CARE FOR OUR OLD AND VENERABLE LLAMAS
– by Joann Fyon

Geriatric llamas matter because of who they are. They matter to the last moment of their life and we should do all we can to make their later years easy for them, to help them live and die peacefully. Never scrimp with these old friends, show no less appreciation of them than when they were born or when they came to us as the young companions we held as ideally suited to us.

There are several areas of concern when appraising the circumstances of an older llama, all of them critical to a comfortable old age. Medical issues to check routinely are teeth, weight, arthritis, joints and skeletal condition, absorption of nutrients and immune system health, vision, deafness and mental stability.

DENTAL HEALTH OFFERS CLUES

Dental health reflects the general health of your llamas. After years of grinding food and chewing cut, teeth become worn and malocclusion can occur. Start with a complete oral examination. Your vet can do this, but so can you. Be careful though – llamas’ teeth are sharp and pointed on the lingual or inside aspect of the upper jaw. If you choose to examine inside your llama’s mouth, remember that llamas aren’t able to open their mouths widely and usually don’t take kindly to having a thorough dental exam. If you suspect a problem, consult your vet.

Look for loss of teeth or an abscess. This can be more easily accomplished by feeling along the outside of the jaw in a Braille-like way, carefully monitoring your llama’s reaction to sudden pain while identifying swellings or finding spaces where teeth may be missing or where boluses can be felt through the cheek. Soft food boluses may just be retained cud, but if the bolus is not easily moved or if it’s still there the next day, this generally indicates an abscess. If the llama appears uncomfortable while you’re palpating her face, it could indicate a tooth worn to a point so uneven that it’s causing a laceration or perhaps sensitivity from uneven wear due to another infected root or a lost tooth. If you see an open, boil-like wound near the outside of the jaw line, consider that this might be an abscess rising to the surface from the inside of the mouth. Other problematic symptoms include spitting out of fist-sized masticated wads of lawn or food. You’ll discover them increasingly around the feeding area. This llama will have painful teeth, will show uneven wear creating sharp enamel points or excessive wear and will present weight loss due to cessation of eating. Your vet can remedy these teeth problems by floatation or filling with a miniature horse dental float and with perhaps a short, sturdy rubber hose placed between the molars to allow the llama to hold her mouth open. Sedation is wise if an abscess needs to be drained and flushed, and antibiotics should be administered. A caution here: be certain the mass is not a lymph node or a contagious abscess of ruminates. Abscesses are vet territory and extraction is usually the most successful treatment.

WEIGHT MAINTENANCE IS CRITICAL

Body condition score (BCS) is linked to almost all other ailments and symptoms in one way or another, so be thorough and routine. Every time you handle your elderly llama do a quick body score. But also be diligent and perform a complete BCS at least every two months; an old llama can lose a lot of weight fast before you know she’s precariously thin. Look for abrupt changes in weight and then look for the possible cause. Chances are she’s hungry, but can’t manage the transfer of food. Look for wads of chewed hay or grain spilling from her mouth while eating and check teeth.

The immune system can be compromised according to the age of a llama. This results in poor condition, metabolic dysfunction, inability to fight infections and failure to resist extremes in temperature. Test a stool sample and treat accordingly for parasites, including tapeworm; they are absorbing nutrients critical to her need to maintain weight. Don’t overdose. Look at the behavior of the rest of the herd. Has his social status shifted? Is she pushed out as she grows older? Geriatric llamas may need to be pastured together according to age or to compatibility. Never move your llamas to strange territory if you don’t have to and never leave them without a familiar ally. Many of us have seen young llamas fail to thrive when left alone and uncared for. In my opinion, older llamas are exponentially more vulnerable to losing their mental stability if neglected by their people or their herd mates. They depend on friendly, familiar peers and predictability, and they don’t deserve to be abandoned, now or ever.

NUTRITION BOOSTERS

Boosting the nutrition of an aging llama is of paramount concern. If any of the above problems are possibilities, now is the time to create a nutritional plan. Carbohydrates (grains) should be increased; also green food. If chewing is the problem, start feeding a balanced gruel type meal twice a day. I have a 25-year-old female in moderately good health, still very active and fit. I’ve been feeding her a mash for almost two years on the recommendation of LaRue Johnson. This is the recipe and his suggestions for variations: ½ part alfalfa pellets, 1/3 part flaked corn (or steamed or crimped oats, not whole), 1/3 part llama pellets (or Agway llama supplement or whole cottonseed with fluff).

