Welcome to Oscar’s website and thanks for joining us on the journey of raising our first pet mini pig! My husband and I love our four-legged kids as they never fail to keep us entertained and on our toes.
Rylee, our 10-year-old Boston Terrier, is super smart and has a unique and spunky personality. Oscar really loves Rylee and follows her around, but she’s not quite sure about him yet.
Liam, our 7-year-old Pit Bull mix, is lovable and sweet but isn’t winning any intellectual awards. He’s not sure what the new animal in the house is or why it oinks and squeals, but he thinks it’s very scary.
Unfortunately, Liam passed away in September 2015, but we are so glad he was an influence in Oscar’s young life and taught Oscar to appreciate naps in the sun spot.
Hello,
Do mini pigs make noise when they are home alone and
do they smell?
Thank you
Julia
Hi Julia. I’m not sure if mini pigs make noise when they’re home alone, but they are noisy pets in general. Here is a post with Oscar’s sounds (http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-noises-with-sound-recordings/). Mini pigs typically don’t smell. However, male mini pigs have a strong smell if they are not neutered that most people find extremely unpleasant (me included). The smell is caused by the hormones in an unaltered male pig. Once they have been neutered, the smell can take a while to completely wear off, but it eventually does.
Oh I have a pet Juliana pig named manny he’s 1 year old he looks the same except he has 3 spots on his back
I love spots on pigs. It’s fun to watch them change and grow over time. I always tell Oscar that his spots (and his teeth) give him character. 🙂
Hi! We are brand new to being mini pig parents…2 weeks this Friday. Your InstaGram & website are very helpful & informative. I’m interested in any additional information you could provide me with regarding your IG post on 12/31/15. DesiLu (Lulu – 8 wks old) has the same issue. We saw our vet immediately & she diagnosed her the same…mange/mites/scabies. Doc thought it might be scabies but didn’t actually see any under the microscope. When I use a white wash rag to scrub her, it comes off orange. I’m not sure if treatment (5 days of de-worm, a streroid injection for the incessant scratching, an injection of preventative that I will continue topically every other week) last Tues has resolved it. Lulu is not scratching hardly at all but there are still these tiny brown spots the size of pinpoints all over her skin. Any insight will be most appreciated! What state are you in? We are in NC. Thanks! Jamie
Hi! I’m so glad our IG and website have been helpful! We love your IG as well (so cute!). Our vet told us that it’s common to diagnose mange without actually finding a mite under the microscope since they are hard to find, so that makes sense. For us, the scabbing on his skin (with the more developed mange) and the obsessive itching were the big signs. When the symptoms are mainly the orange that wipes off, it can be more difficult since it’s easy to confuse with a staph infection (which can happen on its own or in conjunction with mange as a secondary issue) or just pig rust. We did an initial treatment with Oscar and ended up having the mange “return” which required us to treat it more aggressively. Some people have luck with the first round of treatment, but we ended up having to isolate Oscar for several weeks and do Ivermectin injections to get finally get rid of the mange. I have a post on Oscar’s mange symptoms and the specifics on the treatments we did, and I think you’ll find those will tell you a lot about our experience with mange. It’s not fun dealing with mange, but the bright side is that, unless you have exposure to other pigs in the future, you shouldn’t have to deal with it again once it’s gone. Hope this helps! Also, we’re in KS so unfortunately pretty far. :-/
http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-mange-sarcoptic-mange-symptoms/
http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-mange-sarcoptic-mange-treatments/
http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-mange-what-weve-learned/
Hi,
Me and my husband are considering getting a mini pig. We both work full-time jobs during the day M-F. Do pigs do oaky alone while we are at work?
