The challenges of a housepig
Overall, Charlotte has been a great pet so far. For those of you who don't know, Charlotte is a stray pig I found one night while out running. I never would have considered owning a pig as a pet, but I actually think she has been less trouble than the other pets I have had. She doesn't mark her territory, is clean, doesn’t shed, and is funny. She goes to sleep as soon as I turn the lights out. She interacts with us, follows us around the house, and begs for food. She takes off running if I suddenly cough, and gets excited about corn and watermelon. I can leave her alone during the day. She has a funny personality and is generally pleasant. However, having a housepig isn’t always easy. Many of you have made comments like “I kinda want a pig now!” I’m sure most of the people who say this have no real intention of running out and obtaining a pig, but just in case someone is, here are some of the hassles of pig ownership.
Having a pig indoors is about like having a second two-year old. Unlike a human two year old, who grows out of the “terrible twos” within a few years, a pig will remain this way for their entire life span- 20 to 25 years. That's a long time to keep anything! If you never want to explain a dead pet to your kids, a pig is the choice for you. Between their incredibly long life span and the fact that pigs are hard to re-home, once you get a pig you are pretty much stuck with it following you from room to room for the next quarter-century. Unless I decide to re-home Charlotte, I'll be hearing the click-click of little pig feet until T is old enough to legally patronize bars and rent a car. That's a scary thought!
Some of the wonderful things Charlotte can do:
-Open cabinet doors that don’t have latches
-Eat books and paper
-Chew shoes, Styrofoam, or rubber
-Remove outlet covers with her snout
-Pull objects off of the edge of the couch
-Unplug power cords and flip the switch to surge protectors
-Untie shoes
-Move furniture
-Dump her water dish for fun
-Chew exposed wood or drywall
-Bite or headbutt if she becomes angry
-Choke or suffocate on hazardous objects
Pigs are very smart and also very stubborn. They have to be constantly entertained in order to keep their mischevious, destructive nature at bay. In order to keep Charlotte happy, I have to change out her toys each day before I leave for work. I have learned to leave a bit of cardboard food packaging in her toy basket so that she will chew on it instead of tearing up books. I also make sure that there are no clothes, shoes, or other objects that she could choke on in the floor. I already have cabinet and door locks in place to keep T out of things, and will continue to have the annoying cabinet latches until I’m AARP eligible. I also had to buy some bittering agent to spray on some of the drywall and wood corners in my home to keep her from chewing on them. I’ve read that a pig’s worst behavior will happen around 18 months of age. Since Charlotte is not that old, the best is yet to come.
Pigs are very vocal. The first thing most people notice about Charlotte is that she is constantly snorting. Some of the pig sites/blogs call this “honking”. If Charlotte isn’t eating or sleeping, she honks anywhere from every few minutes to every 5-10 seconds if she is excited. Her honks vary in pitch and duration, and the more she is stimulated the more she honks. If she’s mad, they’re more like a grunt. If she’s happy, they’re short and high-pitched. If she’s scared, it’s more like a squeal. If she sees me going to the garage (where the food is kept), her honks are so loud that they will wake T up if she is sleeping.
The litterbox has been a HUGE pain in the ass, and I have a new respect for cat owners. I have to clean out her litterbox twice a day. In nature, pigs are very clean and will not eat or sleep in the same area that they use the restroom. She is very neat and will not step into the box if it is too messy for her liking, but instead will hover-sometimes hitting the target and other times missing. Plus, I don't want my house to smell like a barn. Luckily, cleaning it just takes a few minutes each time, as long as Charlotte doesn’t knock over the trash can or get ahold of the scoop and run off with it.
Finding litter and a pan that works was a challenge. I had no idea how many different types of cat litter and boxes there are out there. At first I bought Tidy Cats, which was dusty, stunk, and got stuck between Charlotte’s hooves. After trying about 5 or so different brands, I found that ExquisiCat litter doesn’t stink, isn’t as dusty as the traditional litter, and doesn’t result in rocks all over my house or between Piggy’s hooves. It is made of pine wood pulp shaped into pellets and is safe for a rooting pig.
Boxes are another challenge. I started out with a cheap litter pan from the dollar store, then wanted something with higher sides. However, once I found pans with higher sides, the entry was too tall for Charlotte’s belly. She is too fat and long to fit into covered pans, plus she’s scared of them. I’ve returned three litter pans just this weekend because she can’t fit into any of them and is only getting longer and fatter. My next move will be to use a small under-the-bed storage container.
I'm still considering myself to be Charlotte's foster mom, and possibly her permanent home. We really enjoy her company so far. If problems arise I have a friend who already has a single pig that might want a little company from a sweet girl like Charlotte. We'll see how things go.
