At a price of approximately $1,100 each, teacup pigs are now being sold as companion pets since their development in Great Britain by breeder Jane Craft about five months ago.

The growing phenomena of teacup pigs involve sales of two pigs per sale for each person and sold only to owners who are home all day, presently sold only in Britain.

The teacup pigs are wonderful pets for people who allergic to dogs and cats, due to the fact teacup pigs have hair instead of animal fur. Additionally, pigs have been proven to be much more intelligent than dogs or cats and are said to be easier to train.

When first born, the teacup piglets (also called micropigs) usually weigh about 9 ounces and are actually the size of a small teacup. Once they are full grown at two years of age, they are only 12-to-16 inches high and usually will weigh no more than 65 pounds as adults.

Their breeder is quoted as saying, "It's about the size of a small quarrel. They make fantastic pets. They're really clean. They're highly intelligent and just love to be loved. They give so much back to you."

Most studies have shown us for a long time that pigs are superior to dogs or other pets in IQ tests, and requiring a lot of social interaction to prevent boredom and loneliness. People who own potbellied pigs well recognize this fact, with the potbelly pigs becoming popular awhile back as house pets.

These new teacup pigs are a mixture of the previous potbellied pigs along with other porcine pig breeds---Tamworth, Kune Kune, and the Gloucester Old Spot. A pet that is so intelligent they become bored very quickly, their new owners not only need to be registered to keep livestock (as pigs are livestock) but need to remain home all the time with their pair of pigs.

It takes about three years of a pig to become full grown, and are sexually active before those three years are up. Remember this is a new breed and is just recently entering the United States, so many of the teacup pigs may grow larger than thought.

Also, zoning for a farm animal such as a potbellied pig may be necessary, even though many owners of teacup pig have them litter-trained and completely house broke. It is best to check with the town's zone regulations to make sure.

Teacup and potbelly pigs are very clean. But more than that, they are highly intelligent. Litter training is not a problem for them, nor training them to go for walks. They have hair instead of fur, and are considered perfect animals for people highly allergic to dogs and cats.These facts have made them highly popular as pets.

Also, pigs on a whole have long been researched for being the perfect and most intelligent domestic animal on a global basis, even though pigs are usually seen as less than glamorous and smart. Being called "a pig" is not the most kindest remark, but recent studies show quite the opposite about them.

Pigs have no sweat glands, so therefore they cannot sweat. Lack of sweat glands means no odor. To compensate for this, they seek out water or mud to keep them cool, keeps biting bugs and pests away, and prevents their skin from being sunburn. It has nothing to do with how dirty or intelligent they are….on the contrary, they are excessively smart animals.

This was proven in the 1990s by pig intelligent research, doing things like moving the cursor on a video screen with their snouts. They can open doors, distinguish between scribbles that are new and ones they have seen before. The research showed they can learn skills as fast as chimpanzees.