Hi Teah! Sorry for taking a while to respond. I’m home with Oscar during the day, so I’m probably not the best person to answer your question. I know that many people work outside the home full time and make it work with a mini pig, but I do think it would be challenging. I can’t really give you a yes or no answer because it depends on your specific situation, but I can give you a few things to consider. One is that pigs are super smart and require a good amount of stimulation to stay happy and also to not become destructive. When mini pigs don’t have an opportunity to use their intelligence and play they can become destructive in the home, so it’s important they get enough stimulating play and rooting time to avoid those issues. Another thing is to really think about where you’ll keep the pig during the day and how you’ll handle potty training. Litter box training is perfect for this situation, and they seem to do well gated in a small room with their bed, litter box, any toys, water, and anything else they need. They also must be separated from any dogs when you aren’t in the same room. While pigs and dogs can be good companions, it’s important to always keep them separated when you aren’t watching them since dogs are predators and pigs are prey by nature. As for water, pigs like to flip their bowls, so you’ll want to find one that either can’t be flipped or make sure you or someone else can stop in during the day to make sure your pig has access to water. Water is really important for pigs, so that’s why I mention it specifically. What you don’t want is for your pig to flip the water dish early in the day and then not have access to water until you come home later. Really, the big thing is making sure your pig has plenty of time with you and also plenty of stimulation. The other issues can typically be worked out, but it’s good to make sure you have ample time to spend with the pig so that he/she doesn’t get lonely. Hope that gives you some things to consider while making your decision! 🙂
Hello I recently got a mini pig so I’m new to been a parent to a piggy. I started to treat him about two days ago with medicine for mites. Part of the treament is to give him a bath in order to apply the medicine but is so hard too without him crying. Duck is 3 months old and by the way he looked when I got him he was outside and dirty.I try to give my pets a nice home,but I think I have fail him.He is really picky on what to eat and like I said before I’m new to been a parent of a piggy. Luckily i found your page about cute adorable Oscar . What do you recommend me on what to feed him and how to get him to like baths specially during this time of Duck been treated I want him to eat right and get better. I don’t want to give up on him I really need to know from others like you who know more on how to take care of piggies. And good luck to you and to Oscar ☺
Hi Berenice! Sorry you are dealing with mites. It’s really frustrating for you and for Duck to have to go through, but at least it’s very treatable and hopefully won’t be a problem again after his treatments. It doesn’t sound at all like you have failed Duck. It sounds like you have given him a good home and are working hard to make sure he’s healthy and happy. I have a post on the site about how we treated Oscar’s mange and also one about how we give him baths because Oscar doesn’t like baths at all, so I’ll put the links to those posts below. On the food pickiness, I think some of that will change as Duck gets more used to home and get more comfortable. Some pigs are just more picky than others, but I think it’s fairly common for pigs to be more picky about foods when they first arrive at their new homes. In terms of what to feed him, we feed Oscar Mazuri mini pig pellets for his meals and have been happy with that so far. Then you can also try giving Duck some healthy snacks, like cut up vegetables and some fruits to see what he likes. It sounds like you’re trying really hard to take good care of Duck, and I think that’s great!
http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-oscar-hates-water-bath-struggle/
http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-mange-sarcoptic-mange-treatments/
http://lifewithaminipig.com/mini-pig-treats/
Thank you so much for the help I really needed it 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
I just came across your blog and I seriously cannot stop reading. I have a month old mini pig her name is Bowie, named after David Bowie, she has one brown and one blue eye just like David Bowie had. I love her she amazes me every day….Since I´ve only had her for 2 months I still have a lot of questions about her behavior, she is very spoiled and I´m having a very hard time trying to stop her from ripping her pee pads to shreads, she sees a fresh one and she goes at it like there is no tomorrow.
Hi Roxy! Thanks so much for the compliment about the blog! Hmm…that’s a tough one on shredding the pee pads. We ended up not litter box training, so someone else might be able to give you a more specific piece of advice. However, I’ll give a few things you might try and maybe something will help. One option, of course, is to try switching litter and using pine shavings. They are messy and kind of a pain, but it’s an option if she continues ripping her pee pads. If it were me though, I would try giving her some toys in her area and seeing if those are more enticing than the pee pads. Any time Oscar is doing a behavior I don’t want like rooting on rugs or getting into things, I just try to wear him out so that he’s too tired to be interested in the wrong things. So, a treat ball or another toy that dispenses food or getting her out for some rooting time might wear her down so that she ignores the pee pads. It’s a bit of a long shot since I can just imagine her joy in ripping apart the pee pads, but it might be worth a shot. 🙂 If someone else has experienced this and figured out a way around it, I’d love to know a good solution. I’m guessing Bowie isn’t the only one doing this.
