teenytinypigs
Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to have a piggy as a pet and finally, last year, I moved into my own place with my boyfriend and was finally given the go-ahead to start my search. I searched every pig website possible, including Gumtree, where several people tried to scam me!
Finally, after talking to a friend, she recommended to add Teeny Tiny Pigs on Facebook. After a few months, Carmen informed me that there was a little piggy name Galaxy ready for a new home – and just like that he was mine! Not once did I have a bad experience with TTP and was answered within an hour and never longer than a day. I have never personally met the people from TTP but strangely they feel like family and are just a phone call away!
Galaxy has been the most wonderful little boy from the moment we met! He was extremely easy to potty train and within the first two weeks he learned to sit and turn. Although he wants a lot of attention, he puts a smile on my face every time I see him. I would definitely recommend anybody looking to purchase a pig from Teeny Tiny Pigs, as I have only been treated with respect, honesty and friendliness. And as for Galaxy, I couldn’t have asked for a better pet.
- Sheree Pretorius, Durban.
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Testimonials
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If there was a piggy heaven on earth, Carmen’s Teeny Tiny Pig farm would be it! A few months ago, the teacup pig itch got me and I started searching for a reputable breeder. Now, I love animals, and the one rule I have before buying any pet is to first visit the person I buy it from the ensure they really care for the animals and are not just using them to make a quick buck. So after searching, researching, scams and lies, I eventually found Carmen and her Teeny Tiny Pigs. I live in Pretoria so I organised to visit Cape Town so I could swing by the farm and do my checklist visit – and what an amazing visit it was!
Seeing healthy, happy pigs really does steal your heart. They are so small and cute, and boy were some of those piggies living the good life. You could immediately tell they were loved for, cared for, and happy to be there.
My dealings with Carmen were always professional, helpful and honest. She is always available for help, tips and just some good advice. In my opinions, there is only one reputable breeder for teacup pigs in South Africa. and that is Teeny Tiny Pigs!
- Chriszelda Pieterse, Pretoria.
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My son, whose sixth birthday was approaching, passed on his birthday list to Dad and I in preparation. To our pleasant surprise there was only one item on the list; to our horror it was a PIG! Where do I start hunting down a teacup pig for a six-year-old without being ripped off? A few days later, completely by chance, I saw an advertisement in a local advertising magazine: Teeny Tiny Pigs. I called and spoke to Carmen, who advised me about the care of a pig and on many other things that we should consider when taking on the responsibility of a pig, especially if we were only going to have one pig as a pet. Throughout our conversation, I was never under the impression that it was a sales pitch and was thrilled when Carmen gave me an opportunity to come out to the farm with the children to have a look at the pigs.
When we arrived at the farm, I was overwhelmed by this young woman’s passion for pigs. They were healthy, the farm was clean, the pigs were tame and child-friendly and there were so many different pigs to choose from that I had no doubt in my mind that these pigs were the genuine thing. Carmen’s honesty to our questions was also refreshing, as one always doubts people’s intentions when it comes to purchasing unusual animals as pets. After purchasing our pig, Carmen gave us a well-prepared care sheet that had everything in it one could ever need to know about the care of their pet, including instructions on applying sunscreen to our pig to ensure that he does not get sunburn.
It only took a few days to get Chunky housetrained and he goes everywhere with us, even sleeping in our tent when we camp. We have become so attached to Chunky and I would certainly recommend a pig as a family pet. We later went on to purchase two additional pigs - Knuckles and Daisy about 6 weeks later and there was no doubt where to shop for our additional pets: Teeny Tiny Pigs! I highly recommend you consider purchasing your pig from Carmen. You will not be disappointed by her service and passion for these animals.
- Galia Aloisia Kioufi, Cape Town.
