- Thread starter
- #21
SkyWarrior
Loving the herd life
Good news! Guess who decided to eat half his grain last night? We're bringing him to the vet today. (Long story about that.)
Sid Update!!! WAS: Sid stopped eating
- Thread starter SkyWarrior
- Start date
Hens and Roos
Herd Master
That's great! 
- Thread starter
- #23
SkyWarrior
Loving the herd life
The vet finally took a look at Sid. No abscess (although why he got better with antibiotics is beyond me 
) -- he has really crappy teeth. The lump we saw was food he hadn't been able to chew and got caught low in his jaw (good luck trying to get that llama to accept any handling of his mouth without anesthesia 
). Anyway, the vet floated his teeth and will trim his toenails. We'll bring him home tomorrow! (Yay!) He can then be Llorelei's llama mentor and she will be very happy.
One of the things that sort of surprised me is how attached he has gotten to us in his llama way. He walked right into the trailer without a fuss. (Sid had needed three grown men and a small boy to get him in the trailer some 7 years ago when we adopted him. He then hung out next to me in a stall and let me pet him while we were at the vet, even though he was loose in the stall and could get away at any time. This is huge for a llama who just wanted nothing to do with you and was so hand shy because the outfitter was rough on him. Still, he's always been great on the lead rope and very sweet.
I know that spending a lot of money on a 17 year old llama ($200 is a lot to us) seems silly, but we really do like Sid and with losing one of Heidi's kids and losing our wonderful Malamute, Thor, unexpectedly, we pretty much didn't feel in the mood to put Sid down.
) -- he has really crappy teeth. The lump we saw was food he hadn't been able to chew and got caught low in his jaw (good luck trying to get that llama to accept any handling of his mouth without anesthesia ). Anyway, the vet floated his teeth and will trim his toenails. We'll bring him home tomorrow! (Yay!) He can then be Llorelei's llama mentor and she will be very happy. One of the things that sort of surprised me is how attached he has gotten to us in his llama way. He walked right into the trailer without a fuss. (Sid had needed three grown men and a small boy to get him in the trailer some 7 years ago when we adopted him. He then hung out next to me in a stall and let me pet him while we were at the vet, even though he was loose in the stall and could get away at any time. This is huge for a llama who just wanted nothing to do with you and was so hand shy because the outfitter was rough on him. Still, he's always been great on the lead rope and very sweet.
I know that spending a lot of money on a 17 year old llama ($200 is a lot to us) seems silly, but we really do like Sid and with losing one of Heidi's kids and losing our wonderful Malamute, Thor, unexpectedly, we pretty much didn't feel in the mood to put Sid down.
samssimonsays
Milo & Me Hoppy Tail Acres
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2015
- Messages
- 3,603
- Reaction score
- 4,768
- Points
- 393
So glad he is doing better. I fully understand your reasoning. I hope you get a few more years worth with him and so happy he has come so far! I love happy endings like this.
ksalvagno
Alpaca Master
That is wonderful that he is ok. I would do the full course of antibiotics to make sure it all stays away. With what vets charge around here, $200 isn't a bad price. I would have definitely paid that.
- Thread starter
- #26
SkyWarrior
Loving the herd life
Okay, I'll continue him with antibiotics anyway. I'll see if the vet has any recommendations. In the meantime, we get to pick him up today. And bring another sick animal to the vet. Yay on that.
![:\](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/side.png "side :\")
It's been really expensive animal month. 
I've probably blown $1000 that I don't have on critters. Thankfully there are payment plans.
samssimonsays
Milo & Me Hoppy Tail Acres
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2015
- Messages
- 3,603
- Reaction score
- 4,768
- Points
- 393
YIKES! 
I did that one once... on one cat in 3 days for a urinary blockage... it is a heavy blow. But you do what ya gotta do to get them healthy and keep them alive.
I did that one once... on one cat in 3 days for a urinary blockage... it is a heavy blow. But you do what ya gotta do to get them healthy and keep them alive.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Glad to hear that Sid is doing better. I don't know how long llamas live, but if he has been healthy and active up to this point I would expect a longer slow down time if it was just caused by age. Glad you found out it was some sort of infection and he is on the mend.
Goat Whisperer
Herd Master
So happy Sid is doing better! I think you made the right choice.
purplequeenvt
Herd Master
Llamas can live to be around 20. The issue with llamas is that they are extremely stoic and a lot of the time, once they show symptoms, it's too late to do anything.
I lost my favorite llama to an abscessed foot in part because she didn't act like anything was wrong for a long time. The ultimate cause of death was an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, but when I skinned her (I wanted her skin tanned), the infection was all the way up her leg and into her shoulder.
