[Rapunzel]

My llama, Cayenne, the one who had the 3/4 alpaca baby two months ago, apparently has tetanus. The vet gave her a 5% chance of survival. She still looks strong and is still taking care of her baby. She is a fighter and has so much will to live. I can't believe they were talking about putting her down. An animal that hard to catch can't possibly be on death's doorstep. She should have many good years ahead of her. And she loves her baby. Please pray for a miracle.

[SeptemberMorn]

That's awful, Wendy! Who thinks she has tetanus and why?

[Rapunzel]

She looked like she was holding on to some hay and grass in her mouth. We noticed that on Sunday, and I just thought she's got something stuck in her mouth, but she wouldn't let us get close enough to help her. Today she was walking stiffly, and the kids said something was wrong with her leg. We had the vet come and look at her, and he said it's probably tetanus. He gave her a tetracycline shot but said that the paralysis doesn't reverse, and she will probably die. She still looks strong and she wants to live. She isn't showing sign of pain. But she keeps trying to drink water and I'm not sure if she is getting it in or not. Watching her out the window now. It looks like she is getting water, but some of it drips out of her mouth when she picks her head up. She is still trying. I can't give up on her. She is even still nursing her baby. She doesn't look that sick or disabled.

[sabby]

Oh dear.....((((((((((((((((((( Rap & Cayenne & Baby ))))))))))))))))))))))

Here's hoping that she is going to make it and thrive.


sabby

[Rapunzel]

I remember reading articles about goats surviving tetanus, and foud a reference to one about a llama and tetanus, but can't access the article. I wrote to the contact person and hope they write back fast and have something I can use.

[bchlyn]

i am praying...lyn

[Rapunzel]

Thanks. She's still strong, out standing on her dust hill watching her baby. I hope she starts getting better tomorrow.

[Angel_of_the_Past]

[Rapunzel]

She took a turn for the worse last night. Now she is down, still herself and wants to keep on, but she can't get up.

[sabby]

(((((((((((( Rap )))))))))))))

Sending you strength and prayers.


sabby

[Rapunzel]

She's gone. Poor baby. Serrano is the baby. He saw what happened, but there is no way he can understand.

[KathyM]

(((Rap)))

Life can be cruel sometimes. I'm sure with your help, he'll find his way.

[recluse1]

(((((((Rap))))))))) So sorry, hon.

[sabby]

I'm so very sorry to hear that (((((((((((((((( Rap ))))))))))))))))))))))

Healing thoughts going out to you and the baby.


sabby

[SeptemberMorn]

{{{{{{{{{{{Wendy and baby}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Are you having to bottle feed him? That could be a sad time but at healing for both of you, too.

[Christina86]

That's so sad. I'm sorry.... the poor baby, and I'm so sorry for you as well. Poor thing. Life isn't fair.

[Rapunzel]

He is old enough to make it on regular food. Bottle-feeding llamas is risky. The wrong kind of socialization, and lack of proper socialization by mature llamas, is what leads to abberant behavior syndrome. We will have to be very careful how we interact with this baby. He is now at risk for forgetting that he is a llama and that we are not. When he grows up that would mean he would be likely to think that he should be dominant, since he will be bigger than us.

[Rapunzel]

He is so cute though, and it is hard not to want to hold him (even thoguh he really is too big to hold). Cayenne wouldn't let us hold him. He was curious, but she was always right there to tell us that we were not llamas and therefore not to be trusted.

[SeptemberMorn]

It's a good thing he's old enough to feed himself. Not good to have him thinking he's dominant, though. Not like goats, eh?

Do you have other llamas he can hang out with?

[Danialla]

Oh Rapunzel, how sad.

It is very hard for me to see any animal hurting, so I can't even imagine what it would be like to see an animal that you are so attached to suffer...... and with a baby no less.

I know the baby will do just fine under the care of you and your family. Take care

[eskielover]

(((((((((((Rap & Seranno))))))))))))),

It's tough when they loose their Mommy. I know it happens with horses many times.....but not usually from tetanus......do they know how Mommy got that, of it just got in through an open wound?

It's important to continually work with him, so that he knows you are the one in charge.....they learn respect & that is what they have to know no matter how huge they get. Even with mommy, my foal had to be worked with so that she wouldn't think she could dominate since she was going to end up huge....(she is over 17 hands & is not yet 4 years old)......it's constant working with them that is the key.

I know how hard it is to loose a pet that means the world to us......there isn't anything that can fix the hurt.......When I was hurting after my 1st american eskimo died 2 months ago (stupidly, I had a choke chain on him while I was out with them doing yard work & got distracted.....he choked himself & died before I could even do anything about it), I found these words that really made a lot of sense as the guilt I have from that isn't something that I can get over.

This quote I will always hold onto in times like this:

You don't get over it, you just get through it. You don't get by it, because you can't get around it. It doesn't "get better"; it just gets different. Everyday Grief puts on a new face.
Wendy Feireisen

My prayers are with you that God will give you the strength to handle your grief knowing that Serrano needs your focus now & together, you will have a bond that will develope into something very special.

Hugs,
Debbie

[Rapunzel]

Tetanus is rare where I live, and Cayenne had no wounds that we could find. But llamas love dust bathing, and she loved to roll around on the dust hill. The vet explained that tetanus is in the soil, and it's a fluke, but animals can just breath it in. And I hadn't been able to catch her and give her shots. She was sure that people were the enemy. She wasn't able to convince Serrano of that though, and he kept being curious and coming up to us even though she told him not to. Now he comes right up and is easy to handle. But that can still be dangerous when he gets bigger.

Thanks for the quote. That is a good one.

[bchlyn]

i am sorry you lost her... i am praying for her baby, you and your family... take gentle care lyn

[Rapunzel]

Thanks. We are getting through it. It's hard to believe she isn't still out there. And maybe she is, in spirit. She loved her baby so much.

[Rapunzel]

It is hard seeing him keep looking for his mom and not understanding that she could leave him. He will be okay. He likes being hummed to. Alpacas (baby is 3/4 alpaca) hum. I never really noticed llamas humming, but I think they can. The baby hums a lot, especially now.

We don't have any other llamas, but do have a few goats, and he has been with them since he was born, and stays with them now. Llamas can bond with goats or sheep very well, which is what makes them such good guardian animals. They dedicate themselves to their herd, and seem to be willing to accept any species as herd members. Cayenne's mother belongs to some people who have ducks, and she guards the ducks.

The llama/guanaco I used to have, that I had to send away because he got dangerous, was bonded with the sheep (that I had to give away before we moved). It was when we loaded the sheep to go to their new home that he started to be dangerous. He fought us and had to be locked up. Then he decided to be in charge of the goats, but that wasn't enough. He patrolled the borders of the pasture and watched all of the neighbors' animals and children as if they were also his charges.

We'll have to be careful in how we work with Serrano so that he doesn't start to think eventually that he is in charge. Dominant llamas are dangerous. They fight differently than goats or sheep, but goats can have the same attitude too. But they aren't as big and are easier to control and manage.

For now, Serrano is a big fluffy baby who is feeling lost without his mom. And he's scared to leave the pasture. It was only Saturday that Cayenne started coming out with the goats to eat the grass in our back yard. He came with her, but was afraid of the fence and thought it would shock him when we tried to get him to go back through the gate. That's the only time he's been out of the pasture. But gradually I would like to start taking him for walks. Maybe it would be best to teach him to cush first though.