Medicine and Surgery of Camelids. Группа авторов

with the exam, it can be offered and will make the animal more relaxed during the examination.

Procedures Involving the Head

      Difficulties encountered when doing procedures on or around the head are usually caused by fear and anxiety of the patient. Frequently, these can be attributed to an animal that is unaccustomed to having the head handled in a safe manner. An improperly fitting halter, or a handler that pulls on the head instead of balancing the animal can lead to fear in the patient. By adjusting the way these animals are handled, many techniques of the head can be made easier, safer, and less time consuming.

Oral Medication

      Administering oral medications to camelids can be challenging. The medication is often foul‐tasting, making the animal averse to having it in their mouth. The anatomy of the camelid is problematic, with animals having a small head at the end of a long neck. It is easy for the animals to successfully resist human attempts at control and it is difficult to hold the head still and introduce the dosing syringe at the same time. Camelids are also skilled at spitting out medication after it is deposited into their mouth.

      The author prefers to work alone in a smaller area rather than working in a larger area with a helper. The exception is having an assistant whose sole job is to depress the plunger of the dosing syringe. A trailer is perfect. Two people often work against each other with the animal caught in between. Administering oral or ocular medications is the only time the author puts her arm around the animal's neck, but even with her arm around the neck, the intent is still to keep the animal in a natural state of balance with the weight naturally over its own feet and not to restrain. She does not hold from the head but instead uses her arm like a cradle as a place to steady the head as if making a small catch pen for the animal's head. A crowded catch pen, mini‐catch pen, or trailer makes administering oral medication MUCH easier. Consider putting a neck wrap on the animal as it can be a major help when giving oral medication.

A 3–4‐in. curved metal applicator (Figure 2.41) and a larger dosing syringe is better than a smaller one because it is easier to get the syringe in the mouth and depress the plunger if the end of the plunger is not protruding way out of the syringe barrel as it would be if the capacity of the syringe is being approached (for example, administering 8 cc with a 10 cc syringe).

The syringe is placed in an apron or another easy‐to‐reach location. In a catch pen, the animal is moved so that it is parallel to one side of the catch pen for support and balance. The neck is encircled with the dominant hand and the jaw is cradled with the same hand. The thumb can be raised and placed against the cheek to give you more control of the head (Figure 2.42). The elbow is kept up high to provide as much leverage as possible. The dosing syringe can be positioned with the non‐dominant hand so that the thumb can be used to depress the plunger. Or, you can have an assistant depress the plunger. The tip of the dosing syringe should be slid into the corner of the mouth with the bend in the syringe pointing toward the cheek (away from the center of the mouth). The aim is to deliver the medicine into the cheek pouch, NOT into the throat. The medicine will flow between the teeth and into the mouth slowly, and it will be much less likely to end up being aspirated or spit out. When dosing a llama, given its taller size, it is easier to use a halter to balance the head to insert the dosing syringe (Figure 2.43).

Figure 2.41 An olive‐tip dosing syringe.

Figure 2.42 (a) The handler is using the right arm with the elbow high up on the neck to contain but not restrain the head to administer an oral paste. (b) The handler is using a halter to help guide and contain this llamas head for oral deworming.

      The animal should be permitted to settle down after being caught and again after the syringe is put into the mouth. Attempting to administer medication into the mouth of an animal that is flailing, or pushing it too fast, will usually result in failure, and the animal will be more averse to the process in the future. Once the animal is calm, the nose should be tilted up a bit and the medication slowly administered into the mouth. Do not hurry. Keep the animal's nose tipped up until you see that the animal has finished swallowing. The consistency of the medication is important. The author prefers to have a solution mixed with the consistency of a thin milkshake; paste medications can be thinned with water to make it easier to be delivered via a preferred syringe. It is quite easy for an alpaca or llama to spit out an entire bolus of paste if it is too thick.

Eye Medication

Similar head support techniques as outlined above for administering oral medications can be used for administering eye medication. The head is cradled as previously described and gently rotated (forehead toward, jaw away) into the chest of the holder. This positioning causes the eye to roll downward because of the internal balancing mechanism, which makes the animal want to keep the eye horizontal. The eye will rotate downward below the lower eyelid exposing the sclera. The medication can be applied onto the sclera. Since the pupil is below the lower lid, the animal does not see the medication coming and does not get frightened. The upper eyelid can be rolled up to make more room for the medication.

Figure 2.43 Using the halter to balance a llama's head to administer oral medication.

Trimming Fighting Teeth and Incisors

      South American camelids frequently require trimming of teeth as a routine husbandry practice. Overgrown incisors may require trimming to allow for proper prehension of forages. Mature males have prominent upper and lower canine teeth and upper third incisors which curve caudally in the mouth. These teeth are known as the “fighting teeth,” and are formidable weapons. It is recommended for these teeth to be trimmed to increase safety for human handlers and other male camelids, if pastured together. The technique for trimming fighting teeth and incisors is detailed in Chapter 12.

      Chemical sedation is recommended for trimming fighting teeth. If there is some mild pain associated with the procedure, sedation with help as an analgesic and the person doing the trimming can do a better job if the animal is still. Sawing fighting teeth off at the gum line is not easily done on a conscious animal, and the teeth tend to break before sawing is complete. Sedation allows a more thorough job, affords the opportunity to apply topical pain relief, and allows the person trimming to make certain that the cut edge is smooth.

      The process of trimming incisors with a motorized tooth saw and a speculum made for camelids is often so quick, that this procedure can be done with a light sedation or no sedation, depending on the temperament of the animal and the skill of the handler. In any case, working with the head and mouth before the procedure, understanding balance and using containment rather than restraint is recommended. If you elect to use OB (obstetrical) wire to shorten the incisors, a sedative for the same reasons mentioned