What do alpacas eat?
Choke is an obstruction of the oesophagus that can occur in alpacas when food gets trapped in their throat. Symptoms of choke in alpacas include coughing, putting their head down, dribbling, inability to eat. If you see an alpaca choking, take food away immediately to prevent them from ingesting more and increasing the size of the blockage and carefully syringe water into their mouth and massage the neck to try and move the blockage either up or down. If you are unable to remove the blockage, you may need to call the vet and it may be necessary to provide pain relief and anti-inflammatory. You may want to skip the alpaca's meals for a day or two to allow any swelling and irritation to ease. Monitor the alpaca at next couple of feeding times to check if it happens again and if it does, try to identify WHY... Is the food too big? Are they gutsing food too fast? Is there arguing amongst alpacas? is there not enough room at the troughs? If after addressing any concerns above, it is still happening, consider changing feed options and ask the vet to visit to check if the teeth are ok. Regular choking can lead to scarring & permanent damage, so it is very important to prevent it from happening.