How to Give a Pet Pot-Bellied Pig a Shot

Though pot-bellied pigs require only a few vaccines, the pigs are still suseptible to illness and disease. If veternarian assistance is unavailable, you may have to learn how to give your pig a shot. Follow these steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Prepare the medication before catching your pot-bellied pig. Having the syringe, needle and medication ready to inject before catching the pig will cause the animal less stress.

2. Catch the pot-bellied pig and back it into a corner. They will normally sit down when backed up, and allowing them to rest against the corner with you in front of them will block any escape route.

3. Determine if the shot should be administered in the muscle or just under the skin. For the muscle, locate an area in the neck muscle. This area is easier to inject than any other muscle on the body.

4. Quickly nsert the needle directly into the neck muscle, inject the medication and pull the needle straight out. This is the least-stressful way to give a pet pot-bellied pig a shot.

5. Follow different directions for giving a shot just under the skin. Pigs have thicker skin and are harder to inject under the skin. The needle should be held at an angle when inserted into the skin and only inserted 1 inch or an inch and a half.

Tips & Warnings

• Pot-bellied pigs are difficult to inject with shots and you must take care to inject the needle correctly.