When we brought home our mini pig, Peter Porker, in April, he was too tiny for a harness and we used pee pads in the house until he was large enough to fit securely in a harness. Peter Porker did the same thing – ripping the pee pads to shreds. While I wasn’t able to completely eradicate this behavior, I found that giving him other things to shred helped. He loves shredding newspapers, old magazines and junk mail. In order to entice your pig to shred these items, try wrapping some treats in newspaper so that they have to dig them out. It makes a bit of a mess, but it’s so cute it’s worth it. We’ve also had a lot of success with the IQ ball that Oscar likes. Another thing that works well is folding treats into an old towel, so that Peter Porker has to unfold the towel to get to the treat.
Thank you for adding that, Jenny! Those are some awesome ideas, for pigs ripping pee pads and for all pigs for stimulation in general! Last year when I was wrapping Christmas presents, I unrolled the wrapping paper on the floor for extra space to wrap, and Oscar went crazy ripping the paper. He’s not a very playful pig, so it was funny and out of character to see him go crazy playing with the paper. 🙂 So, I love the idea of newspapers, magazines, and junk mail even for play and stimulation. The towel idea is a great one too!
Thankyou so much im a 13 yrs old and i had no idea on what im doing and u helped me with that so i can train my new pig baconbit
1 : do you brush his teeth and if so what do you use
2 : I was reading about his car seat but what exactly do u use as a car seat
3 : where did you get him from
WHERE IS OSCAR????
Hi,
I got a mini pig on a whim, just 3 days ago. His name is Wilbur. We got him because his previous owners couldn’t have him. They had an older dog who wouldn’t take to him.
So that’s how I found Wilbur and brought him into our home. We tried to give him a bath last night, and he screamed like we were torturing him. I found your blog after that. Hopefully, things will go better for us and Wilbur. We are very excited to have him in our home. He does really well by himself, while we are at work. And we are learning to communicate with him. He’s pretty fantastic, and I cannot wait to introduce him to my dog.
Thank you for all your Oscar documentation. With your help, we are going to make Wilbur a happier pig. <3
hey I just bought a mini pig and I have been trying to teach him tricks but he wont understand I saw your video a lot and it doesn’t seem to work for me it would be awesome if you could help me
Hi there – I’m new to your website and am getting caught up on Oscar and all the wonderful information you provide. I LOVE your videos and L*O*V*E Oscar.
I am so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy Liam. Luckily, Oscar is there to help comfort you.
I have loved pigs for years and wanted one for a long time but also have two dogs; a staffordshire terrier Sunday (she looks a little like Oscar) – I call her piggy, and Leo, a chihuahua mix. I work full time and sometimes long hours but there is usually someone home by 4:00 each day. Although our lives completely revolve around the dogs, and as much as I truly love pigs, I worry that a pig might not be happy here. Can they tolerate being left alone for 10 hours a day?
Thank you again for all of the great advice, for sharing precious Oscar with the world and for the fun videos.
My apologies; I see someone asked the same question and you gave a thorough explanation. thanks- all the best to you and Oscar and the whole family.
Hi, I’m Sarah and i was looking for a small pig, however I don’t know what type stays the smallest, if I was looking for something small, would i be going for a Juliana pig or a pot bellied pig? And Is there one in particular that loves being cuddled and handled more than the other?
Thank you
Hey! I just found your page. Me and my husband are adding a little piggie to our family this Sunday and I was wondering if you have any tips on introducing your piggie to your dogs! I have a dachshund mix and a lab/husky mix. I’ve been looking over your blog and the information is extremely helpful!