Having a pig indoors is about like having a second two-year old. Unlike a human two year old, who grows out of the “terrible twos” within a few years, a pig will remain this way for their entire life span- 20 to 25 years. That's a long time to keep anything! If you never want to explain a dead pet to your kids, a pig is the choice for you. Between their incredibly long life span and the fact that pigs are hard to re-home, once you get a pig you are pretty much stuck with it following you from room to room for the next quarter-century. Unless I decide to re-home Charlotte, I'll be hearing the click-click of little pig feet until T is old enough to legally patronize bars and rent a car. That's a scary thought!
 |
| Begging for food. Shameless. |
-Open cabinet doors that don’t have latches
-Eat books and paper
-Chew shoes, Styrofoam, or rubber
-Remove outlet covers with her snout
-Pull objects off of the edge of the couch
-Unplug power cords and flip the switch to surge protectors
-Untie shoes
-Move furniture
-Dump her water dish for fun
-Chew exposed wood or drywall
-Bite or headbutt if she becomes angry
-Choke or suffocate on hazardous objects
 |
| Tearing up her bed (it already had a hole in it) |
 |
| This is what happens when you leave your pig unattended for a day. |
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| Pigs obtain nutrients from rooting in the dirt and will eventually begin to turn up carpet and flooring with their snout if they do not have the opportunity to root outside. Don't worry- one quick rub with a towel and the dirt falls right off! |
 |
| Why is there a chair in my kitchen? That's a great question for the pig! Charlotte LOVES to push light pieces of furniture around the house! |
Pigs are very smart and also very stubborn. They have to be constantly entertained in order to keep their mischevious, destructive nature at bay. In order to keep Charlotte happy, I have to change out her toys each day before I leave for work. I have learned to leave a bit of cardboard food packaging in her toy basket so that she will chew on it instead of tearing up books. I also make sure that there are no clothes, shoes, or other objects that she could choke on in the floor. I already have cabinet and door locks in place to keep T out of things, and will continue to have the annoying cabinet latches until I’m AARP eligible. I also had to buy some bittering agent to spray on some of the drywall and wood corners in my home to keep her from chewing on them. I’ve read that a pig’s worst behavior will happen around 18 months of age. Since Charlotte is not that old, the best is yet to come.
 |
| She just eats up a good book. |
Pigs are very vocal. The first thing most people notice about Charlotte is that she is constantly snorting. Some of the pig sites/blogs call this “honking”. If Charlotte isn’t eating or sleeping, she honks anywhere from every few minutes to every 5-10 seconds if she is excited. Her honks vary in pitch and duration, and the more she is stimulated the more she honks. If she’s mad, they’re more like a grunt. If she’s happy, they’re short and high-pitched. If she’s scared, it’s more like a squeal. If she sees me going to the garage (where the food is kept), her honks are so loud that they will wake T up if she is sleeping.
The litterbox has been a HUGE pain in the ass, and I have a new respect for cat owners. I have to clean out her litterbox twice a day. In nature, pigs are very clean and will not eat or sleep in the same area that they use the restroom. She is very neat and will not step into the box if it is too messy for her liking, but instead will hover-sometimes hitting the target and other times missing. Plus, I don't want my house to smell like a barn. Luckily, cleaning it just takes a few minutes each time, as long as Charlotte doesn’t knock over the trash can or get ahold of the scoop and run off with it.
Finding litter and a pan that works was a challenge. I had no idea how many different types of cat litter and boxes there are out there. At first I bought Tidy Cats, which was dusty, stunk, and got stuck between Charlotte’s hooves. After trying about 5 or so different brands, I found that ExquisiCat litter doesn’t stink, isn’t as dusty as the traditional litter, and doesn’t result in rocks all over my house or between Piggy’s hooves. It is made of pine wood pulp shaped into pellets and is safe for a rooting pig.
Boxes are another challenge. I started out with a cheap litter pan from the dollar store, then wanted something with higher sides. However, once I found pans with higher sides, the entry was too tall for Charlotte’s belly. She is too fat and long to fit into covered pans, plus she’s scared of them. I’ve returned three litter pans just this weekend because she can’t fit into any of them and is only getting longer and fatter. My next move will be to use a small under-the-bed storage container.
I'm still considering myself to be Charlotte's foster mom, and possibly her permanent home. We really enjoy her company so far. If problems arise I have a friend who already has a single pig that might want a little company from a sweet girl like Charlotte. We'll see how things go.
 |
| Playing Dead...the best way to get a belly rub! |
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| Piggy kisses! |
About Leslie Driskill
Leslie Driskill is a scientist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. You can learn more about her running adventures by checking out her other pages.
https://pharmahub.org/members/6085/profile
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leslie-Driskill
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yqkPrs8AAAAJ&hl=en
https://twitter.com/Leslie_Driskill
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3484-2794
http://veganleslie.blogspot.com/
https://www.quora.com/profile/Leslie-Driskill-1
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yqkPrs8AAAAJ&hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliedriskill/
https://www.alltrails.com/members/leslie-driskill
https://soundcloud.com/user-907900105-88781924
