1. Alpacas don't like to be alone: You need to have at least 2 and they will be content. If you choose to take one of them for a walk, expect the remaining one to become agitated to the point of jumping the fence, damaging itself in an attempt to join you. Even in the midst of a herd, alpacas show concern when one is separated from the group.

2. Shelter - fencing: Some protection from snow, wind, sun, rain and lightning should be provided although they can get by without any shelter aside from trees Make sure fencing is suitable to keep other marauding species out of their enclosures (use electric fencing outside regular fencing if necessary). NEVER use barbed wire as the barbs can easily injure their prominent eyes, tear their eyelids and skin and get entangled in their fiber.

3. Heat and humidity: Alpacas handle cold much better then heat and humidity. They cool through their belly primarily so need shearing in the spring and cool hosing to their belly and under their tail if temperatures climb. They must have shelter from the sun, can easily sunburn (especially suris and newly shorn huacaya) and need air movement and swamp coolers/air conditioning in confined hot shelters. If necessary put blocks of ice with them when they are confined in hot, humid conditions (such as during transport). Open-mouthed breathing in the heat of summer can be a sign of distress (other times of the year it is usually a sign that another alpaca has spit on them), If the temperature is above 75 F and humid or if they are confined, assume that they are in heat stress and cool them IMMEDIATELY and thoroughly soaking them with cold water with particular attention to their belly. Use cold water enemas if needed.

A normal adult alpaca temperature is 100- 10 1 degrees and 102 may be normal for your alpaca. Anything 103 degrees or higher is abnormal.

4. Alpacas should not be left tied to a tree/post or left haltered. You can get away with tying them securely to an ungiving object indefinitely - with luck- but don't be surprised to find one with a broken neck after trying to free itself by tossing its head or leaping in the air. Use a bungee or similar elastic extension if you must tie an untended alpaca.

Don't leave the halters on all the time - train your alpacas to accept haltering or provide a catch pen or stall to facilitate haltering. Halters left on indefinitely can cause ulcers, abscesses, calluses or a broken neck if they become caught on a solid object. Always ensure that the halter fits properly and well up on the nose- alpacas are nose breathers and anything that restricts their nostrils will cause them to panic fearing suffocation.

Traveling with your alpaca: Travel is stressful for alpacas even though they may appear unconcerned.

Never transport an alpaca in her third trimester unless it is an emergency - wait until the cria delivers and then transport.

Be particularly cautious when traveling in temperatures over 75 degrees and especially cautious if the humidity is also elevated. Travel at night to reduce heat problems. Avoid crowding and mixing overly dominant alpacas with less aggressive ones. Provide feed and water in containers that can not easily be contaminated.

Have available a picket line and sufficient halters and lead ropes to allow rapid unloading of the alpacas and attaching to the picket line. In the event of a fire or auto accident this equipment must be easily and promptly available. Keep an alpaca owner directory available so the nearest alpaca owner can be contacted for placement of your alpacas until other arrangements are made.

When traveling with cria or suris in cold weather, restrict the air flow to conserve heat, use cria coats and provide a heavy hay/straw bedding for insulation.

NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE - ADEQUATE WATER IS A NECESSITY

6. Have a chute or safe restraint: If an alpaca is injured or refusing shots, toenail clipping, etc. a means of safe restraint is needed to prevent injury to the alpaca and yourself

7. Weigh your alpaca or do a weekly hands on: Those fat cuddly alpacas can be skeletons under that fiber. Neither your veterinarian nor a veteran alpaca owner can stand back and accurately guess the weight of an adult alpaca. Don't find yourself horrified at shearing time when that emaciated body is revealed - either weigh the alpaca monthly or run your hand along its spine weekly.

8. Trim males' fighting teeth: Between the ages of 2 and 3 years "fighting teeth" become dangerous weapons able to emasculate another male or seriously injure an uncooperative female. Be cautious about pasturing breeding males together as even without a full set of fighting teeth a male can inflict permanent damage on another male or chase it until it drops from heat prostration.

9. Don't buy cria younger than 4 months: Unweaned cria are not suitable pets. Provide it with suitable company - preferably other alpacas - but keep human contact to a minimum. The cria may develop cute behavior but an adult alpaca bonded to a human from near birth without proper herd socialization can become a nuisance and occasionally dangerous when the alpaca treats humans as another alpaca.

If you inadvertently acquire an unweaned cria bottle-feed it 20% of its body weight daily in divided portions using goat or cow's milk with added nutrients (check with your vet). Provide free choice fresh hay and coarse sweet feed and it will start nibbling.

