Spiders and Snakes: Are Pigs Immune To Their Bites

Spider and Snake Bites in Pigs - information on spider bites, snake bites, and how to respond in both cases. The importance of seeking immediate veterinary care for both types of bites.

Spider Bites: Most spider bites are minor, but some, such as the black widow, brown widow, and brown recluse spiders, can be dangerous. Symptoms of a bite from one of these might include initial swelling and redness, followed by intense pain, abdominal pain, and sweating.  

Brown recluse spiders are commonly found indoors in dark areas like closets, cellars, and under furniture. Black widow and brown widow spiders can be found hiding under things such as tables, chairs, the base of potted plants and under the lip of kiddie pools.

Brown Widow Spider under lip of a kiddie pool.

Treatment involves cleaning the wound, applying a cool compress, over-the-counter pain relievers, and prompt medical attention if symptoms worsen or the bite's source is unknown.

Swollen hand from Brown Widow Spider bite.

 

 

To my knowledge none of my pigs have ever been bitten by a spider. However, one got me a couple of years ago when I grabbed the kiddie pool to flip it over for cleaning. It was extremely painful.
 

Snake Bites: It's a dangerous misconception that pigs are immune to snake bites. While they may have some natural defenses, they are not immune. While pigs possess a thicker layer of skin and a substantial layer of adipose tissue (fat) which can slow the absorption of venom into the bloodstream. This provides a degree of resistance, not immunity. This adipose tissue acts as a buffer, making it harder for the venom to reach blood vessels quickly.

Venom still reaches the bloodstream, and bites in areas with less fat are more dangerous. Pigs' natural inclination to kill snakes highlights the importance of treating every snake as potentially venomous. Prevention involves recognizing local snake species, and assuming any bite is venomous. Key actions include restricting the pig's movement, immobilizing the bite area, keeping the pig calm, and immediately seeking veterinary attention.

Treatment Recommendations: Do not attempt to capture or kill the snake. Avoid cutting the bite wound, applying ice packs/tourniquets, or administering any medication without veterinary guidance. Prompt veterinary care is critical. Antivenom is a primary treatment (if available), though it can be expensive and has potential allergic reactions. The goal with snake bites is to slow venom spread.

Identification: It can be a challenge to distinguish between venomous and harmless snakes, thus treat all snakes as potentially dangerous. You can use a few identification tips, including checking eye shape, head shape, presence of heat-sensing pits, and rattles. But, if you are like me, I don't want to get that close. Understanding bite marks, noting close puncture marks from fangs, and ragged bite marks from non-venomous snakes, can also help determine if a snake was poisonous.

The snakes pictured below are both from my yard. I had never heard of the Coach Whip and with some research after taking this picture was able to find that it is not interested in attacking one of my pigs. It is hunting small rodents like mice, rats and squirrels. The Coral Snake is the second one that I have seen in my yard in a couple of months. A neighbor killed the first one. This one slithered away.

 

Coach Whip Snake

Coral Snake

 

Key Takeaways:  Both spider and snake bites can pose serious risks to pigs. Prompt veterinary intervention, proper first aid, and a cautious approach to both animals are crucial. 

Understanding local snakes and treating every snake as a potential threat are vital for pig safety.

 

How To Keep My Mini Pig From Tipping Its Water Bowl

Having a pig that constantly flips its water bowl can be frustrating. Not only does it create a mess, but it can also leave your pig without access to fresh water. However, there are several strategies you can try to encourage your pig to stop this behavior.

If you're a pig owner, you may have experienced the frustrating sight of your pig flipping his water bowl over and over again. Not only is this behavior messy and wasteful, but it can also lead to dehydration and other health issues for your pig. But fear not, there are ways to help curb this behavior and keep your pig hydrated and happy.

1. Secure the Water Bowl:
One effective way to prevent your pig from flipping its water bowl is to secure it in place. Consider using a heavy ceramic or metal bowl that is difficult for your pig to tip over. Alternatively, you can attach the bowl to the wall or side of their enclosure using clips or bungee cords to keep it stable.

