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January 09, 2025
Copper Deficiency and Alpaca Disease, A Case Study
Published in Alpaca Magazine, Autumn 2015
By: Sheila Scroggins of Colusa Riverside Alpacas
How can we uncover any emerging or re-emerging disease in New World camelids unless we look for the cause of death when we lose an alpaca? This dilemma ultimately faces all owners at some point when raising alpacas. Finding the reasons for a death is good for our camelid medicine, and it is good for each owner, even if just for curiosity reasons, not to mention to ensure we are not dealing with a contagious disease. For me, the most important reason to determine the cause of death is to add to the body of medical knowledge on alpacas. The cost is well worth it. There could be diseases emerging in the alpaca, diseases seen in other species, but not yet seen in the camelid. This is a case report about a well-known disease, and a not-so-well-known disease. As you will see, even when the cause of death is determined, you can be left with more questions than answers. Click here to read the full article on copper deficiency in alpacas |