2.24 The handler uses the left hand on the back to ask the llama to shift his weight to the right at the same time asking this llama to lift his left foot.
Figure 2.25 The handler now moves the left hand off the back and uses it to support the foot freeing up the right hand for trimming.
Figure 2.26 Trimming the toenail is best done by trimming small pieces of the nail. Care should be taken to avoid quicking the nail. Longer nails will have to be trimmed incrementally. Ideally, the nails will be even with the pad of the foot.
Handling for Veterinary Procedures
Medical procedures can be distressing and dangerous for the owner, the animal, and the veterinarian. The techniques described below make things easier for all parties. The author does not advocate any technique that sacrifices the safety of handlers or veterinarians.
Figure 2.27 Trimming nails inside a trailer is much easier with difficult animals and much less threatening than using a chute.
Figure 2.28 Photo demonstrating trimming of an alpaca's toenails while it is standing on the ground.
No‐Restraint Injections
When you put something sharp into an animal, it is likely that it is going to move. With this assumption, most people restrain the animal before they inject. The fallacy with this approach is the restraint causes the animal to fight before the needle touches the skin.
Given a camelid's long neck, it is exceedingly difficult to eliminate bodily movement by tying the head, even when the animal is inside a chute. Complete and total restraint takes a lot of time and can be dangerous to do before an injection is given. Containing the animal instead of restraining it and learning to stand in a way that produces predictable movement eliminates the need for restraint (Box 2.2).
The easiest way to give injections is in a catch pen or in a trailer. If you are doing herd health, pack the pen as described earlier (the author prefers to do herd health work in groups of 8–10). Put as many animals as will comfortably fit inside the catch pen. The animals will appear crowded; leaving approximately 20% of empty space in the pen. Eight to ten alpacas or 5–6 llamas in a 9 × 9‐ft pen is ideal. For situations where there are not enough animals to fill the pen, the pen can be made smaller with bales of hay, or the panels adjusted to make a smaller area.
Box 2.1 Tips for trimming camelids toenails
Use a holster that fits on the lower leg. This allows you to retrieve your nippers without moving very much. A lot of movement attempting to get nippers out of a pocket will likely take the animal out of balance.
Trim very conservatively at first – we all quick an animal now and again but you don't want it to be the first time the animal is trimmed.
Allow the llama or alpaca to put his foot down a few times during the trimming process if he needs to. The more practice he gets picking up his foot and getting it back the better off you both are.
Trim toenails after a rain. The toenails are much easier when they are moist. If you live in a dry climate, wet down a small area and keep the animals in this area for a few minutes before trimming.
Don't be reluctant to use a sedative for really difficult animals if you need to. Wrestling to trim toenails makes the process more traumatic and only teaches the animal to resist more.
Box 2.2 Advantages of the No‐restraint Method of Administering Injections
There is less movement
The movement is less violent, less erratic and more predictable
The animal stays calm
The muscles are not tight
There is less likelihood of abscess
It is faster and easier
One can work alone, saving time, labor and makes the patient feel safer
Crowding the animals slows them down and they feel safer in a group. If you are giving injections to one animal, it is still useful to pack the pen with others; the patient will be much more cooperative with company and the other animals will help facilitate the injection process. The animals in a group pen are less reactive and do not kick or lie down as much. If there is an animal that is known to spit readily, the author recommends treating that animal first and then allowing it to leave.
There are several options for injection sites (Figure 2.29). Subcutaneous injections can be given just ahead of the shoulder blade about halfway down the body by reaching over the body to inject on the opposite side. In this way, the animal moves toward the person giving the injection when the needle enters the skin, and it is easier to keep the needle in the animal without the need for restraint. It is convenient to give intramuscular (IM) injections in the triceps muscle using this method as well. The triceps muscle is a large muscle and accommodating for IM injections. This muscle mass will accommodate up to 5 cc of medication for alpacas and slightly more for llamas (personal communication with Dr. David Anderson). Injections in the rear end are difficult to do without restraint and are difficult to inspect later or treat if there is a problem with the injection site.
Figure 2.29 Illustration of proper location for giving a subcutaneous and intramuscular injection.
Techniques for No Restraint Injections
Working Alone
Decide which animal is to receive the injection; fixate on that animal, and do not change