10. Alpacas can choke on concentrated pellets: Occasionally an alpaca will "choke" while eating pellets particularly if there is a lot of competition for food. The "lump" may be massaged down the esophagus but if completely obstructed by saliva-swollen pellets then gentle insertion of a tube or firm hose along the side of the mouth and down the throat will often clear the obstruction. Since some of the pellets may have been inhaled into the lungs, the alpaca should be examined by a vet and receive antibiotics to avoid pneumonia.

Do not feed rabbit or cow pellets even though they look identical. They can cause mineral toxicities in alpacas.

11. Alpacas need a mineral/salt supplement: No matter what feeding regime you are using, alpacas need free access to a source of salt and minerals. In selenium deficient areas of the country this is particularly important. Check with your Extension Agent or vet as to which minerals are lacking in your area. In much of North America any cria born during the fall and winter months will require supplementation with Vitamins AD&E to prevent "rickets" on a regular basis until spring.

12. Help your alpaca avoid poisonous/dangerous plants and trees: Alpacas are browsers and nibble on a variety of things. Some are quite lethal such as rhododendron, oleander, wilted cherry, etc. Even a few leaves blown from your neighbors' yard can prove fatal. Some will cause abortions or congenital deformities. Pine needles and resins produced by some trees can cause impaction. Cria are particularly noted for nibbling on odd substances and are more susceptible. Check with your vet, your local Extension Agent and read up on the signs and symptoms of distress in your alpaca vet books.

13. Never leave male and female alpacas together unless you want to breed them: Young females are sexually precocious and fertile and pregnancies can occur in females less than 6 months old! A young male can by six months of age cause an adult female to ovulate and on the rare occasion is capable to penetrating a female. Incest is not considered taboo.

14. Prolonged labor is not natural: Alpacas normally deliver before 2 or 3 o'clock. When you notice active pushing or hard labor, a nose or foot should appear well within an hour. If you suspect your alpaca is in labor and it goes on longer than one hour without some part of the cria appearing -call your vet. If prior to, or during, active pushing she lies down on one side and then the other frequently - or is up and down constantly - or if she is flat out with her head on the side - call your vet. Also take one of the delivery/neonate hands on courses offered at alpaca conferences and learn how to detect and resolve a dystocia (difficult birth) on your own.

15. Keep colostrum and plasma on hand: Colostrum needs to be in the cria's belly within 12 hours after delivery to be absorbed and provide passive transfer of antibodies, provide strength and aid as a laxative to move any meconium (stool) along. Don't wait until you have a problem. Keep frozen colostrum (from Triple J, etc.) on hand and thaw as directed, bottle feed directly to the cria in the first 12 hours (make certain the cria is warm or no absorption will occur). If 12 hours have expired then have your vet transfuse either intravenous or intraperitoneal. Some keep cow or goat colostrum frozen but when dealing with animals as expensive as an alpaca the added expense of species-specific concentrated colostrum is well worth the price. Keep two units of plasma in your freezer for emergency use. - both colostrum and plasma will last long periods of time if frozen.

16. Deworming and vaccinations: Institute a regular health check either handled by yourself or your vet. Panacur or Safeguard paste and Ivermectin subcutaneous shots are recommended and considered safe during pregnancy.. Ivermectin is not effective against tapeworm. Albendazole very effective but should never be used in pregnant females. If you reside in an area with white -tailed deer leading to meningeal worm infection then use Ivermectin sq monthly -Check with your vet. Annual CDT (and killed rabies vaccine where appropriate) are standard. Do not use Clostridium 7 way with pregnant females. Cria are vaccinated and boosted I month later (check with your vet for schedule). Young alpacas are susceptible to coccidia infestations more so than adults; diarrhea is a symptom. Coccidiosis can lead to dehydration, debilitation and death. Treat with Corrid as directed.

17. Tid Bits: Alpacas are nose breathers. If they suffer a snake bite to the nose - insert hair rollers into each nostril immediately (don't wait until the nares start to swell).

For suspected gastric ulcers use Prilosec (Omeprazole) orally - do not use NG tube

Do not apply any cortisone containing substance (ie ointment, eye drops, etc.) to a pregnant alpaca as it often will cause an abortion.

18. Reading material: If you buy no other alpaca books be sure and get Murray E Fowler DVM's "Medicine and Surgery of South American Camelids" and Evan's "Llama and Alpaca Field Manual Ed. 2001". There are also good articles/booklets put out and recommended by AOBA.