2. Use a Waterer with a Spout:
Another option is to switch to a waterer with a spout instead of a traditional bowl. Pigs are less likely to flip a waterer with a spout since it doesn't easily tip over. This can help ensure that your pig always has access to water without the risk of spills.

3. Monitor and Redirect Behavior:
Keep an eye on your pig's behavior around the water bowl. If you notice it starting to tip or flip the bowl, gently redirect its attention using a verbal cue or offer a distraction such as a treat or toy. Consistent monitoring and redirection can help discourage the unwanted behavior over time.

4. Provide Enrichment and Exercise:
Sometimes, pigs may flip their water bowls out of boredom or excess energy. Make sure your pig has plenty of enrichment activities and opportunities for exercise to keep it mentally and physically stimulated. This can help reduce stress and prevent destructive behaviors like flipping the water bowl.

5. Consult with a Veterinarian:
If your pig continues to flip its water bowl despite trying various strategies, consider consulting with a veterinarian who specializes in pig care. There may be underlying health issues or behavioral reasons contributing to the behavior that require professional guidance.

How do I pig proof my water bowl. A popular question we get is what can I do get my pig to stop flipping his water bowl? If the water bowl is outside one of the heavy duty rubber bowls from your feed/supply store work best. I use those here along with kiddie pools with an area cut down so they can easily drink from it.

 

 

Heavy duty rubber water/feed bowl that is great for outside piggies.

 

Water pail for hanging on the fence.

 

A great DIY is to put the water bowl in a tire.

For the house pig that likes to flip their bowl you might need to get a little more creative as shown in the picture below.

I have seen some pictures of water bowls made of concrete or the bottom filled with concrete. While these make the bowl more difficult for your pig to flip, they also make them more difficult for you to pick up and clean.

Conclusion:
By implementing these tips and being patient with your pig, you can work towards preventing it from flipping its water bowl. Remember that each pig is unique, so it may take some trial and error to find the most effective solution. With time and consistency, you can help your pig develop better habits and ensure its well-being.

Activities for Pet Pig Enrichment

It's the middle of winter and my pig is bored, what can I do to keep him entertained or what kind of toys do they like? Here are a few suggestions from the very simple to the more elaborate.

In my experience it doesn't always have to cost a lot of money to give your pig a few hours of entertainment a day. With our first pigs, Ziggy & Flower we would give them newspaper & magazines to shred...brown packing paper works just as well too. This was a favorite of Ziggy's and he would wear himself out within about 30 minutes...shaking and shredding the paper and jumping around. Other days we would roll grapes across the room for them to go after. I know not real exciting, but it got them up and moving about. We eventually made them a rooting box which we filled with fist sized river rocks and would then put either their pellets or popcorn in it for them. 

Flower in her rooting box.

Rooting Box: This is a great indoor activity. Appropriate items for a rooting box are anything safe and big enough to not swallow or too sharp. We used fist sized river rocks with ours, but many now use play pit balls, large stones, stuffed animals, an assortment of toys, blankets, anything your pig can search through will work fine. We made our rooting box out of wood while most folks use a kiddie pool. I have even seen where someone took an end table and turned it upside down to make their rooting box.

Using a pool as a rooting box.

 

What kind of toys do our pet pigs like?
In my experience most pigs don't care for toys like a dog would, but here are a few toys and ideas for keeping piggy entertained that you can try.

Put some peanut butter into the center of a bobble toy and then let your pig roll it around as it licks peanut butter out of it.

Any rope toys designed for dogs are also good for a pig. A milk jug or liter bottle with a few holes and pig pellets added. Your pig will push this all over the house until each little pellet has fallen out and eaten.

Another use of the 2 liter pop bottle is to remove the cap, make holes a little bigger than pig pellets. Vary the holes from about 2 inches from the bottom to about 4 inches from the bottom so he doesn't get frustrated. Take some twine and tie around top to an anchored ceiling hook. Make sure it hangs at snout level so he doesn't have to look up constantly.

