| 8/12/2012 1:42:31 PM |
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Goldenstarfarm
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I have a female alpaca, 4 yrs of age, with cria by side (now weaned at 3 months old) who has been down since Wed. I found her Wed evening with a temp of 107. Vet has been out and she is under her care. Blood work shows high (28K) WBC, anemia, and high liver enzymes. The female is on Thiamine 2x/day, Naxcel 2cc/100lb 2X/day, probios 2X/day, sucralafate 3x/day, and is being syringe fed Fibrevive and water. She has just started yesterday starting to eat some hay again, fresh pasture grass, and pellets (not alot but alittle). Today, I noticed that he vulva area is swollen quite a bit and is open due to the swelling. It is hard to the touch. She has been down and hasn't been on her feet (even though we have tried) since Thursday. What could be causing the edema? How would I treat it? I have a call into the vet, but it was suggested by a friend to ask here,too. Is it due to urinating on herself and poop laying there until I can clean it up? Could it be the cause of the infection since we cannot pinpoint a cause of the high WBC (ulcers is suspectable for it). Thank you for any help.
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| 8/12/2012 2:30:49 PM |
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promised land alpacas
Posts 20
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There is not enough information here to know for sure what is causing the swelling. It may be as simple as ventral edema caused by gravity since she has been down for so long. If this is the case you can use a combination of massage and soaks in warm Epsom salts solution to relieve the swelling. Make sure you have a deep bed of straw under her to prevent "bed sores" and move her limbs and massage them frequently. It sounds like you are doing a good job with her.
Has she been rebred? If so her illness may be causing her to abort the pregnancy. There is really nothing you can do about this this time, but give her a long recuperation period before breeding her again.
It would be helpful to know your location.
Smiles,
Dr. Ruthanne
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| 8/12/2012 3:01:16 PM |
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Goldenstarfarm
Posts 2
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I am in Salem, NJ. She is not bred. Back in May, she had a uterine torsion. She was taken to new Bolton to correct. It was a partial twist and took 3 tries to fix it. She stayed overnight for observation. Come home and 1 week later delivered a cria when nobody was home. She was a maiden at the time and w very swollen after delivery. She was off and still acting like she had a torsion even after delivery. Vet looked at her and took blood. Vet said probably ulcers so we gave her sacralafate 2 x day for 3 weeks. This was about 4-6 weeks ago that we stopped that. A few weeks ago I noticed she was very thin so I pulled her and cria from the herd with a buddy to add weight. She had only lost 5 lbs, but was skin and bones. Fecal showed stronglye so I treated with quest one dose and then 10 days later a second dose. The second dose was last Sunday. On Wednesday evening I found her down with a 107 fever. Gave nascent and called vet. Her legs were extremely shaky and she couldn't stand but for a minute on them. Blood work showed high WBC, and liver enzymes, anemia ( we are giving iron dextran shots for it). That was Thursday blood draw. Also, protein was very low. Transfused on Friday evening with 2 bags of Plasma. Now, vulva is swollen and looks like edema. It looks like the deep tissue edema that I suffer on my face from allergies. Vet said not neurological because shaking is only in legs and not whole body and no head wobble. She is erect and stays cushed upright. Trying to get her gut working again as she had no gut sounds on Thursday. I think it is coming back, but I am not a vet. I rolled her on sat morning to move legs around. Tried to do it today, but she spit at me and wouldn't roll. What other info would you need?
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| 8/12/2012 4:24:32 PM |
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promised land alpacas
Posts 20
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The low protein can be contributing to the edema. The blood needs protein to keep the fluid part of the blood in the bloodstream. When the protein levels are low fluid can "leak" out from the bloodstream to the surrounding tissues creating edema.
One of the most common causes of low protein levels accompanied by sudden weight loss is E. mac. Sometimes E.mac can cause very severe symptoms or even death during the prepatent period - before it shows up on the fecal. You should discuss this with your vet. I have found that 40% sulfadimethoxine given by mouth (the bottle says for injection, but for E. mac you need to give it by mouth) to be the safest and most effective treatment for E. mac especially in debilitated animals.
Mycoplasma haemallamae (the disease formerly known as epe) is another on that can cause anemia and severe weight loss. This is a condition that often gets worse in times of stress and this poor girl has through a lot of stress. M. haemallamae and E.mac can occur together and are particularly dangerous when they occur at the same time. Ask your vet if she has been tested for Mh.
Have you done a repeat fecal since you did the quest treatment? Another possible cause of the anemia, weight loss and weakness could be a resistant strain of barberpole worm (many vets consider "resistant strain of barberpole worm" to be redundant as most barberpole worms are resistant to at least one or two dewormers - sometimes more).
I would also consider doing a transfaunation to help get the rumen back to normal and get the gut functioning again. I'm sure New Bolton Center has at least one fistulated cow on hand.
You also have to try to get her on her feet or at least shift her weight from side to side and move her legs 4 to 6 times per day - even if she spits! You may need to get some help for this. If you know someone who has a "pacatrapper" or other sling device this can be wonderfully helpful.
If you need to talk you can call me at 216-402-5386 and I will try to help you.
Smiles,
Dr. Ruthanne
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