They're not supposed to be this big in captivity, but their penchant for food makes it rather difficult to control their weight...I read that it was something like 90% of pet pigs are overweight, even when fed proper portions, because they are smart enough to find their own food and gobble it down!
October 16, 2009
Anonymous said...
My husband's parents have 2 pot belly pigs. The first one they got was as big as that, but has since slimmed up some. The other they got from a friend who couldn't take her pet w/ her when she moved. That one was never as big as the other.
October 20, 2009
Anonymous said...
That pig is grossly overweight. It will die years before it should.
That pig is still very young, and it is overweight for it's size. However, contrary to the falsities perpetrated by backyard breeders, healthy pot-bellied pigs should be 100-250 lbs. at full maturity, and about the size/girth of a large breed dog (such as a labrador). Pigs take about 5 years to reach full maturity, but are able to breed and produce litters at just a few months of age.
March 03, 2011
Are Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs really supposed to get this big in captivity? This one is housed at the Granby Zoo in Quebec, Canada, so I assume it's being properly cared for. Maybe I assume too much...
I once had a friend (I know, hard to believe), who owned a pot-bellied pig. The pig, who was by then full-grown, had free run of their several acres. One day my friend's mom was backing up in the mini-van. She didn't think to look behind her, and so was quite surprised when her van heaved and bounced over something in the driveway. When she came to a halt, she looked over her steering wheel to see that she had run over the pig. The pig, for his part, got to his feet (he had been sunning himself in the early morning sunlight), grunted at the van in indignation, and walked up to the porch where he resumed his nap.
6 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formWell...I've heard that the camera does add 15 pounds, but this is ridiculous!!!
October 09, 2009
I think this might be a candidate for gastric bypass! Though it is rather cute.
October 14, 2009
They're not supposed to be this big in captivity, but their penchant for food makes it rather difficult to control their weight...I read that it was something like 90% of pet pigs are overweight, even when fed proper portions, because they are smart enough to find their own food and gobble it down!
October 16, 2009
My husband's parents have 2 pot belly pigs. The first one they got was as big as that, but has since slimmed up some. The other they got from a friend who couldn't take her pet w/ her when she moved. That one was never as big as the other.
October 20, 2009
That pig is grossly overweight. It will die years before it should.
October 29, 2009
That pig is still very young, and it is overweight for it's size. However, contrary to the falsities perpetrated by backyard breeders, healthy pot-bellied pigs should be 100-250 lbs. at full maturity, and about the size/girth of a large breed dog (such as a labrador). Pigs take about 5 years to reach full maturity, but are able to breed and produce litters at just a few months of age.
March 03, 2011