Balls seem to make a lot of pigs happy as well. Big balls like bowling balls, sports balls, such as basketballs or soccer balls are all good choices. Just make sure you put anything breakable put away.

A wiffle ball or something similar filled with goodies. This makes for some good exercise. 

Exercise ball with goodies

Some like musical toys made for young children. Horns they can grab with their mouths or piano keys they can play with their noses provide challenging activities for our pets.

Remember that what one pig finds entertaining another might find just so-so. Have fun finding what your pig's favorite is.

Make sure that those outside pigs are getting exercise too during these winter months. If you have snow on the ground I suggest shoveling a path(s) so they can get out of their enclosure to go for a walk when weather permits, not just potty. We would sprinkle popcorn or pellets for them to search for.

Bonnie and Clyde searching for some goodies that I threw them to help keep them active.

One last thing for the outside pig is this feed dispenser that I came across. Make sure that the holes are big enough for the pellets to come out of, but don't drill too many of them as you want them to "work" for them. Make sure it is at snout level so your pig doesn't have to look up to get the treats out. 

Outside feed dispenser for pigs.

Cold Weather and Pneumonia

Question: How long can I leave my house pig outside for potty duty in the winter time?

When it really gets dead of winter we only leave them out long enough to do their business and bring them back in again....but then they are always banging at the door to come in anyway!

The reason we don't leave them out long is that they are house pigs and after all night at one temperature we don't want them to have to try to acclimate to the cold temp then back to the warm again.

Drastic changes of temperature can cause respiratory problems like pneumonia. Going out to potty is OK but, we don't like them out there for more than an hour because of the change in temp and the body trying to adjust to it. Pigs that are kept outside all the time get their body temp regulated to that...the same holds true for the indoor house pigs.

Pneumonia: We put this out every year but maybe for new people we should do it again. Pig's don't usually show many symptoms of pneumonia. They don't cough etc. They quit eating!! But most don't even show the labored breathing until it becomes life threatening.

IF A PIG QUITS EATING YOU HAVE A PROBLEM! IF A PIG STARTS PICKING AT HIS FOOD...YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!

A pig is not like a dog...pig's love to eat and they don't get tired of the same diet...they don't get bored with food...they don't quit eating with the idea of getting something better. IF A PIG DOESN'T EAT THERE IS A PROBLEM!

There are other illness that might cause this, but this time of the year, on an average age pig, pneumonia is the most common reason. Most pneumonia's are easily fixed if you catch it EARLY and start treatment as soon as possible.

Seek vet help right away and explain that you think the pig has pneumonia. If it happens to be a weekend or holiday and no vet can be reached we put ours on any antibiotic we have here until the vet can be reached. This can be most of the antibiotics that humans have taken for infections etc. that might be in your home. Most people have Ampicillin or Amoxycillin on hand. If your on good terms with your vet you might ask for just a few of these pills to keep on hand for this kind of emergency use.

As soon as that pig refuses his feed we start treatment until we can get to the vet. If the pig isn't interested in food at all put the antibiotic in a syringe with a little liquid and squirt it into his mouth. If a pig is completely down...and this is something that does happen with some pneumonia's...from the time you feed in the morning and they are fine...till that night they can be completely down.

We use the injectable antibiotics that you can buy at the farm or feed store if the vet isn't readily available. (I know someone is going to say they couldn't give a shot...you can and will if that's what it takes to save your pig.)

Their recovery can be just as rapid as the time it took them to go down. Some are up and eating by the next morning, but then they go on oral meds for five to seven days. It's just very important that you start treatment as soon as possible and get to the vet as soon as you are able.

This is also where that thermometer comes in handy. Take his temp so you can tell the vet he is running a fever. Normal temp for a potbelly is 99 to 101 ANYTHING over that is a fever. Farm pigs are normal at 102. For the pots pneumonia temps are usually in the 102 to 104 range at the very beginning. The key to quick and complete recovery is quick treatment before the lungs are compromised.