What if your pet grows and grows and grows ...

Some people get a pet without thinking about how big it will grow. Others put a lot of thought into the pet's ultimate size before deciding on which pet to get. Apparently the best-laid plans of men and mice can go awry...

So Colin Webb thought that he had found the perfect present for his wife Susie, when he bought her a small piglet. This is a cross between a Miniature Pot Bellied pig and a Gloucester Old Spot. Which is supposed to be only as tall as 14 inches and weigh not more than four and a half stones (a bit less than 30kg). Max.

Except nobody told the little piglet that it was supposed to be small. So it just grew and grew and grew. Now it's three feet tall at the shoulders and weigh 25 stones (almost 150kg). And still growing by the day.

What would you do if you have a pet that just grows and grows and grows?

To find out what the Webbs did with their pig, check this out:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-home.html

What a great story!! You have to admire them for not abandoning Babe just because he wasn't what they had expected! These days people get rid of their "beloved" pets for just about any reason!

LOL If my pet grew and grew and grew? I would love him and find a way to put the size to my advantage!

(07-28-2012, 09:27 PM)pugskjj Wrote: What a great story!! You have to admire them for not abandoning Babe just because he wasn't what they had expected! These days people get rid of their "beloved" pets for just about any reason!

LOL If my pet grew and grew and grew? I would love him and find a way to put the size to my advantage!

You would? Supposing your pet is a python? How would you put that to your advantage? It boggles my mind to imagine a pet python that grows and grows and grows.

That is one humongus pig! And it wasn't supposed to get that big, so you can't blame them for not thinking ahead to how big it would eventually get! Not like other pets, like pythons or alligators or even wild cats like tigers that people get when the pet is so small and cute, but you KNOW they're going to grow and grow to be much, much bigger and harder to keep! I don't know what I'd do with a pig like that - keep it in a pen outside, I think! It's too huge for the house! But then my niece and her husband have a Mastiff dog that is kept in the house, and he's far larger than that pig! I like small animals!

Pet owners should always research well and be prepared before they get any pet at all. The most often case I have heard is large snake species were ditched by their owners when they got too big to be "liked" by their old 'buddies". Big cats such as tiger, lion, panther, leopard, etc. too, they can be extremely cute when they were little, but the time of such "happiness" is short consider how fast they can grow into something big and dangerous, and it is sad to "jail" them once they get older just because who they are, or rather what they are.

Having a 150kg pig as pet is something unique lol. Consider the fact it is food for much of the world. From the look of it, I think this pig is a little over-weighted (yes, for a pig) lol.

If you look at the rest of the photos in the source news link, you might notice the family is actually still quite happy.





But of course, they could be posing for photos just for the news. If they are truly happy with their over-sized pet, I am also happy for them.

I think it's a better than 50-50 chance that they are actually happy with their over-sized pet. Otherwise, we wouldn't be hearing about it, would we? I mean, there isn't very much to talk about some bacon in the freezer, is there?

Wow. That is one big pig! I'm glad it has worked or for them. I've actually had something similar happen to me. The first exotic snake I ever had was am African rock python. I knew it was supposed to get big, but... We had to give him up after a few years. I've thoroughly researched every animal since.

And Victor is right about the pythons. There are allot of people who get the giant constrictors as little babies without a rational plan of what to do when they grow. And the giants with indeterminate growth never stop growing. I would think pigs are second on that list. I shared a weird story in another thread about a friend from a long time ago who bought a small pot bellied pig, our so he thought before it started growing into a farm pig

(07-30-2012, 05:06 AM)Fishbone Wrote: Wow. That is one big pig! I'm glad it has worked or for them. I've actually had something similar happen to me. The first exotic snake I ever had was am African rock python. I knew it was supposed to get big, but... We had to give him up after a few years. I've thoroughly researched every animal since.

And Victor is right about the pythons. There are allot of people who get the giant constrictors as little babies without a rational plan of what to do when they grow. And the giants with indeterminate growth never stop growing. I would think pigs are second on that list. I shared a weird story in another thread about a friend from a long time ago who bought a small pot bellied pig, our so he thought before it started growing into a farm pig

It is surely big. Typical pigs get slaughtered when they weight anywhere between 200~300lbs. This pig weights 150kg, it is beyond 300lbs. I do not know what they have been feeding it, it must be expensive to keep a large pet with huge appetite.

While it might not be a problem for this family, knowing the pet's maximum adult size is one of the most important knowledge everyone must know during planning stage. As a fish keeper, in order to avoid overstock a fish tank, we must know the full adult size of the fish instead of just look at their current size. Once the fish outgrow the tank, they can get themselves killed with ammonia poisoning released by themselves.

As far as aquarium fish is concerned, there is one which definitely needs a lot of planning for extra space as it grows. I am talking about the Arowana.

I had reared a few before. They started as six-inch tiddlers. Then they started growing at the rate of at least an inch a month. In less than one year, I had Arowanas nearly 2 feet long. Which means that they need tanks not less than 5 feet long. On top of that, Arowanas don't live together. Put two into one tank and one will be dead before the day is over.

(07-29-2012, 07:31 AM)Ram Wrote: Pet owners should always research well and be prepared before they get any pet at all. The most often case I have heard is large snake species were ditched by their owners when they got too big to be "liked" by their old 'buddies". Big cats such as tiger, lion, panther, leopard, etc. too, they can be extremely cute when they were little, but the time of such "happiness" is short consider how fast they can grow into something big and dangerous, and it is sad to "jail" them once they get older just because who they are, or rather what they are.

