Adopting
Luna
Luna the pot-bellied pig is an incredible girl! She is super sweet, funny, cute, and everything amazing you would ever want in a pet pig. Luna LOVES food and is the Queen of mooching. She even sits for treats! Luna gets the zoomies every now and then. This is Luna’s way of letting you know she’s in a playful mood. She’ll snort loudly, buck her back legs, run a bit, then snort once more. Similar to most dogs, Luna loves to sleep. Of course, she enjoys having many blankets to ‘root’ around in to make a comfortable nest. Luna likes a large kennel to herself for privacy overnight. She likes to be with her people and will seek you out wherever you are. Luna LOVES to lick/nibble your socks and might even try tasting your toes. A pig with a foot fetish she is! This girl is an affectionate creature. She enjoys ‘pats.’ Luna will flop on her side for a good belly rub. She also enjoys having her butt area, hips, shoulder blades and crevices scratched. Pigs are known for very dry skin. You can touch Luna anywhere. She has been well socialized.
As for other animals in the same household, Luna will enforce her need to be dominant, also known as ‘top dog’ or ‘top pig’ in this case. She seems to be less intimidated by smaller animals versus bigger breeds. Luna will ‘charge’ the other pets to communicate her authority.
Unfortunately, Luna does not know how to use stairs and is not fond of using a ramp either. In order to go ‘potty,’ Luna will use training pads (we used adult-size pads similar to what would be used in a hospital setting or bedridden circumstance). If you don’t have stairs she will go right outside and do her business
Pigs are curious animals and will push, pull, tear and chew items. Some of Luna’s favourites include cardboard, wood/birchbark, paper products, etc. Luna is not crazy about squeaky toys; we used this to our advantage to ‘police’ her less than desirable behaviours.
Luna often has ‘gook’ seeping down from her eyes. You can clean this area simply with a warm, damp cloth using gentle wiping. She will tolerate the wiping but will let you know when she’s had enough. Keep in mind most pigs don’t enjoy the wetness.
For feeding Luna, we used 1 cup of whole oats; twice daily (breakfast and dinner). After you’ve added the oats to her dish then add her favourite foods and let the feeding frenzy begin. Watch out folks – eating is serious business for any pig! Always make sure water is available but know this pigs are known for dumping the water dish. 😉
Luna isn’t a super picky eater but there are some foods she will not eat, such as:
- Inside of a banana
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Raw carrots
- Iceberg lettuce (she will actually eat this but DO NOT feed her it!)
- Steamed carrots
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Banana peels
- Pineapple
- Yogurt
- Apple (no core)
- Orange (she won’t eat the peel)
- Non-buttered popcorn (only sometimes as a treat as corn is fattening food)
- Non-salted soda crackers (we treated Luna with 3 crackers when she returned to her kennel; as soon as she hears the crinkle of the cracker sleeve she comes a running)
- Plain Cheerios
- Cheese (not all the time and not too much)
- Romaine lettuce (NOT iceberg)
- Bread (not too often)
- Uncooked potato (once in a blue moon)
A few more things to know and understand about miss Luna. She knows her name and will come when called assuming there is nothing better holding her attention. Loud noises and sudden movements can ‘spook’ her which usually results in her moving suddenly accompanied by snorting/grunting or barking (not the woof, woof kind). You might also notice her ‘hackles’ will stand up some. This also happens when Luna is excited or happy. Pigs have a range of sounds; snorts, squeals, grunts, barks, etc. Pigs are very strong and can be very stubborn. You need to earn her trust which can mainly be done through food, attention, and affection.
With love,
Luna’s foster family! 🙂