Pot-bellied pig slowing down

Question

Babe   Hi, I have a pot bellied pig who is just over a year old now (if what the breeder told me when I got him was true). He has always been very curious and loves doing tricks and spending his days outside. I've always had trouble trying to calm him down and he never seemed to lie down and go to sleep until he was in someone's lap or in front of a fireplace. Over the past couple of weeks he has started laying down on the floor all over the house, he usually only lies down for 10 or 20 minutes, but even so this is very out of the ordinary for him. I was wondering if this is normal for a pig to slow down as they age, or if I should be worried. It is also becoming summer weather and I'm not sure if his lethargy is due to the heat. I was also wondering if it might be a sort of depression, we had a 17 year old dog who sadly had to be put to sleep around the same time I started to notice him slowing down. Him and my dog weren't very friendly with each other, but he did seem to love to go up to her face and talk (he often sounded like a chicken clucking, and only ever did this noise to her#.
I was also wondering if you have any tips for his black fly bites, he loves spending evenings outside grazing, but his poor belly and armpits are covered in bites and he can't stop itching them. Is it okay to use bug spray on him to keep the bugs away?
Lastly I was wondering your opinion on his weight, I have no prior experience with pigs, so I don't have any clue on whether he is under or over weight. He is approximately 50 pounds. #I hope the picture I am attaching works)
Thanks so much in advance, I really appreciate all the helpful answers I find on here to help keep my Babe happy and healthy.

Answer
You can use any skin product made for people on pigs, including bug repellent and ointments to relieve the itch from bug bites. Pigs usually do not like cold things applied to their skin, it helps to drop the bottle of repellent or ointment into a bowl of hot water for a few moments before putting it on the pig.

Pigs do slow down as they age. Many pigs are little more than couch potatoes by the time they are 4 or 5 years old. Naturally, this is not a healthy lifestyle for a pig.

Your pig may have bonded with your dog a lot more than you realized. Pigs form very close bonds and do go into depression. Heat could also be a factor. Young piglets need a warm environment, older pigs are prone to overheating. If your weather has been cold then suddenly turned hot, it may take him a few days to adjust to the heat. If he spends most of his time inside in air conditioning, he will adapt to the indoor temperature, and the outdoor temperature may be uncomfortable or even dangerous for him.

Another cause of lethargy, especially in house pigs, is overeating. Look around to make sure he is not sneaking food in some way. My husband used to leave a box of crackers on the coffee table at night. Our pig learned to get up in the middle of the night, get the box off the table, eat the crackers and push the empty box behind the couch where it was hidden.

50 lb is in the average range for a 1 year old pig. Your piggy looks good right now but is at the upper end of the "ok" range. He should be getting a little over 1 & 1/2 cups of pig pellets per day, plus veggies, grazing time and training treats.