Potbellied pigs can live a good life as an indoor pet or an outdoor pet. Therefore, it is up to you to decide where you would like your pet to reside for the majority of its day. Before you make up your mind, make sure you have carefully weighed some important factors.
Weather:
The city or state in which you reside usually experiences predictable weather patterns. If you are familiar with the weather in your area during all seasons then you should be able to quickly assess whether you live in generally cold or generally warm weather. Most potbellies have short hair, not fur, so they love warm, sunny weather. If this describes the climate in your area then your pig should be comfortable as an outdoor pet. If you live in an area that experiences snow or long winters then your pig will be better as an indoor pet.
Of course in either situation, if you strongly prefer to keep our pig as an outdoor pet, you can opt to either build or buy adequate shelter to house your potbelly during the winter months and any surprise cold weather. The outdoor shelter should fully enclose the pig and is not complete until it has a heating until installed. The heating unit should be used when weather reaches freezing temperatures. Otherwise, providing the pig with several heavy blankets to lay on should suffice. To avoid potty messes, fit your shelter with a piggy door that is low to the ground. Make sure you measure your pig’s height and width correctly so that the door allows for plenty of room to let the pig go in and out freely.
Time:
If there will almost always be someone at home around your household, then your pig will make a fine indoor pet. Pigs are highly intelligent animals, which also means they require high levels of time, attention and stimulation from its owners. If your household is frequently empty for hours at a time, you should at least consider leaving your pig outside during that time. Even when you think your home is pig-proofed, a bored and hungry pig will find ways to get into anything and everything. Pigs have been known to chew on books, magazines and other paper items, plastics, even cables and wires. Not only is a bored big hazardous to your belongings, but it is also possible for your pig to choke on some of these items.
Other animals:
While pigs can be taught to get along with nearly any other animal, you can’t be sure that the other animal will want to get along with your pig. If you own aggressive pets that stay outdoors, then it might be best to leave you potbelly indoors for safety’s sake. If you leave your aggressive pets indoors, then your pig will be safer outside.
Even if you don’t own any other animals, it is probable either that your nearby neighbors have other pets, or that dangerous wildlife lives nearby. In either case if you choose to leave your pig outdoors under these conditions it should be provided with a shelter that is impenetrable to other animals. If this is impossible to provide, then you are better off taking your chances with leaving your pig inside.
If leaving your pig inside or outside all of the time does not work out for you, there is, of course, nothing that says your pig can’t divide its time between both places.