For my 250-lb, 25-year-old girl, in the peak of the winter, these parts total two cups of dry feed in her bucket, warmed in the house overnight, to which I add the same amount of hot water and allow the liquid to absorb for a few minutes, turning it into a soft, dense gruel. (This amount will vary; consult your vet.) Dr. Johnson suggested I spray thinned-out molasses on it for palatability, but so far my old gal will run across seven acres to greet me when, and if, she sees me. She can’t hear me call for her anymore. Use fresh feed to prevent stomach upset. If you suspect mold in your grain, use a black light to identify it. Here’s how: in a dark stall, slowly pour the feed into a large box while shining the light on it. In the spring when the grass is growing again, your geriatric llama may turn her nose up at any mash in favor of coveted and beneficial tender young shoots. At this time check teeth more often for atypical condition, weigh and body score your llama with the purpose of supplementing with a mash when necessary. Always keep a vitamin and mineral salt mix accessible all year round.

On to the question of vision and hearing impairment: many older llamas develop cataracts causing gradual deterioration of their vision. Keep them in familiar pastures in which they don’t need to jump over streams or negotiate steep hills, and check your fields for rocks or small stumps and especially for stray wire or metal objects. True hearing loss is untreatable, so be prepared to spend some time walking out get your older llama. Maybe we can learn from them by tuning up our other senses as they do.

KEEP NAILS CLIPPED

Arthritis, joint flexibility and feet are age-related concerns. Sound conformation will live on to benefit and old llama. Conversely, the constant abnormal stretching and pulling of ligaments and tendons of less well conformed animals still cause them to suffer accordingly, and pain and lameness will occur. Your vet can suggest an anti-inflammatory or pain reliever. Keep feet in good shape by regular trimming: even a little too much nail length can cause a strain on fragile old joints.

As your llama’s age, fiber regrowth will slow down and the importance of shearing may be lessened. Depending on the severity of temperatures where you live, shearing might not be necessary. In the spring in northern New Hampshire, I only shear the “vents” enough to allow air to circulate underneath my old llamas. Provide a pan and cool water and if some of the herd chooses to lie outside in the heat of the day, you can provide a heat-susceptible llama with a mellow buddy and keep them in a cool place until the night air arrives. If heat or sunstroke is suspected (your llama will stagger, become disoriented or fall), get a hose or bucket of water, a large sponge and a thermometer. Immediately soak the top of the head first (the brain is swelling) then the vents, underbelly and hairless areas. Unless this llama is thoroughly shorn, do not apply water to the topline; it will “felt” and seal the fiber so heat cannot escape. This llama is at great risk. Get help. Night is the time llamas love to put on their dancing shoes and stay out till the wee hours. For their sake let them; it will be winter again soon enough.

GAUGE SHEARING TO LLAMA’S AGE

Even without annual shearing, your older llamas’ winter undercoat will probably be minimal throughout their later years. If the temperature gets below 10 degrees or so at my farm, I keep a secure but not tight llama (not Horse) blanket on them and a fleece covering for their neck if it’s really cold. This past winter I almost never took the blankets off, except to scratch, it was so consistently frigid. I’ll risk telling you that when I did remove blankets every couple of days; I spent a great deal of satisfying time scratching these cooperative old friends who would stare me down if I stopped too soon. Provide clean warm drinking water. Heated buckets are the best! Old llamas slow down, kush and rest a lot. Consequently, changes in herd status related to inability to move quickly may mean your llama gets pushed to the back of the feeding area. Lifelong exercise will benefit any animal and confining them to a barn everyday, especially common in the winter months, will do nothing to build bone and muscles. Try to keep your llamas vigorous in the winter unless it’s bitter. Use a tractor to clear a walk about or shovel apathy for them – it’s good for you too! They come honestly by the ability to move freely and withstand outside weather, even though they would have us believe otherwise!

Spend time with these old souls and develop empathy for them, they have a lot to teach us. The essence of a good handler is to know what your llamas need before they themselves know. Turn what you think may be a lot of extra work into good judgment and knowledge. You’ll be proud of how your eye will begin to alert you and its important now to put to use the intuition you’ve gleaned from spending time with them. Refer to your vet and vet manuals, talk to respected longtime llama owners. Exercise one-on-one awareness and you can make the difference between a suffering, forgotten llama and one whose condition is eased by an informed and comforting standard of care.

Reprinted from The Llama Lletter Vol. 20, No. 3 – the newsletter of the Willamette Valley Llama Association.