Don't Fall for The Teacup Pig Scam

Teacup pigs are adorable, right? Miniature piglets that can live in your home and never grow larger than a human baby-- sounds like a great idea! But it's not a reality. "Teacup pigs" are really a cruel scam that only benefit the sellers.

Kim Horcher and Ivan Van Norman (Geek and Sundry Twitch host) discuss!

***************************************­*************

KIM:

IVAN:

Nerd Alert: Bringing you tech news, gaming, geek culture and more every day of the week with host Kim Horcher and friends. Part of the TYT Network of shows.

[beachguyli]

I have 2 mini pigs. They are a GREAT pet--extremely intelligent, never make in the house and are incredibly affectionate. They love belly rubs, love to watch animal planet and all is ok unless they see another pig on the TV and then they scream at it until they chase it "off the screen and out of their house", hahaha. They love to snuggle and give kisses. GREAT pets. One weighs 95 pounds and the other 125. They are NOT huge but rather small and squatty like a torpedo--solid.

[amara.nthine]

I'm surprised that Kim was so dismissive, they could've taken a moment to explain that pigs can be wonderful pets (trainable and as smart, if not smarter, than dogs) so long as the owner has educated themselves (as you should do with any pet animal, even dogs and cats if you haven't had one before) and can accommodate them.

[lovergirl]

what is her problem? pigs are EXACTLY like dogs and cats.

[brichilders]

1. potbelly pigs actually taste horrible and are not meant to eaten, so they don't 'go to the meat factory heaven in the sky' or whatever you said
2. why do you believe pigs are like the saran of all pets?? sorry to break it to you, but people have pet pigs and love them to death. 'they are not like dogs at all' so you should only have a pet if it acts like a dog? logic???
3. why are you so negative? does the idea of someone loving their pet pig leave a bad taste in your mouth or something?

[SAK]

Tea cup pigs are real. They however do not stay the size that people think. True tea cups pigs can be 40-50 pounds. Some stay smaller, like 10-20. If a breeder tells you that they will stay the size you get they are lying. Of course they will grow! They are babies and babies tend to grow. I have had two tea cups in my life, one was around 10-12 pounds at 3 years old, the other is 21 pounds at 2.5 years old. They both eat a lot and go to the vet for check ups. They both have/had good health. (The first passed away do to a fairly rare condition that pigs get, the vet said that it just happens and had noting to do with his size or diet, he lived 3 years healthy and died in surgery to fix the problem).

Tea cup pigs are real, they are great pets, just watch out were you buy them.

Also, pigs are similar to cats and dogs, mine acts like a dog in many ways.

[blacksunaccounts]

tea cup pigs are real. a full size pig is WAY bigger than what Paris has. they grow to be the size of a dog.

[Trifler]

I've read that pigs are smarter than cats and dogs. You can train them like dogs, and they learn faster. They are social and will love you. They'll get lonely if left by themselves too much.

We typically don't worry about catching diseases from cats or dogs or them catching anything from us, but if you have the flu, it is possible for your pig to catch it from you. You can catch the flu from pigs too, but apparently this is very rare.

[leacomments]

small pigs aren't regular pigs. They are a small breed of pig, and although yes, they don't stay 15 pounds like people suspect, they are really small compared to average sized pigs. For example, an average size pig can weigh up to 600 pounds! however, a mini pig will usually weigh up to 40- 65 pounds, and maybe a little more like 85 or 95. still, compared to a normal pig breed this is tiny. You have to look at the parents though, because pigs take 3 years to grow, so look at the parents and ask for their exact birth and age. I know someone who has a 45 pound, healthy pig who is 5 years old. :)

[bigboymooz]

actually they do exist. pot bellies aren't ment to be eaten though. teacup piggies are called that because when they are born they fit inside a teacup

[vaguelyghost]

Liars, mini pigs are real and grow up to about the height of your knee -_- They are much smaller than normal pigs.

[denverwalker]

This woman... Get the funk outa my face!

[dwigtrortugal]

My friend bought two baby teacup piglets, and posed them in a cup for a photo. But I wasn't expecting what she did next - she boiled a kettle of water and poured it over them, making them scream in complete agony

[starlight]

They are over 50 breeds of miniature pigs. The word teacup pig is just basically a summary of the small breed of pig. It is not a scam this is a real breed of pig just like there are many breeds of larger and smaller pigs.

[TheAcenightcreeper]

She is 100% right, my dad worked in a landfill and rescued two "teacup" pigs, that were thrown away like common garbage. They do not make great pets people!!!! They live 25 years, if they are kept healthy, and they are not social animals, they become very defensive of their alpha, and are easily frightened. They need their hooves clipped, groomed, and it is expensive people, feed is very expensive, they just don't eat pig pellets, you need to feed them fruit and vegetables.

Please stop this cruel cycle of abuse to these pigs, stop giving the disgusting breeders profits.

[santonbiff]

Why are two tv hosts discussing this matter, and not.. hmm.. i dont know.. someone with actual knowledge in this subject?

[LaalByersGaming]

Really, small-size “micro pigs” do exist. The original breeding herd is in the lake district.

[nellz]

This chick has no clue what she is talking about. She's the one who needs to do more research.

[carsyncamp]

A "mini pig" is any pig that weighs under 300lbs, but comparing that to the weight of a normal domestic pig (the pink ones in all those cute little stories) which can weigh around 790 pounds they're pretty damn mini.

Pigs can be really good pets if you can train them properly. Basically they are a mix between a dog and a toddler. They're trainable and can be very loving but they also throw temper tantrums and break shit.

[Kandei-Kain]

Interesting. I found a breeder that specializes in Juliana pigs which are smaller pigs. They get about 12" tall and 35-65 lbs fully grown. They are about the size of a French Bulldog (the smaller bulldog breed). So while "teacup" might not exist as it is just a descriptive not a breed of big "Mini" pigs certainly do exist and make great pets. "Mini" pigs are a different breed of pig and not your regular farm pig or potbelly pig. Juliana are a breed of pig much smaller than other pigs. Pardon my rant but people making claims when they've done no research irritates me. These full grown pigs are still less than knee high on my 5'3" self. Pigs are very smart, very teachable, and bond very well with their humans if they are spayed/neutered (that being a requirement to keep one as a pet). *sigh* Teacup and Micro are just the description people give to smaller pigs because they are smaller than the usual, but don't con everyone into thinking there are no small pig breeds that make amazing pets, that's irresponsible and rude. Next time bother to actually research fully before you turn people away from what could be the best family pet they'll ever have.

[CatVomitX]

Despite it being a scam, pigs are still considered great pets because they're highly intelligent creatures, most people wouldn't think so because they're farm animals.