Sid Update and Maybe a Buddy? NEW UPDATE

[SkyWarrior]

Good news about Sid! Since I posted about him, he's gained weight and is taking his walks really well. I've been enjoying him so much that I wanted to get another llama as a buddy and eventually as a packer.

I found a free suri llama but there are some issues with him. He's 4 years old, intact and has fighting teeth. He was totally freaked out when I met him and I took two hours to work with him and get him to the point where he would walk well on lead, take food from my hand, let me touch his mouth and let me touch him on his head, neck and back.

I would neuter him, get his fighting teeth removed and work with him. Granted, I'm not a llama trainer, but I am an animal behaviorist. I can read animals pretty well and I'm good at getting them to calm down and work with me. He seemed to respond to me and even gave me a submissive sign when all was said and done.

I would separate the pens and have the two llamas get to know each other through the fence and eventually move them together.

What do you think? Am I crazy to consider this llama?

 

[ksalvagno]

Since you are willing to work with the llama, I don't see a problem. Even those guys need a good home. Once he is gelded, the fighting teeth won't grow back fast and sometimes they don't grow back at all. We just clip fighting teeth here. The intact males tend to grow them fast but the gelded ones don't. Good luck with your decision. Some of the best llamas just needed someone willing to work with them.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Since you are willing to work with the llama, I don't see a problem. Even those guys need a good home. Once he is gelded, the fighting teeth won't grow back fast and sometimes they don't grow back at all. We just clip fighting teeth here. The intact males tend to grow them fast but the gelded ones don't. Good luck with your decision. Some of the best llamas just needed someone willing to work with them.

So, you don't think I'm crazy? Other than the normal craziness of owning a llama?

 

[mully]

Don't geld him right away ...see how he progresses. Intact males make better llamas IF they are socialized. Keep them both apart for about a week then introduce them slowly. Males do not usually have a problem with each other if there is no female in sight. You might want to have your vet remove the fighting teeth ... it is an ordeal for them but worth doing.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Don't geld him right away ...see how he progresses. Intact males make better llamas IF they are socialized. Keep them both apart for about a week then introduce them slowly. Males do not usually have a problem with each other if there is no female in sight. You might want to have your vet remove the fighting teeth ... it is an ordeal for them but worth doing.

Won't they fight if one is intact and one isn't?

The current owner tried to put him with her gelding (no girls) with no success. Granted, I don't know how she put them together...

 

[ksalvagno]

At some point I would definitely have him gelded but I always like to take the hormonal part out if I don't need them for breeding. i have a friend who had an intact male alpaca who had to live alone because he was so aggressive with other males. When she stopped using him as a herdsire, she had him gelded. He was never able to go in with the big boys that he had previously fought with but she did put him in with her herd of females. He was a great guard alpaca for the girls. Then someone wanted to purchase gelded males and she had some younger males that this boy had never been around. He got along with them, no problem. So there is hope.

Glad Sid is doing fine.

 

[mully]

I have 6 males that live together and do not fight, none are gelded ...they romp and play and never any problems. If at any time a llama gets very aggressive sure have him gelded. This is not always a "cure" because with some animals gelding just does not change them. I have a mini donkey that at around 2 years he got real aggressive and gelding him worked like a charm.

 

[SkyWarrior]

At some point I would definitely have him gelded but I always like to take the hormonal part out if I don't need them for breeding. i have a friend who had an intact male alpaca who had to live alone because he was so aggressive with other males. When she stopped using him as a herdsire, she had him gelded. He was never able to go in with the big boys that he had previously fought with but she did put him in with her herd of females. He was a great guard alpaca for the girls. Then someone wanted to purchase gelded males and she had some younger males that this boy had never been around. He got along with them, no problem. So there is hope.

Glad Sid is doing fine.

Good to know. I checked Sid today and discovered that even though he had been gelded. he had his fighting teeth. So, it means I will have the vet out to remove the fighting teeth from both when I get the other llama. Sid finally let me peek in his mouth, but it was a little bit of a struggle After having an animal that starved (I felt every vertebrae and checked with the books I've had about llamas and it showed him way too thin), it's nice he's coming around. He's a bit more active, his teeth are cleaner and he'll look for me and then move off like he doesn't want to be caught.

I think having two llamas will be a good thing. I think there will be a period of adjustment, but I also think they'll do okay eventually.

 

[ksalvagno]

Since they are herd animals, I'm sure eventually they will be happy to have a buddy. Was this intact male near females? Many times intact males will get along fine if no females are around or be aggressive when females are around. I had a male alpaca that got aggressive because he could smell the females. We ended up selling him since he was taking up a pasture and stall for himself. Was great around people but don't put another alpaca or llama in with him.

By the way, believe it or not, females can have fighting teeth that need to be clipped too. I had one female alpaca that had to have her fighting teeth clipped. Only had to clip them the once but it was interesting.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Since they are herd animals, I'm sure eventually they will be happy to have a buddy. Was this intact male near females? Many times intact males will get along fine if no females are around or be aggressive when females are around. I had a male alpaca that got aggressive because he could smell the females. We ended up selling him since he was taking up a pasture and stall for himself. Was great around people but don't put another alpaca or llama in with him.

By the way, believe it or not, females can have fighting teeth that need to be clipped too. I had one female alpaca that had to have her fighting teeth clipped. Only had to clip them the once but it was interesting.

He was actually used as a stud for a few times. And yes, he was around females until fairly recently when the woman sold all her females.

I think being on a farm without females will help as will the gelding. I did not know that about female llamas, so that's good to keep in mind.

On another note, I've been told not to feed straight Alfalfa hay because it clogs the urinary tract. Have you heard of this? I have Sid on grass hay now, but I had fed him alfalfa for a short time.