EXPLORE WHEEKERS WORLD!
Cavy Foods
Toys and Such
Pregnancy and Babies
Common Illnesses and diseases
Links
Get to know the Webmistress
Awards Webrings
Pigs need space! Two square feet per pig, add another pig, add another 2 square feet. For every addtional pig, add 1 foot.
Wire bottom cages are not recommended. Rabbit cages are not recommended either. If you are going to have a wire bottom cage make sure that the wire is small enough so that the pigs foot is not able to pass through. Bumblefoot is something that a pig can get from wire bottom cages. It is swollen, infected, and abcessed feet. It is very painful to the pig and needs to be treated with an antibiotic.
Aquariums are also not recommended. Think of an aquarium as a green house. It gets pretty hot in there. There is reduced air flow which is not good. Add the heat with the lack of air flow and pig pee and you have a breeding ground for bacteria. Please don't house your pig(s) in an aquarium.
A smooth bottomed, wire structured cage is what I (among others) recommend using for housing. The wire structure allows the air to circulate freely and the smooth bottom protects their delicate little feet.
Pigs, like humans, like to feel comfortable when they sleep, so the type of bedding they use is essential to them. Aspen, Kiln Dried Pine, Carefresh, and Yesterday's News are brands that I have used and have been recommended to me. Regular pine shavings and cedar shavings/chips are not good for them. They contain to many aromatic oils and are not good for their delicate respiratory systems.You can use also use newspaper. I would recommend first checking with your local newspaper to see if their ink is soy based. Soy is nontoxic so it will not harm your pig. The only downside to using soley newspaper is you have to change it very frequently.Try a couple of layers of newspapers with a layer of the recommended types of bedding listed above.You need to keep your pigs bedding clean! Clean bedding is essential to their health! I clean my pigs pens' twice a week. I also clean their "bathroom spots" out every day. Most pigs will only use one corner of their cage to go to the bathroom. I do, however, have a few that don't care where they go. :-)