Having a 150kg pig as pet is something unique lol. Consider the fact it is food for much of the world. From the look of it, I think this pig is a little over-weighted (yes, for a pig) lol.

Yes, I've heard about people ditching their snakes when they get too big & hard to handle. We've even had people here in Michigan, years ago, who bought tiny, baby alligators, but then let them loose into our lakes when they got too big and scary to remain as pets! That's a mighty weird creature to have in a Michigan lake! I know the DNR had to go catch the creatures. Not sure what they did with them - maybe gave them to a zoo. Maybe made alligator boots?! LOL
The big cats are always a problem when someone with too much money and no brains decides to buy a baby. They're very cute when little - but more than a handful when they turn into adults. Even the best handlers with the most experience with these large wild cats can find out what a nightmare a big cat can turn into. Remember Siegfried and Roy, and the near fatal attack on Roy by his beloved tiger, Montecore? No one should keep big cats as pets. If you have a large enough outdoor space to keep the cats in a wildlife preserve and have minimal contact with them, that's one thing. But to think you can keep them as house pets - no, not smart!

(08-01-2012, 02:51 AM)laurasav Wrote: Yes, I've heard about people ditching their snakes when they get too big & hard to handle. We've even had people here in Michigan, years ago, who bought tiny, baby alligators, but then let them loose into our lakes when they got too big and scary to remain as pets! That's a mighty weird creature to have in a Michigan lake! I know the DNR had to go catch the creatures. Not sure what they did with them - maybe gave them to a zoo. Maybe made alligator boots?! LOL
The big cats are always a problem when someone with too much money and no brains decides to buy a baby. They're very cute when little - but more than a handful when they turn into adults. Even the best handlers with the most experience with these large wild cats can find out what a nightmare a big cat can turn into. Remember Siegfried and Roy, and the near fatal attack on Roy by his beloved tiger, Montecore? No one should keep big cats as pets. If you have a large enough outdoor space to keep the cats in a wildlife preserve and have minimal contact with them, that's one thing. But to think you can keep them as house pets - no, not smart!

Alligator will not survive in Michigan. I've been in UP since 2004. Six to seven months of snow each year isn't funny for alligator. Besides, what are they going to eat when they get bigger? They can't keep eating white fish or trout, can they?

The problem with big cat is, they are strong enough to kill people when they simply hug you too hard. It had happened with tigers. One tiger gave his owner a hug, the owner died. Then cops came, shot the tiger. Then they shot the second tiger in the same cage, before they moved in to pull the owner's body out. What did the second tiger ever do to them?

With this 150kg pig, although there shouldn't be any aggression issue, if I were the owners I still would be more cautious than them. Just take a look at that photo with the husband sleeping beside the couch. What if the pig just simply roll over while dreaming? That's 150kg (over 330lbs) of pork. Can he handle it at once?

150kg rolling over on you in your sleep? I would say that makes for a very big and heavy nightmare. You know, the kind of nightmare where you feel that there's something pressing down on your chest and you are having difficulty trying to breath.

From what I have read, the pig actually sleeps on the couch which has been reinforced. One thing which intrigued me was that the owners said the pig was house-trained. I never imagined that it's possible to house-train a pig. What I have heard from a friend who have had pigs as pets was that pigs would learn to do anything just to get treats. Maybe that's how they house-trained the pig.

When in Florida, at the wildlife compound we had lots of baby cougars and lepoards, and once a baby tiger. My father-inlaw raised these animals for breeders and once in a while someone would manage to get a permit to buy a baby cougar as a pet. I was always amazed on how people would treat wild animals like domestic ones.

They let them run through their house, and play with their little children, and even slept with them. And there were people who got badly hurt from these (pet) animals.

A bite from a wild animal is much more dangerous than from a domestic pet. For their mouths contain bad germs from their diet, which is raw meat. So when bitten these germs get into the bite and can cause very bad infections and illness.

I know of one man who went in his female cougars cage (who was in heat), then went right into the males cage and got severely bitten on the leg.

He told the hospital it was a dog bite, because he did not want to lose his pets. And when a bad illness and infection set in, and the doctor's were puzzled. He told the truth and that saved his life.

Some animals do not make good pets because of size and strength, and natural behavior.

That pig is domestic, but he looks to be way to big to have in the house. Too big to sleep with on the sofa.

That is one cute piggy! Though I have to wonder if they eat bacon, and if they do, if they feel guilty eating it around their piggy pet. I am glad that, once they decided to keep it as a pet, that they didn't turn it into bacon once it started growing. (Although I love my bacon!) I wonder also if their pig is within its proper weight range or if it's overweight. I have no idea what pigs need for exercise, but if it lounges around the house all day, that can't be good for it. I hope they will consider giving the pig some exercise.

I did think that the last photo looked unsafe for reasons stated above. That's a lot of piggy to roll over on you -- a bad chance of injury or even death.

That is truly a large pig to be living in the house, but since they started with it as a small piglet, hopefully, it is house trained, and has good manners in the house. A pig is actually as smart as a dog is, so there is no reason that it could not be domesticated easily enough.
The reason it has grown so large is probably due to two factors.
The first one is that they bred a pot belly pig with a regular domestic breed that is normally grown for pork. The pot belly pig usually stays small, like they said this pig would do. However, a regular farm pig can easily grow to several hundred pounds before it finally quits growing.
The other factor is the food the pig is being fed. Regular pig food has growth hormones, and other additives so that the pig will put on weight as fast as possible, and grow as large as it can grow rapidly.

Pot belly pigs have to be fed a special ration, and then they will stay small, but not if they are crossed with a farm pig that is bred to grow into a large pig .