Friday, January 28, 2011

We've got a sick Llama!!!!

While doing my regular chores Wednesday.. Now this is a great thing because I have been depending on my Son (13) & my husband (not at all into the animal thing) to feed do chores & monitor well being, due to my getting hurt three weeks ago (separated the cartilage from the breast bone on my left side) much better now almost normal.
Anyway, I noticed one of my 2 & a half year olds seemed slow, she usually , because she came here still with her mom & over a year she is pretty wild & is more apt to jump out of the way than be touched by me in any way. I reached out & ran my hand down her back as she trotted by???..
Not at breakneck speed seems skinny hmmm not a good thing, so I by myself caught her
Now I’m thinking to myself oh crap & double crap that was tooo easy ;( she has some froth on her mouth & an odder Ok abscess /injury is my thinking oral pain & infection… lets get her some grain separate her from the rest & settler her for the night… it was late in the evening & dark I set her up in her own little area she was interested in the grain & fresh hay, drank some water…ok so I truly thought not an emergency. So in the morning I go out there armed with, antibiotic, saline flush to clean out her mouth some pain reliever & a mild tranquillizer incase I can’t get to the tooth/abscess. I was ready for what I was certain was an infection mouth injury, some wormer just because they where all due. Well after I gave her the pain reliever, the antibiotic, I prepped to look in her mouth…cleaned out the hay, rinsed it ….there where some sores on her tongue, and scraps on her gums …but I couldn’t get her to co-operate with a better look. Gave her the
Tranquillizer, it took effect & I looked further back in her mouth run my fingers inside all around her gums & halfway into her throat.. now I was relay puzzled, there was nothing
remarkable to explain her condition????
So I called the Vet, asked them to come ASAP she was now I felt in jeopardy, while I waited for a call back I did other diagnostics Checked rumen (slow but there), temperature 101 normal Ok now I look for a poop sample & didn’t find one from the night before so yes I had to get one well I then discovered she had horrible liquid diarrhea that smelled repulsive…
The Vet arrived rather fast …good now we will find out what was wrong, I hoped anyway..
He basically did the same things I did previous to his arrival, asked what it was I had given, Pain reliever, tranc, antibiotic & amounts…he suggested because she was dehydrate from the runs to give IV fluids (shave the neck to get a needle in) he took blood to check her levels, ok so two bags of IV fluids later, & 50cc of pepto to help stop the diarrhea. he also took the poop sample to check for some parasite nastiness. Told me to go ahead & give her the wormer keep up the Pain reliever & pepto two –three times a day…
So jury is still out..
Today finds her a little stronger but still just holding the hay in her mouth mouthing it & drooling there where icicles hanging from the wad in her mouth…one of her baby teeth fell out as I pulled stuff out of her mouth to give her meds… pepto, paste wormer& then her shots, Antibiotic & Pain reliever. I found wet globs of her grain pellets all over & wet saggy wads of hay, I’m completely baffled… I’ll call the Vet soon to see if they found anything…She is still acting like she has a mouth issue not wanting to really chew & swallow…
Having a sick animal is so upsetting to me..

I hope everyone else enjoys there Fiber Friday & there weekend don't forget to visit the other fiber friday bloggers
I'll be Nursing a sick llama Baby

2 comments:

  1. Sorry about your lick llama. We had an Alpaca almost die last spring from a thiamine deficiency. It scared me to death. I was fortunate to have my mentor farm quickly respond since my vet was unavailable and now this Alpaca is perfect.

    Wishing you a healthy herd.
    Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

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  2. I hope your Llama recovers quickly from whatever is the trouble. It is so difficult to have a sick animal that can't tell you where the problem might be. Hopefully the week will bring improved health and happiness for her.

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