MEGAESOPHAGUS IN ALPACAS

Is it choke or is it megaesophagus? That's a question you have to ask yourself when you see your animal excessively salivating and/or regurgitating.

Running an alpaca business means keeping yourself educated about problems that could arise in alpaca farming. An alpaca investment is a great business but you must be prepared to deal with health issues and tough decisions along the way. Alpaca raising is generally easy, but occasionally you meet with problems.

While megaesophagus is not that common among alpacas, it does occur. If you have an alpaca that has this problem, you will need to make some decisions about keeping them or euthanizing the alpaca. No studies have really been done in alpacas with this problem.

First what is megaesophagus? It is an enlarged or dilated esophagus. Your alpacas esophagus lacks muscle tone to move food to the stomach.

Why is this a problem? When food can't be moved into the stomach it pools in the esophagus. When this happens, your alpaca is not getting the nourishment it needs because it is not getting the food into its stomach. When food sits in the esophagus, it puts your alpaca at a huge risk for aspiration phuemonia.

What causes a dilated esophagus? There are a couple of things:

1. It can be congenital.

2. It can be acquired.

3. It can be from a disease process.

Congenital means they are born with the problem. There, so far, is no conclusive evidence in other animals that it is genetic. It would be wise to not breed an animal with this condition. You may want to go back and track the animals heritage to see if any other alpacas born from the dam and sire have this condition.

It can be acquired through some environmental factor. A foreign body or heavy metal poisoning (such as lead) can cause the dilation of the esophagus.

Your alpaca may have a disease that is causing it. Tumors, neurologic disorders, and autoimmune diseases may cause megaesophagus.

How is it diagnosed? Usually through x-rays, blood tests, and occasionally through endoscopy. Blood tests will tell you if there is some other disease process going on that could be causing the enlarged esophagus.

What are the symptoms? Sometimes the first symptoms you will see are coughing, lethargy, labored breathing, and loss of appetite. These are due to aspiration pnuemonia. The common symptoms are regurgitation and weight loss. You may see excessive salivation, too.

How is this condition treated? If it is caused by a disease, fix the disease process and you most likely will fix the problem. Same with the acquired type. Remove the foreign body and your alpaca will get better. If it is caused by an infection or irritation of the nerve supply, then you must fix this and your problem is solved. The congenital megaesophagus is probably permanent.

To treat the problem whether temporary or permanent, you need to improve the alpacas nutritional status. This alpaca is not getting food even though it looks like he is eating. Talk to your vet. In dogs they sometimes use a stomach tube. We don't know if this is an option for alpacas.

Use gravity to help your alpaca move food into their stomach. Put the food in an elevated position. Have your alpaca stand with its front legs higher than its hind legs (maybe use a step for this or a mound of dirt).

Give small frequent feedings. These feedings need to be high in calorie (check with a vet on what they think is best). You need to feed this alpaca separate because they will eat slower.

Be prepared to give this alpaca a lot of care. Watch for signs of aspiration pneumonia.

What is the prognosis of this alpaca? Well, that depends. A young animal may improve its esophageal function as it matures. An older animal depends on how well you can maintain its nutrition and how often it gets aspiration pneumonia.

Unfortunately, you may have to make the decision to euthanize this animal. You'll have to decide if it's kinder to put the animal down or if your willing to put the work and expense into keeping it healthy. Only you and your vet can decide what is best for each individual alpaca with an enlarged esophagus. It's not necessarily a given that they be euthanized.

Megaesophagus, though not common, does happen in alpacas. You need to know what is normal for your alpacas behavior so you can spot abnormal behavior quickly. If you find you have an alpaca with a dilated esophagus, you need to be prepared to make a tough decision about the best course of action for you and your alpaca.

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