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Parasites - Newby needs some advice.
I am brand new into the alpaca world and I need some advice. The first part of Dec I purchased 5 females alpacas from another state.
I have had major issues with 2 of them, from skin problems to shivering,
now a persistent parasite problem that I need some advice with.
The way alpaca people de-worm is a whole new line of thought. Coming from a horse background, we tend to put our horses on a preventive schedule. Because in the long run with horses it is easier and cheaper to prevent rather than treat. So I am having to acquire a whole new perspective.
Just before we brought our new alpacas home they were de-wormed with Ivomec. We gave them a couple of weeks to settle in, then I ran fecals on them. One of
the bred females had 11 Nemotodirus eggs in her fecal but not much
else, so we know she is loaded with at least Nemotodirus. I put her on Fenbendazole for 3 days at
a dose of 1cc per 10lbs. Two weeks later I ran a fecal and found one
Nemotodirus egg. I want to do the Fenbendazole treatment again, but at
what dose. I don’t want to cause resistance or stress her out. The book
that I have suggests 10 to 20 mg/kg. (2.2 lbs.). What do you all
suggest?
I have had major issues with 2 of them, from skin problems to shivering,
now a persistent parasite problem that I need some advice with.
The way alpaca people de-worm is a whole new line of thought. Coming from a horse background, we tend to put our horses on a preventive schedule. Because in the long run with horses it is easier and cheaper to prevent rather than treat. So I am having to acquire a whole new perspective.
Just before we brought our new alpacas home they were de-wormed with Ivomec. We gave them a couple of weeks to settle in, then I ran fecals on them. One of
the bred females had 11 Nemotodirus eggs in her fecal but not much
else, so we know she is loaded with at least Nemotodirus. I put her on Fenbendazole for 3 days at
a dose of 1cc per 10lbs. Two weeks later I ran a fecal and found one
Nemotodirus egg. I want to do the Fenbendazole treatment again, but at
what dose. I don’t want to cause resistance or stress her out. The book
that I have suggests 10 to 20 mg/kg. (2.2 lbs.). What do you all
suggest?
Tags: -, advice., help, need, needs, newby, parasites, please!, some
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dave Bates on -
Hi Suzie,
Welcome to the world of Alpacas. I treat with Fenbendazole by weight you take the weight of your Alpaca times it by 3 for the dose. Take a 150 Lbs Alpaca the times the weight by 3 that is 450 lbs that is what you use to treat. Then I use weight again for Ivamec 1 cc per 60 lbs of body weight. Ivamec is one time a month we have whitetail deer in our area so the m-worm is a critter we have to watch. We do fecals for any other treatments. I hope this helps you some good luck enjoy our fuzzy friends.
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Permalink Reply by Suzie Radtke on -
Thanks Dave,
I know that Fenbendazole is safe on preg. females but I was unsure on the dose. I will start again today on the 3 day treatment. Do you think that I should go with the 5 day treatment like you do for tapeworms, just to make sure this we are successful?
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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on -
Ivermec is used so often (every month) by farms that have the M-worm (because thats the only thing that works) that other parasites now many have some resistance. Each and every animal is different. I have one here that Ivermec does not work on but yet 15 others do very well with it. Once you start doing your fecals on a reg basis, you will get to know what works on what and how much.
Bottom line:
All your wormers that are white in color stay in the system no more than 3 -5 maybe up to 7 days
All others can be in the system for 30+ days depending on what you are using.
Any of the "dectines" as in cydectin, moxidectin, also known as Quest can stay in the system for up to 3 months depending on the animal. BUT DO NOT DOUBLE DOSE! any of the "dectines" are by weight only so make sure you know the exact weight of the animal and only dose that weight. You can overdose and kill them so be careful. Also, dont assume that since you used a "dectin" that it works for 3 months. I have some that it does stay in the system for 3 months and others only 2. As I stated above, once you start doing fecals you will get to know your "problem children." One more thing...the quest comes in a tube and i am sure you have seen it for horses, same thing but there is also cydectin oral drench for sheep and pour on. DO NOT USE THE POUR ON! the pour on is like 1000 times stronger thant he oral drench and will kill them! ORAL DRENCH ONLY!
When we use Ivermec we double or triple dose by the weight depending on the animal. Some do great when I double dose, some need the triple dose and of course you have the ones that are just high shedders and will usually always need to be dosed within 30-45 days every month.
Being that you are in Utah, I dont know what the weather is like. But here in FL. we dont get a break from the worms because it just doesnt get cold enough, long enough to kill them. We do fecals every other week or once a month year around.
Now, on to problem #2
If they are loaded or have been loaded with worms for a while then they will most likely be anemic and have lost loads of red blood cells which can cause them to not feel good, lose weight and the ammune system is now not up to par. The shivering makes me think this.
And, if they are shivering, get coats on them, put them under cover and plenty of thick hay bedding. You have got to make sure the temps are up to stop shivering. The more they shiver the faster they are losing body fat. You have to get back those red blood cells that they are losing from the blood sucking worms.
We use Fibrevive and sprinkle it on their food every day for a couple weeks if not longer. You can also get Red Cell which is a liquid an can be given orally every other day for at least a week as well.
Plenty of fluids and Probios that can be purchased in powder form to put in the water, and give them a higher protein and fat diet as well. Alfalfa or a Orchard/alfalfa mix is good. The higher protein will make the fleece "blow out" meaning they will lose the crimp but health first is always our #1 goal.
Just a few things to really watch out for.
I know it is a lot to digest but being here in Florida, I have become somewhat obsessed with parasites, what they do, what works, what doesnt and everything in between!
Good luck and let us know if we can help out any more!
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Permalink Reply by Suzie Radtke on
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Thanks Maryann,
Are the dectins safe on pregnant females? I was sticking to the fenbendazole for safety reasons. Also my girl who was shivering so bad, is doing really well. We blanketed her at night so she could get in the sun on good days and that seemed to work for her. We are also giving her extra calories to help her gain a little weight. She seems to be getting used to our Utah weather. We are quite a bit colder than where she came from, so I think because she was thin, it just took her more time to acclimate. She has also gained weight and I'm sure that has had alot to do with it also. Thanks for all of your great advice, it really helps.
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Schell ~ Walnut Hill Farm on -
Suzie,
There is one drug that you have to keep away from all preggo girls...even the nursing cria....Valbazen
It is a wormer.... and is known to make the females abort.
I would double ck with your vet about what is safe to give prgnant girls. just to be safe.
Glad your girl is feeling better...
Nancy
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Permalink Reply by Suzie Radtke on
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Thanks Nancy I really appreciate all the input. I am so surprised at how much there is to learn.
Suzie
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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on
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As Nanc says, I stay away from the Val. Some have said that the dectins can cause moms to drop up to two weeks early but there is no evidence of that. because that was my thinking, last Oct I had a mom due. During Aug. and Sept. I used the fen and didnt think much of it. Well, 2 weeks after having her cria she started going down hill. Within 3 1/2 weeks she dropped so much weight and was overloaded with parasites. Then the Epee flaired up, total diarrhea and the immune system was shot. We almost lost her a couple of times and are still fighting to get weight back on her and the parasites out of her completely. It has been an uphill battle but we are finally making some headway. This poor girl has gone through a lot and is a true fighter! Moral to my story............if they need the dectin, then they get it no matter what! It would have been easier and much better off if the cria had come early than having my mom go down and have been fighting since the end of Oct to get her back.
Never have i had a girl go down like that but we live and learn and thats what the social is all about!
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