Chevy, a curious 8-month-old llama, came to our large animal hospital after getting into some chicken feed.
As you can see, Chevy is not a chicken. It took a few days to show ill effects, but his little snack didn’t agree with him. He became lethargic and was open-mouth breathing.
An ultrasound found fluid in his C1, or the first “stomach” compartment, and a tube was inserted to retrieve it. Chevy received IV fluids, antibiotics, gastroprotectants and even an insulin and dextrose constant-rate infusion (camelids commonly become “resistant to insulin” when very sick and their blood glucose elevates quickly).
The last step on the road to recovery involved a process called transfaunation, where rumen fluid from a healthy on-site donor – a cow, actually! – was introduced back to Chevy’s system to “reset” his C1 with healthy bacteria.
After a week of steady improvement, Chevy was discharged and continues to recover well at home.
