heat cycle

Question
I'm getting a potbellied pig and i have to choose between a boy or a girl and i don't know if when the girl pigs are in heat if they bleed like dogs or if they're like cats and if they don't bleed so if you can be so kind to answer my question I'm getting it on Saturday (tomorrow)

Answer
All pet pigs, male or female, should be neutered or spayed.

Intact females don't bleed, but they do have heat cycles every three weeks. Heat can make an unspayed female moody or aggressive. A female in heat may "forget" her potty training. They may pick a person or pet as a "mate", and harass them constantly. Others become incredible escape artists and may roam for miles searching for love. Uterine cancer is a common cause of death in unspayed female pigs, having or not having babies has no effect on this.

All males grow tusks, but the tusks of an intact male grow much more quickly. They foam heavily at the mouth, and constantly hump anything and everything. Even during harness or trick training they can just stand and hump air. The biggest concern for most pet owners is Boar Odor. Boars have a pouch called the preputial diverticulm located by the penis in the center of the belly. This pouch collects all sorts of boy fluids, and creates a strong, permeating odor. Female pigs love the smell. People usually don't.

When spayed or neutered, there's little difference between males and females. Females are sometimes more vocal. Males may need a tusk trim once every few years.

There's a list of veterinarians that spay and neuter pot-belleid pigs at www.farec.org