i did some looking around at allexperts.com and found this answer to a question about a pbp losing its balance (i will put it in quotes)... "Pigs have narrow ear canals that are easily blocked, and blocked ears can affect balance. Lack of balance can also be caused by neurological problems like stroke or salt poisoning. Antibiotics will not fix any of these problems. Make sure her ears are clean but do NOT squirt liquid into the ears and do NOT allow the vet to flush them with water. Both cleaning techniques can cause the ear canal to plug with water, making things worse and causing deafness. A blood test will help your vet determine if this problem is caused by an infection, and if so, which antibiotic is best." i hope your oinker gets better and hopefully, antibiotics will help if it's a simple ear infection that is causing loss of balance. fyi, if you feel so inclined, you should post some pics of your piggy in the gardenweb pets forum. i do occasionally and the other folks there love seeing them. :)

Vietnamese Pot Belly pigs have been around for many decades. The key to keeping them small is food that is high in nutrition and low in carobs and fat. They now make a food especially for them. They are very loving, smart and love to ride in a car. Some love kids while others can get nippy. They are easily trained and house broken. Some even potty train them to use the toilet and flushing afterwards. They can be underfoot like a terrier (very attention needy). They have other breeds but I only have experience with Pot Belly pigs.

I think a certain amount of nibbling must be a social behavior mechanism of pigs. My pig is sweet as can be, my three year old toddler feeds her treats and I don't worry at all. However she occassionally still bites my shoe and nibbles on peoples shirts and clothes as they hang out with her - have to keep a close eye on her. Stray cats and chickens wander through her pen all the time and she has never been aggressive at all. I haven't found a companion for my pig yet and I've come to the conclusion that pigs are not animals that can live alone. I moved her to a pen that was closer to the hustle and bustle of everday activity around the house and that has helped some. She is actually suppossed to be a working pig, and has done some marvellous work tilling my garden (phenomenal and unbelievable work really). She tilled up a 50x50 plot that I've been working hard on for 3 years / and did an unbelievable job. The soil used to be of the type you had to use a pick axe on to plant a tomato: now I can stick my hand 8 inches deep into loam. Even her labor output has been poor lately. She'll dig a new area half heartedly and lay around like a potato unless someone goes out to keep her company. If I go out and play harmonica for her or just toodle around her pen doing odd chores she suddenly comes alive and turns into a two hundred pound mass of muscle and soil tilling machine: but I just don't have time to go sing to my pig so she'll do some work. The last area I had her till, I had to go set my preschoolers up with lawn chairs and popcorn next to her pen in order to get her digging with enthusiasm. They sat and watched her dig, better than a movie: but at this point it is just getting ridiculous.

I had 2 boys and a girl, but I would think two females would get along fine. Make sure you get her fixed NOW!! I didn't know that my girl needed to be fixed when young, and wasn't able to get her fixed later. It's a very complicated operation for a pig, and when they get older and fatter, it's too difficult. If you don't get her fixed, she'll go into heat about every 3 weeks and it's awful. Complete personality change. They become aggressive and hump everything that moves. They will literally not leave you alone and chase you. They're small pigs compared to farm pigs, but still average at about 100 lbs, so having a 100 lb pig chasing you, attacking you and humping you constantly for several days every 3 wks is no fun. The boys have to be fixed. They are not fit to be pets if they aren't. They smell constantly. They're much more aggressive. Their tusks grow faster. And they hump nonstop. They're in a constant state. Now, I know what you're going to say - - that most males are - - but I mean CONSTANTLY. :) You have to be careful not to overfeed them bc it puts too much stress on their little legs and they become "fat blind" and generally unhealthy. Harleybabe was about 110, Rudy about 85, and Pudge was the big boy at 150, but that is a healthy weight for his frame. (He's still a young'n in pic above) Once she begins to trust you more, if you scratch her, she'll be your best friend for life!! They LOVE to be scratched. I buy those rubber handheld things with nubbies on them that are used for horse grooming and scratch the pigs with those. They stand real still, their mohawk goes up, and suddenly, BAM, they flop to the ground in a state of bliss, waiting for a belly rub. It's hilarious. Providing browse? I'm not sure. Did you see that on 9 sites? Only thing I can think of is browsing room. Sadly, a lot of people would get potbellies as pets, and try to keep them - alone - in small spaces. They need room to run around outside and graze and preferably a herd mate. You'll read lots of stories of people who became disillusioned in their pigs bc 1) they got big when backyard breeders dishonestly marketed them as mini pigs that would stay small (no such thing) 2) they became aggressive from being in confined, unnatural for them, small quarters 3) owners did not take the time to learn about their needs as pigs bc they're completely different from cats or dogs. I've spent a lot of time reading about them; I still do. One more thing -- as soon as she's letting you close, make sure you start trimming her hooves now while she's young, so she's used to it and will let you continue to do it. Really important. If their hooves aren't trimmed properly, they grow sideways and the poor pigs can become lame as a result. I'm attached another link for you. It's a Yahoo Group that you should join. A little on the chatty side, but still very informative. Well, GW won't let me link it, but you can find it in Yahoo Groups - "Pig Info and Chat" Kisses to Porkahontas, Betsy