Don’t overlook the importance of camelid preventative healthcare

Dr Ami Sawran MRCVS explains what you need to consider

- Dr Ami Sawran

PARASITES ARE STILL A BURDEN The autumn weather is often warm enough to support growth and multiplication of intestinal worms, so regular faecal egg counting and vigilance for ill thrift is still very important. FAMACHA scoring the mucous membranes around the eyes is a useful companion to faecal egg counting. This involves assessing the level of anaemia by comparing against a colour guided chart.

Animals particularly at risk of parasite burdens are the very old, very young, and those supporting cria. Regular faecal egg counts with techniques that are designed to identify camelid-specific parasites should continue into the autumn and should also be carried out if you have any health concerns over an individual animal.

It is important to take veterinary advice on which animals to sample and seek support with interpreting results of faecal testing for optimal treatment regimes.

BODY CONDITION SCORES As winter approaches, you may wish to assess your animals’ body condition scores (BCS). If you are not yet used to condition scoring, this can be demonstrated by your vet. BCSs range from 1-5, or 1-10, with 1 being emaciated and the other end of the scales, obese.