I had my parents visit over the weekend and they were so excited to meet the alpacas, however, it was raining quite hard on the first day so rather than take my parents into the paddock where it was muddy and slippery (both have had recent joint replacements so are not fully firm on their feet), I grabbed some grass pellets and let mum and dad hand feed the boys over the fence. BIG MISTAKE!!!! There was a bit of tussling between the three boys for the pellets and we were feeding them over a four foot fence. Larry is the quietest and least competitive so he mostly 'took a back seat' but about five minutes in, Moe and Curly both started heaving and hacking and vomiting copious quantities of green slime and frothing at the mouth. Oh my goodness, as a new 'paca owner, I was so scared. I kept thinking that logic said it was a 'too much, too quick' situation and that they would clear it but there was so much slime coming up and they were clearly distressed, I also feared that maybe they had eaten something else toxic or the pellets were somehow contaminated. I got on the phone immediately to their breeder and she confirmed it was very likely choking and advised me to massage their necks, looking for lumps, and if that didn't seem to help or if breathing was compromised, call the vet. She also said that if it cleared without vet intervention and once they had calmed, see if they would eat some hay. Well, Curly seemed to sort himself out fairly quickly, maybe after three or four minutes, but Moe kept right on coughing and heaving and sliming. He cushed and got back up again several times too. I was so frightened I was about to see my beautiful boy die right in front of me! I kept up the massaging, found a bit of a lump, got it moving. I kept watching his nostrils to ensure he was breathing OK.....he was, though lots of flaring going on. It frightened me even more that Moe let me do all this full, very hands-on handling of him without any struggling as that just wouldn't happen normally and proved how stressed he must have been. After maybe ten minutes, the sliming stopped and he started to calm down. I herded them all into the barn, out of the rain and wind and sat with them for about half an hour or so. Curly was eating hay within five minutes of his episode finishing and Moe, probably another ten minutes or so after that. This was one of the most scary things I have seen happen to an animal and I hope I never see it again. I cursed my own stupidity as I was clearly the cause of the situation. I think it happened for two reasons....firstly, hand feeding them in such close proximity to each other, meant they were competing for the food and therefore gobbling it too quickly, as well as spitting at each other with a mouth full of pellet, and secondly, feeding them over the fence meant they were eating with their necks stretched up in the air and not really swallowing properly. Usually the boys eat any pelleted food either from their feed troughs, which are individual, placed at suitable height and set well apart to prevent competition, or, if I am hand feeding them pellets as treats/rewards, then it is done at a 'head-down' height and only a few pellets at a time. I will, in future, ensure ANY feeding is done in this way! I certainly learned my lesson and wanted to share it in case anybody here unknowingly makes the same mistake or at least can read about choking, what it looks like and how to handle it, should it happen to their 'pacas. I know I'd have been a lot less frightened and panicky had I had a little insight I am eternally grateful that not only did Moe and Curly recover fully in a relatively short time (though it felt like a lifetime while it was happening!) but also that this episode does not seem to have damaged our relationship. I was especially concerned that Moe would steer clear of me after such firm and intrusive handling but as soon as he had calmed down, he was right back to his old self, following me around to see if I had any more treats....I may have learned my lesson but I'm not sure he has!!!!
