{"id":74,"date":"2019-01-17T10:46:37","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T18:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/?page_id=74"},"modified":"2023-12-11T16:02:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T00:02:43","slug":"llamas-and-alpacas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/veterinary-care\/preventive-health-care\/llamas-and-alpacas\/","title":{"rendered":"Llamas &amp; alpacas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Llamas &amp; alpacas<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\">Standard operating procedures for herd health<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">General procedures<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The llama\/alpaca herd health standard operating procedure (SOP) applies to all llamas\/alpacas owned by WSU and defines the minimum preventive herd health.<\/li><li>Exceptions to the llama\/alpaca herd health SOP must be approved by the IACUC or through veterinary consultation. <\/li><li>Before acquisition, consult with veterinary staff to review incoming health status and determine a quarantine, testing and housing plan. <\/li><li>All veterinary assessments and procedures must be documented in the animal\u2019s medical record.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction of new animals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>On arrival:<ul><li>Assign an Individual Animal Identification (<a href=\"https:\/\/iacuc.wsu.edu\/documents\/2016\/06\/wsu_sop_7.pdf\/\">IACUC SOP #7)<\/a>&nbsp;and create an Animal Care Medical Record (<a href=\"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/documents\/2023\/11\/medical-record-entrance-exam-form.pdf\">example pdf<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/iacuc.wsu.edu\/documents\/2016\/06\/policy_4.pdf\/\">IACUC Policy #4<\/a>).<\/li><li>Complete a physical exam by a veterinarian, veterinary technician or trained animal care technician.<\/li><li>Quarantine away from resident animals for at least 2-4 weeks depending on risk factors. Observe closely for signs of illness and treat as needed. <\/li><li>Test for BVDV (<a href=\"https:\/\/waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu\/2022\/11\/09\/bovine-viral-diarrhea-virus-in-camelids\/\">Bovine viral diarrhea virus<\/a>) if animal(s) intended to incorporate into existing herd  or housing &gt;6-8 weeks.  <\/li><li>All animals should either be dewormed, FEC (fecal egg count) performed, or documentation of deworming within the last 6 months on arrival. See Table 1 for deworming options, or consult with a veterinarian.<\/li><li>Animals intended to incorporate into existing herds or housed &gt;6-8 weeks should be vaccinated against <em>Clostridium perfringens<\/em> types C and D and <em>Clostridium tetani<\/em>.  Alternatives and additions to core vaccines can be made with veterinary consultation.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Herd health maintenance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>All assessments and procedures must be documented in the individual medical record.<\/li><li>Annual exams will be performed on each llama\/alpaca by a veterinarian, veterinary technician or trained animal care technician.  Annual assessment should include the following:<ul><li>Dental exam and float as needed.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Annual shearing in the spring should be performed. This can be a whole-body clip or \u201cbarrel clip\u201d.<\/li><li>Quarterly assessment should include the following:<ul><li>Feet\/toenails should be evaluated trimmed as needed.<\/li><li>Body condition scoring (BCS) should be performed to ensure timely intervention for disease processes such as overgrown incisors.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Vaccinate annually against <em>Clostridium perfringens<\/em> types C and D and <em>Clostridium tetani<\/em> (CDT). <\/li><li>Deworming schedule and choice can be based on frequent FEC surveillance to determine which anthelmintic to use. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Minor cuts, scrapes, or abrasions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If a llama\/alpaca is noted to have minor cuts, wounds or abrasions, the area should be cleaned thoroughly with an antiseptic solution such as chlorhexidine or betadine (or equivalent) and a commercial salve or wound coat applied along with fly spray if in fly season. This can be done once daily for 2-7 days, while ensuring that the wound is healing and there is no worsening. If at any time the wound is draining or worsening, a veterinarian will need to assess and make a specific plan for the animal.<\/li><li>Daily documentation of treatment is necessary either in the form of a treatment sheet or in the <a href=\"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/documents\/2023\/11\/medical-record-entrance-exam-form.pdf\">medical record<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nutrition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Free choice camelid or sheep labeled mineral mixes should be offered in every herd. <em>Cattle, goat or horse mineral should not be offered to camelids because of the risk of copper toxicity.<\/em><\/li><li>Abrupt changes to the diet should be avoided, any changes should be introduced gradually over a period of several days.<\/li><li>Feed requirements of each animal should be determined and provided to prevent over or underfeeding. <\/li><li>Camelids must have unlimited access to fresh water.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Table 1. Camelid Dewormers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Drug<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Dose (mg\/kg)*<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Route<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Frequency<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ivermectin<\/td><td>0.2<\/td><td>PO\/SQ<\/td><td>Once<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fenbendazole<\/td><td>10-15<\/td><td>PO (orally)<\/td><td>Once<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To obtain the documents below in a form accessible to persons with disabilities, please contact the <a href=\"http:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/directory\/\">Office of the Campus Veterinarian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu\/animal-disease-faq\/bvdv-in-camelids\">\u201cBovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Camelids,\u201d<\/a> College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, June 2019<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vetfood.theclinics.com\/article\/S0749-0720(09)00026-7\/pdf\">&#8220;Camelid Herd Health,&#8221;<\/a> Meredyth Jones, DVM, MS and Melanie Boileau, DVM, MS, <em>Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice<\/em>, July 2009, Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages&nbsp;239\u2013263 (pdf)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asas.org\/docs\/default-source\/default-document-library\/agguide_4th.pdf?sfvrsn=56b44ed1_2\"><em>Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching<\/em>, <\/a>2020, American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Poultry Science Association&nbsp;(pdf)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Effective Date: 11-3-23 NW<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":56,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1704,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions\/1704"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=74"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/vet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}