The Alpaca Vet

08/09/2025

I'm just back from a fantastic weekend at the 2nd European South American Camelid Congress, hosted by the British Veterinary Camelid Society in Cambridge.

There were about 100 people present, including vets from all over Europe, one from the US and one from Australia! There was also a handful of owners including Mary-Jo Smith who presented a talk about fleece for vets. The programme was excellent and included 45 minute keynotes interspersed with 15 minute research presentations and "Fundamentals of..." clinical snippets. It is great to see that research in camelids is alive and well in Europe! There were also 16 poster presentations providing even more stimulation in our coffee and lunch breaks.

It was lovely to get to spend some time in Cambridge and to show off one of our oldest and most prestigious universities. We managed to hold a dinner for delegates in Corpus Christi College, the 6th oldest college, founded in 1352! The dinner was absolutely delicious!

07/09/2025

When I started working with alpacas and llamas, there were no comprehensive resources to guide me.
I made avoidable mistakes, and I’ve seen too many owners do the same. That’s why I created The Camelid Care Handbook — to share what I’ve learned and spare others the struggle.

👉 You can order this online at your preferred online retailer… But if you’d prefer to support the author over filling Jeff Bezos’ pockets (!), order from our website if you’re in the UK (with free shipping!) https://www.ukalpacavet.com/.../the-camelid-care.../

or from my own personal online bookstore if you’re outside the UK: https://books.by/the-alpaca-vet

05/09/2025

I'm here in Cambridge, at Churchill College, for the 2nd European South American Camelid Congress! 😀

It should be an excellent couple of days looking at the programme! Great to see so many colleagues attending from all over Europe!

04/09/2025

Look who’s here…!! 😲

Jane Vaughan arrived yesterday…. And today we’ve driven up to Cambridge for the 2nd European Camelid Conference! Starts tomorrow! Should be fantastic!

30/08/2025

Good luck to everyone hosting farm open days this weekend! Have fun!! 😄

28/08/2025

My heart goes out to this alpaca owner for the trauma she's seen here... I haven't heard about this sort of attack from mountain lions before.

A Lake County alpaca farm was devastated last week after a series of mountain lion attacks left 15 animals dead in just three nights.

22/08/2025

STOP PRESS! I've extended the deadline for the special offer (£250 off!) on my Intensive Camelid Veterinary Care Course (for vets) until midnight on Monday!

So if you're still on the fence about whether or not to take this course, you have the weekend to decide... 😉

I look forward to seeing you on the inside!

Here's the link: https://vetcourse.thealpacavet.com

21/08/2025

You say you care about your camelids… But when was the last time you reviewed your herd's health, feeding, and parasite prevention routines?
Small oversights can have big consequences. The Camelid Care Handbook helps you reassess, adjust, and improve—based on 20+ years of clinical experience.
Give your animals the expert care they deserve.

You can order this online at your preferred online retailer… But if you’d prefer to support the author over filling Jeff Bezos’ pockets (!), order from our website if you’re in the UK (with free shipping!) https://www.ukalpacavet.com/product/the-camelid-care-handbook-for-alpaca-llama-owners/

or from my own personal online bookstore if you’re outside the UK: https://books.by/the-alpaca-vet

20/08/2025

VETS! Don't Miss Out! ⏳

The special offer on our Intensive Camelid Veterinary Care Course expires on Friday at midnight! This offers £250 off the regular course price.

A reminder that the course offers 11 online modules covering 20 hours of CPD along with an optional practical session, giving the veterinary practitioner confidence to deal with most of the common scenarios seen in practice.

For more information, please visit the attached link! 👇

https://vetcourse.thealpacavet.com

12/08/2025

‼️Are you a veterinarian that deals with alpacas from time to time but feels out of your depth? Are you an owner with a veterinarian who would value the opportunity to learn more about your amazing animals and how to help them when they're sick?

Please consider joining our Intensive Camelid Veterinary Care Course, or letting your vet know about the course.

👉The course is available as a fully ON-DEMAND online course, enabling learning from the convenience of your own home or office, when you have the time. The objective is to arm the vet in practice with sufficient confidence with which to approach most of the common scenarios seen in practice: there is an optional practical session available in November.

👌 The Benefits:
🌺Develop confidence in working with these fantastic species! There’s nothing worse than feeling out of your depth. This course will give you all the background knowledge that you need about the species to provide you with sufficient confidence with which to approach most of the common scenarios seen in practice.
🌺You will finish the course feeling like you have all the knowledge you need to help the alpacas and llamas under your care!
🌺Earn the trust of your clients by improving their satisfaction with your level of care, interest and knowledge.
o Cut the time it takes to reach a diagnosis and get your patients treated effectively
o Reduce distress to your patients and their owners by reaching the correct diagnosis and knowing how to deal with it. Treat patients with ease.
o Help your clients develop herd health plans to prevent problems in the first place.
🌺Receive the most up to date information from the UK’s only Specialist Camelid Vet!
➡️ACT NOW! Currently on SPECIAL OFFER only until 22nd August! Plus generous sponsorship from the British Alpaca Society is available for vets practicing in the UK. 🇬🇧

For more info visit: https://vetcourse.thealpacavet.com

11/08/2025

Last week I presented a new FREE training webinar for vets interested in camelids - the Top Ten Things that Owners Will Ask! We had attendance from all over the globe again - UK, Europe, North America, Africa and New Zealand! (Timing wasn't great for the Aussies - sorry!) Always lovely to see a group of vets so engaged in improving their knowledge about camelids and helping their clients!

It brought up some great questions from the attendees too! 😀

08/08/2025

💡 V***a Defects in Crias: Imperforate V***a

Crias born with an imperforate v***a may struggle to urinate within the first couple of days of life, but this issue can be easily corrected by your vet. Early intervention is important for the cria’s health and comfort.

Look out for a female cria that is posturing to urinate but nothing is coming out. You may think she's straining to p**p, but look to see whether she has both a p*e hole and a poo hole. As urine accumulates behind the obstruction, you will start to appreciate a swelling.

***aDefect