I, like many other teacup lovers, heard about Teeny Tiny Pigs for the first time when they featured on the TV programme Pasella. This propelled their fame, together with this an abnormal increase of enquiries from potential teacup owners. This allows a business to increase its sales, but together with this sudden fame, an increase of reviews and client opinions about the service they received. I read many reviews and comments posted on the internet and decided to visit the business on a farm outside Stellenbosch/Somerset West to see for myself. After a friendly welcome by Carmen, who is always wearing her gumboots, she took me around to see their facilities. The adult pigs are kept in a large enclosure outside and they were all in excellent condition. We entered the enclosure, only to be met by very friendly pigs, some of whom demanded a scratch on the stomach. Afterwards, Carmen took me to see the babies. The baby teacups and their mothers were kept in extremely clean and cozy housing units, with abundant hay and food. She showed me how they absolutely love yoghurt by pouring some into a food bowl. The babies had a feast!
Like many other potential buyers, I though teacup pigs stay very small, hence “teacup”, but Carmen walked me to their landras pigs, that are almost the size of a small cow, therefore, seeing adult pigs that are the size of a medium-size dog and even smaller clearly demonstrated the concept of “teacup” to me.
After doing my research and saving my cash, I bought myself a white and black teacup male from Teeny Tiny Pigs. When I received him, he was in excellent condition and, although still very frightened of people, like all baby animals, I got him to sleep in my lap only two days later. We grew extremely close and he was so playful and friendly. I called him Gertjie. Two weeks later I got a call from work informing me that I would be going overseas for a few years, so I had to get my teacup a good home. I informed Carmen of my situation and she gladly took him back and refunded me! This is almost unheard of in today’s business world.
I can vouch for Teeny Tiny Pigs and Carmen Vosloo. Gertjie found a good home and is now a beautiful adult teacup pig. They not only provide friendly and excellent service, but also excellent animals. I would advise potential and interested buyers to make sure they do their research, and make sure they can provide their teacup with the home it needs. Carmen will always give you all the information you need. We as people have a way of pointing fingers when something is not to our liking, but we rarely reward excellent service with good reviews and this is my testimonial for good work done. Well done Carmen and Teeny Tiny Pigs!
- Oliver Greef, Stellenbosch.
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I have had a passion for pigs as long as I can remember. I grew up on a busy street in Cape Town with a Siamese cat, knowing one day I'd have a pet pig. At the age of 33, my dream became a reality and I bought a tiny black potbellied pig. I named her Coco and she spent the first few months of her life in our farm cottage lying on a beanbag with our fox terrier, or curled up in one of my children's arms. But alas, she grew. And grew… until I was forced to build a home for her in the farmyard.
Although she remained affectionate, our close bond widened over time. Years later, we moved to a small holding outside Plettenberg Bay. We had dogs, horses, ponies, ducks, rabbits and chickens, but no pig. I searched and searched for a "teacup" pig for months until I came across Carmen's website. I travelled to her farm on the outskirts of Somerset West - half expecting to find adorable piglets with enormous parents on a smelly farm!
My first surprise was meeting a petite, beautiful blonde holding a fully grown pig. My next surprise was meeting someone who loved pigs as much as, if not more than, myself - surrounded by miniature pigs in an immaculate paddock. A couple of weeks later, I collected my precious black baby and named him Rambo. And a few months later, a spotty sow called Marshmallow! They have since produced six adorable piglets, two of which have been flown to loving homes in Zambia!
I have called Carmen many times and she has always been there for me with advice and concern - even helping me sort out Rambo's obsession with mounting a chicken! People who visit our farm continue to be amazed at the size and friendliness of our pigs. I cannot recommend Carmen or her little pigs more highly!
- Katherine Barlow, Plettenberg Bay.
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My dealings with Teeny Tiny Pigs have been very positive. From the day we decided to get a pig, to this day, Carmen has been giving advice or just sending messages to ask if all is ok. We came across the Facebook page of Teeny Tiny Pigs by chance and just started looking at the piggies. The next thing I know my mother in law was hooked. So we made an enquiry about getting a female and got a response from Carmen to say that there was a female available. So we jumped at the chance and got Zoe a few days later.
She was in a great condition. A little scared obviously but a few days later she was really the little queen of the house. We did a bit of research and decided to get her a companion, again we contacted Carmen and we got Oliver, our male, a few days later.
