This morning while I was cleaning the barn, I looked out and Ariana was laying down, flat out on her side in the pasture. This is unusual behavior for our alpacas. I called the girls into the barn, and Ariana continued to act strange. She was up and down, stretching out on her side, looking at her belly, and did this hiccupy, spasm thing once. Horse folks will recognize these as colic symptoms.
I was afraid she was losing her cria, she's not due for 6 more months. (Gestation for alpacas is roughly 11 months). I ran in and called our vet who was here in about 20 minutes. When he arrived, Ariana was perfectly normal. Russ did a thorough exam and couldn't find anything wrong. He suggested that she might have choked which is fairly common in alpacas. Maybe because of their long necks. He drew some blood to have on hand in case we need it for diagnostic purposes and gave her a shot of Banamine to relax her and reduce any inflammation she may have.
I will continue to check on her throughout the day. Lucky for me, I can see all the alpacas out my kitchen window.
