Care of Miniature Pot Belly Pigs

Set up a space for the miniature pot belly pig in your home. A miniature pot belly pig needs a sleeping area (preferably a dog bed, but cushions and blankets can also be used), a litter box (if you have a piglet that isn't fully potty trained), and food and water bowls. The litter box should be on the opposite side of the space from the sleeping and feeding area, as pigs don't like to make a mess where they sleep and eat.

Feed your pet a healthy diet consisting of feed specially formulated for pot belly pigs and fresh fruits and vegetables. Some owners choose a diet composed entirely of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins.

Any of the following vegetables can be used to supplement your pig's diet or as the basis of a feed-free diet: alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, radishes, squash, sweet potatoes (feed sparingly), turnips and zucchini.

Only one serving of fruit should be fed per day (fruit is high in sugar). Cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon are best.

If you're not feeding your pet specially formulated pot belly pig feed, include grains such as bran flakes and wheat germ, and proteins such as beans, nuts, soy, soy milk and tofu (10% of your pig's diet should be protein).

Female miniature pot belly pigs (sows) should be fed 2 percent to 2.5 percent of their body weight per day; males (boars) should be fed 2 percent to 3 percent of their body weight per day. This usually equals about a cup of feed per day.

Ensure that your miniature pot belly pig gets enough water. Besides keeping a bowl of clean water available, add 1 to 2 cups of water or a mixture of water and juice to every 1/3 to 1/2 cup of feed or grains.

Keep your pig's hooves trimmed. Regularly walking on concrete surfaces will help keep its hooves an appropriate length, but the hooves likely will still need trimming. You can trim your pig's hooves yourself using a hoof trimmer or a nail file, or you can take your pig to a veterinarian who has experience with miniature pot belly pigs.

Should you decide to trim your pig's hooves yourself, be patient, know how far you can trim the hoof back (hooves have blood vessels and nerve endings similar to our cuticles) and slowly desensitize your pig to having its hooves handled and trimmed, which makes hoof-trimming easier and safer. It's always best to start when your pig is young, but teaching a pig to allow its hooves to be trimmed can be done at any age.

Keep your pig's tusks trimmed, too. Overgrown tusks can injure people, other pets, or the pig itself, get caught on fencing or furniture, or curve into the cheek or mouth and puncture the skin. Tusks can be trimmed with a special dental tool, or blunted with a file. You will most likely need to restrain your pig to trim its tusks, and you'll need to ensure that the tusk doesn't go down your pig's throat when it's cut off. You can also take your pig to a veterinarian who has experience with miniature pot belly pigs.

Decide if you're going to spay or neuter your miniature pot belly pig. If you're not going to breed your pig, it's highly recommended that you spay or neuter. Spaying female pigs, best done between 6 and 12 weeks of age, greatly reduces tumors and other reproductive problems common in female pigs. Neutering male pigs, which reach maturity between 6 and 10 weeks of age, reduces aggressive behavior and the undesirable smell male pigs emit.

Take your pig to a veterinarian who has experience with miniature pot belly pigs for a general exam once a year to make sure your pig is in good health.