It’s been 10 months now and not one day have we looked back. Teeny Tiny Pigs have been awesome with every little thing we have asked, needed or otherwise. I would definitely say that Teeny Tiny Pigs are one in a million.
OWNING A PIG: This is one decision I will NEVER regret. We live on a small holding just outside of George. We knew that we wanted to have animals, but not the usual type. Since getting Oliver and Zoe it’s been nonstop fun. Every day they do something to amaze us and you always end up laughing about it.
We have no kids at the moment so these two are our little babies. All of our friends have asked “But why a pig? “My response is well “Why a dog? Why a cat?’ To me, a pig is just something else. They are far more intelligent than a dog or a cat. They are very fast learners. It took us two days to potty train them and 15 minutes to teach them how to sit. I mean, where will you get any other animal that can be trained so quickly? Since then we have never had any accidents in the house - they know exactly where their litter box is and that’s it. Now that they are older they don’t even use it anymore. They wait until morning to do their business outside.
We feed them pellets twice a day and they get a treat when it is deserved. We are very fortunate because of their diet and not over eating they have stayed small. You have to be so careful nowadays - people think because it’s a pig it can eat anything. This is definitely not the case. Yes, they are pigs, but they are small pigs. They shouldn’t be fed constantly otherwise you will sit with problems as they get older. Mine never get fed any meat of any sort nor do they get any table scraps or fed off the plate. They are outside all day eating grass. If it’s a cold day we leave them inside and give them a little bit more food. I would rather get a pig over a dog now. They are so much more fun, they give great cuddles in bed, the best hot water bottles in winter. They are very lovable, and yes it may take a while to get used to the texture of their hair, you know you will never have problems with ticks or fleas.
Thank you so much Teeny Tiny Pigs for blessing us with these two babies.
- Keisha and Frans, George.
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A couple of days before the 9th June 2011 I started making enquiries about teacup piglets with the purpose of purchasing one for my son’s birthday and another for my daughter. I initially phoned Carmen but she was unable to supply me one in time for my son’s birthday. I then went onto Gumtree where a person by the name of ***** was advertising miniature piglets and potbelly piglets. I phoned him and he told me that he had two available for me and that I could collect the day before my son’s birthday. I was delighted!
We undertook the long drive on the 8th June 2011 and met *****, where he showed us the parents of the piglets, which were huge compared to our understanding of what they should be. He also informed me that there wasn’t such a thing as a “teacup piglet”, but rather smaller breeds of pigs. The father of the piglets we had planned to buy had tusks and later I was informed by others that this is an indication of them being of wild boar stock. The piglets were in a sty and absolutely filthy and far, far larger than what we had expected. We stupidly made the purchase, I for one not wanting to disappoint my son on his birthday and also still digesting all this new information.
As we made the long trip back with the rather large and dirty piglets, I realised that there was absolutely no way of keeping pigs that grew to that size. My property is just too small. When we got home we promptly bathed the pigs and once all the dirt was removed we discovered sores on the pigs. They were shocked state. The very next day, I e-mailed ***** and explained to him that considering the reality of the size of the pigs we could not keep them and that we would like to return them and get a refund. Out of nowhere he tells me of a no refund policy. I explained to him that I needed that money back so that I could buy my son a gift for his birthday. He then started with games saying he’d give me half. He also made it extremely difficult to return the gift but on the 9th June 2011, we took them back and had to climb over the gate and carry them down the long dirt drive. ***** was nowhere to be seen. To add insult to injury my entire family were infected by scabies (in animals – mange) by the contact with his piglets. Anybody who has had scabies will know what a mission it is to rid oneself and home of this.
Despite numerous attempts at getting my money back, I have had no joy to date.
I went back to Carmen to see if indeed this concept of teacup piglets was just a load of nonsense. What a difference. Her adult pigs were indeed small and well cared for. I realised why Carmen is considered the only true supplier of teacup piglets in South Africa. My business dealings with her were honest and upfront. She really went the extra mile to make sure that both the client and her beloved piglets were happy.
- Thelma Gunston, Somerset West.