Did you know that camelids (alpaca and llama) naturally wear down their incisor teeth in the wild? Therefore, routine incisor trimming is only required if the animal has been diagnosed with a condition resulting in the abnormal wear of the incisors.
The trimming of incisor teeth has recently become a veterinary only procedure. Incorrect trimming results in the exposure of live tooth tissue (pulp chamber), which often leads in infection within the tooth root. Since removing infected camelid incisor teeth is both incredibly invasive and expensive, it’s best to avoid this risk altogether. Therefore, shearer’s are no longer allowed to carry out this procedure.
If you are worried about the dental health of your alpaca or llama, get some professional advice and give The Lifestyle Vet team a call.
A high incidence of dental disease…
A high incidence of dental disease exists in the NZ camelid population. Unlike other species, it is incredibly difficult to use distance examination as a tool to diagnose dental disease in camelids. In cases of severe dental disease, the affected animal may demonstrate the following clinical signs:
- packing food material in the check pouch
- abnormal chewing movements
- unwillingness to eat supplementary feed (suddenly or gradually)
- weight loss despite drenching
- a change in behaviour (do you have a grumpy alpaca?)
If you suspect that your beloved pet alpaca may be struggling with dental disease, get in touch with our team so that we can carry out a thorough oral examination under sedation. Routine dental examinations are the only tool we have to detect early dental disease in this species.
Canine Fighting Teeth
Alpacas have razor sharp fighting teeth on the upper and lower jaws. In males, these fighting teeth are used to bite and cut an opponent during a fight. Although fighting teeth can measure up to 3cm long in some males and can cause serious injuries, trimming these teeth often results in the exposure of live tissue, resulting in nasty tooth root infections. Please contact The Lifestyle Vet team before asking your local vet or shearer to trim these fighting teeth. An example picture of a nasty canine tooth root infection is procvided below.
Alpacas may develop dental abnormalities at any age.
If you have any concerns, contact The Lifestyle Vet team today.
