Never show a pig how to open a refrigerator. He’ll remember, and when you’re not looking …
“The pig thinks, `I don’t need them to open that refrigerator.’ And they don’t. Those snouts are handy tools,” said Cindy Waddle.
Waddle knows. In addition to owning Rose, Begonia, Lily and Iris-she calls them her bouquet of pigs-she runs a boarding house for other pot-bellied pigs, the Flying Piglet Ranch, southeast of Longmont.
She’s also vice president of the Colorado Pot-Bellied Pig Association, a group that educates people about the requirements of adopting one of the estimated 2,000 pot-bellied pigs in Colorado.
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Waddle has seen first-hand the curiosity and willfulness that gets many a pet pig into trouble. Living with a pot-belly, she says, is just like living with a 2-year-old.
“They’re very curious. They just go and open the cupboard. I know people who have childproof locks on their cabinets so their pig can’t get in them,” Waddle said. “My one pig can open a popcorn tin with her snout. So we don’t keep the popcorn in the room where the girls (the pigs) are.”
Pot-bellied pigs are intelligent, affectionate pets, but some pig owners are uninformed when they take that cute little piglet home. They don’t know what to expect; and without proper care, that 20-pound baby can grow into 200 pounds of demanding, ill-tempered regret.
“People who are extremely busy with activities that you can’t include the pig in shouldn’t have a pig,” Waddle said. “You have to have time for your pig. You can work all day, but when you come home you must spend time with your pet.”
You also must carefully monitor the pig’s diet. They are, after all, pigs, and will eat anything that comes within snout-reach. You can feed them carrots and broccoli and celery, but avoid fats or table scraps. They don’t have the heart and lung capacity to support an overweight body. Their weight typically shouldn’t exceed 100 pounds.