This should also be the pet base.
Moderators: AArdvark, Ice Cream Jonsey
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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This should also be the pet base.
Pets! Lemme see your pets!
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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pinback
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Flack
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Jack Straw
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Flack
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We had two, actually (only one at a time).
The first one's name was Polly Porkchop. She was a little smaller than Gidget the Midget. We had her for over a year and she was really awesome. Pigs love to "root" and dig in the dirt -- they also like to simulate that by "burrowing" under blankets, bean bags, pillows ... whatever. They also love to snuggle up to you at bed time. Both of our pigs had no trouble jumping up on to a regular height bed at night and getting under the covers. (Both of our pigs were strictly indoor pets.)
Pigs have the same thing that I guess goats and some other animals do which is they don't have any internal mechanism to tell them that they are full. That is why many people who buy pot-bellied pigs are surprised that they will eat basically anything and all of a sudden find that their cute 20-30 pound pig is now 200-300 pounds. We went to the store one day and came home to find Polly had knocked over her food sack, crawled inside, and ate so much that her stomach has essentially exploded. We called the local vet and they said they would not treat her because she was a pig and that we would need to take her to a farm vet. We called the nearest farm vet and before we could get her out there, she died.
Our second pig was Gidget. Gidget was a little more laid back than Polly but that might be because she was a little older. We had her for about five or six years. I think she was even smarter than Polly (they say pigs are the fourth smartest animal, behind people, apes and dolphins). I taught her a dozen tricks -- she would sit, beg, stand on her back legs, roll over, and play dead. By the way, I taught her most of those things using bacon, ham and pork chops as rewards because I'm sick like that.
Anyway to make a long story short, pigs are pack animals and there is always an alpha pig which is not a problem when you only own one animal, but after my son Mason was born Gidget started getting aggressive (you have to have them fixed anyway or they will screw all your pillows and stuffed animals) and after the first time she bit Mason, that was the end of that and we ate her. Ok, I'm kidding. Actually we got online and found a "pot-bellied pig sanctuary" and the people came out and picked her up and took her to a farm where they can run around and play and have a good time. So it was kind of sad but she was happy and I couldn't have an indoor animal around that was getting aggressive like that.
What else ... pigs are very dry and very clean. They don't sweat so sometimes their skin gets flakey and you're supposed to rub baby oil or lotion on them. They are covered in hair that can get a little course and they shed in the summer so you will find little needle-like hairs all over everything (we were constantly picking them out of the couch). They love the sun and heat and if you want to make a pig happy just leave the front door open and they will go lie in the warm spot. In the winter I bought one of those little portable heaters and Gidget would just lie in front of it all day.
Here is a newborn Mason and Gidget doing a little bonding.
Here is Gidget's favorite napping place (basking in the sun).
And here are two pigs lying in front of the heater.
Oh, one other thing. After buying Polly we found out that owning a pig within most city limits is against the law. Why? Who knows. I tell you that, that pig was as clean as any dog or cat I've ever owned (both of ours were little box trained) and smarter, too. But we were told if we were caught with one within the city limits it was like a $200 fine, so both of ours were strictly indoor animals (they liked it that way, too). We made them little pig sleeping areas but they slept in our bed 99% of the time. And if you ever wondered where the term "pig in a blanket" came from ... throw a blanket down and they roll up and look just like a pig in a blanket.
The first one's name was Polly Porkchop. She was a little smaller than Gidget the Midget. We had her for over a year and she was really awesome. Pigs love to "root" and dig in the dirt -- they also like to simulate that by "burrowing" under blankets, bean bags, pillows ... whatever. They also love to snuggle up to you at bed time. Both of our pigs had no trouble jumping up on to a regular height bed at night and getting under the covers. (Both of our pigs were strictly indoor pets.)
Pigs have the same thing that I guess goats and some other animals do which is they don't have any internal mechanism to tell them that they are full. That is why many people who buy pot-bellied pigs are surprised that they will eat basically anything and all of a sudden find that their cute 20-30 pound pig is now 200-300 pounds. We went to the store one day and came home to find Polly had knocked over her food sack, crawled inside, and ate so much that her stomach has essentially exploded. We called the local vet and they said they would not treat her because she was a pig and that we would need to take her to a farm vet. We called the nearest farm vet and before we could get her out there, she died.
Our second pig was Gidget. Gidget was a little more laid back than Polly but that might be because she was a little older. We had her for about five or six years. I think she was even smarter than Polly (they say pigs are the fourth smartest animal, behind people, apes and dolphins). I taught her a dozen tricks -- she would sit, beg, stand on her back legs, roll over, and play dead. By the way, I taught her most of those things using bacon, ham and pork chops as rewards because I'm sick like that.
Anyway to make a long story short, pigs are pack animals and there is always an alpha pig which is not a problem when you only own one animal, but after my son Mason was born Gidget started getting aggressive (you have to have them fixed anyway or they will screw all your pillows and stuffed animals) and after the first time she bit Mason, that was the end of that and we ate her. Ok, I'm kidding. Actually we got online and found a "pot-bellied pig sanctuary" and the people came out and picked her up and took her to a farm where they can run around and play and have a good time. So it was kind of sad but she was happy and I couldn't have an indoor animal around that was getting aggressive like that.
What else ... pigs are very dry and very clean. They don't sweat so sometimes their skin gets flakey and you're supposed to rub baby oil or lotion on them. They are covered in hair that can get a little course and they shed in the summer so you will find little needle-like hairs all over everything (we were constantly picking them out of the couch). They love the sun and heat and if you want to make a pig happy just leave the front door open and they will go lie in the warm spot. In the winter I bought one of those little portable heaters and Gidget would just lie in front of it all day.
Here is a newborn Mason and Gidget doing a little bonding.
Here is Gidget's favorite napping place (basking in the sun).
And here are two pigs lying in front of the heater.
Oh, one other thing. After buying Polly we found out that owning a pig within most city limits is against the law. Why? Who knows. I tell you that, that pig was as clean as any dog or cat I've ever owned (both of ours were little box trained) and smarter, too. But we were told if we were caught with one within the city limits it was like a $200 fine, so both of ours were strictly indoor animals (they liked it that way, too). We made them little pig sleeping areas but they slept in our bed 99% of the time. And if you ever wondered where the term "pig in a blanket" came from ... throw a blanket down and they roll up and look just like a pig in a blanket.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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I taught her a dozen tricks -- she would sit, beg, stand on her back legs, roll over, and play dead. By the way, I taught her most of those things using bacon, ham and pork chops as rewards because I'm sick like that.
I taught her a dozen tricks -- she would sit, beg, stand on her back legs, roll over, and play dead. By the way, I taught her most of those things using bacon, ham and pork chops as rewards because I'm sick like that.
Let me understate this with a simple and accurate... "lol."I taught her a dozen tricks -- she would sit, beg, stand on her back legs, roll over, and play dead. By the way, I taught her most of those things using bacon, ham and pork chops as rewards because I'm sick like that.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!
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Ice Cream Jonsey
- Posts: 30067
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
- Location: Colorado
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Also, that was a couple of great stories, and very heartwarming. That sucks about how it was a fine like that if you got caught. I get woken up every day by my terrible neighbors who let their dogs out in the morning to bark at the goddamn sun ("HEY, IT'S STILL THERE GUYS, IT'S STILL THERE" -- my neighbors' dogs) and yeah, a pet that likes to stay indoors and simply oink is a-ok with me.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!