Friends male llama sick.... what might it be

[chickenzoo]

friend recently got a male llama, very very wooly. he started walking funny today and falling over. was recently turned out to graze with female llama, all others are fine......don't know it was heat stroke or if he ate something. he gets up but will fall over again. i went over and sheared him, gave him electrolites etc... but i don't know what to do if he ate something toxic....... he seems alert, eyes seem a little dilated...also his testes seem rather large, but i only have young males so i don't know......like tennis ball size? any thoughts on what may be wrong - no vets close that treat llamas

 

[ksalvagno]

Where does he have the problem? Is his back end weak?

Is it hot where you are? If he hadn't been shorn and it is hot, his testes would enlarge from heat.

 

[chickenzoo]

His whole body, he just fell over, and every time he took a step or too down he'd go sideways. i don't think he had ever been shorn before as it was thickly matted by his skin... even found and auction sticker under there...and pine cones.. poor guy.... It is Florida and has been hot, I felt it was heat stroke, but the enlarged testes kind of stumped me. I shaved him, ( i ONLY HAVE HAND SHEARS... FUN FUN) gave him electrolytes and we wet him down slowly. He seemed to be feeling better by the time I left, he had moved himself back to his favorite laying spot and was looking around. I'll see how he is doing today when she calls. Thank you for that info.

 

[ksalvagno]

The reason I ask where he is having problems is because it could be meningeal worm. But if he hasn't been shorn in a long time and you are in Florida, it definitely could be heat stress. I would keep giving him the electrolytes and get some Probios into him daily for at least a week or some type of probiotic. If you give him Probios, I would give him at least 10g per day. You can't overdue probiotics so you would be better off to get more in him than less.

If you could give him a kiddie pool to go in, that would be great. You would want to change the water daily. If not, then hose him down a couple times a day. Do not water his back, only his legs and stomach and if he likes it, his butt/testicles (under his tail). If you get his back wet, it will only serve as an insulator and make him warmer.

Make sure he has some good quality grass hay too. I would also worm him good. For meningeal worm, you would give him a dose of Ivomec and then 2 weeks later another dose. We dose at 1cc per 70 lbs here but I don't know what your area does. Also, you have to do Safeguard for 7 days at 1cc per 7 pounds (yes, it is a LOT of Safeguard). It is the Safeguard that kills the larvae, not the Ivomec. You need to make sure you don't underdose these. Once again, better to overdose than underdose. If it isn't meningeal worm, then you just have thoroughly wormed him which he probably needed anyway.

 

[chickenzoo]

Thank you, I will keep this info for my records and pass it on to her aswell. He has a pasture full of good grass and a small pond, but he had a huge amount of fiber on him.... poor guy.

Also, for info sake, what would one do for a llama or alpaca that ate something toxic? I'd like to know before I ever find out the hard way.... fingers crossed.

 

[ksalvagno]

It really depends on what it is. Sometimes just a large dose of B Complex will take care of it. But you may need to use charcoal or something too. If you have a problem, you could also do a search on AlpacaNation Forum. I'm sure somewhere in there are some poison problems.

Is he able to use that small pond? The problem being is that alpacas/llamas will poop and pee when they stand in water. So if he is going into the pond and drinking from the pond, he will end up with a good parasite load since he will also be contaminating that pond. Most people fence off ponds so that alpacas/llamas can't go in them.

If he has a pasture full of good grass that is great. As long as he can get up and graze. If he can't get up and graze, then he will need hay until he is well enough to move around.

I hope he does ok for your friend.