which is good because I have a dog. If there if any information you could add onto my questions it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
You are smart to ask questions and do research before adopting a new pet!

Pigs do get along with other animals, particularly cats, birds, and tortoises. Unfortunately, dogs can be a different matter.

Dogs, all dogs, are meat eating predators. Pigs are prey. Dogs and pigs simply do not "speak the same language". Body signals are misinterpreted, pigs get pushy, and far too often something goes wrong. The pig moves or acts in a way that triggers a dogs hunting instinct, or sometimes the pig antagonizes the dog to the point where the dog fights back. In either case, the pig is always going to loose.

How well a dog and pig get along depends mostly on the dog and somewhat on the pig. In most cases, the pig and dog can learn to get along together with human supervision.

Spaying and neutering, or fixing, does prevent health problems. Unspayed females can develop massive (35 lbs and bigger) uterine tumors. Intact males are not good pets, because they are completely hormone driven. They hump constantly, and foam at the mouth. They are very energetic and less attentive, which makes it harder for them to concentrate on training. They secrete an odor that female pigs adore, but most humans find very unpleasant.

Fixing will not keep a pig smaller. It will delay and reduce some of the male characteristics. For example an intact male will have a nice set of tusks long enough to protrude beyond the lip by 9 months of age, but a male neutered young will be 2 or even 3 before his tusks are that long. Intact males develop thick "armor" skin on their shoulders to protect them in disputes over territory and hierarchy, but neutered males may never develop the thick armor.

The cost of veterinary care varies wildly from place to place. Veterinarians have to pay rent, heat, assistance salaries, etc. In places where costs in general are high, such are large cities and the coasts, vet costs are higher. In rural areas, vet costs are often much lower. There's a list of veterinarians that see pot-bellied pigs at www.farec.org. I suggest contacting the vets closest to you and ask about cost. If all the vets are quite distant, they may be able to recommend someone closer to you. Many veterinarian schools also provide care, but costs are not necessarily much lower.

Pigs are unique individuals, each one has a unique personality. The parents personalities and the piglets early socialization can make a big difference in personality, but sex makes a minimal difference, if any, in fixed pigs. Females tend to be chatterboxes, and are often the "top hog" when there's two or more pigs together.

Sex has nothing to do with ultimate adult size. The key factor there is the size of the parents at age 4 or 5. Male pigs can impregnate female pigs when they are just 8 weeks old. A six month old female pig can have piglets. But pigs this young are still babies themselves with a lot of growing to do. Pigs grow fairly quickly until age 2, then more slowly until 4, 5 or even 6.

The best sites for pet pig information are

www.teacuppig.info
www.farec.org look under "education"
www.pigs4ever.com
www.pigplacementnetwork.com there's also a database of pigs and piglets available for adoption

For books, I recommend
Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine
Pot-Bellied Pigs, Mini Pig Care and Training by Lorrie Blackburn/Boldrick

For dvds, see www.tophogs.com