Skin Conditions

Disclaimer: If your alpaca is unwell, you should seek professional veterinary treatment. We are not trained vets and are only sharing our personal experiences.


Skin Conditions in Alpacas 


Alpacas can get dermatitis and other bacterial/fungal skin conditions. For example, we have heard of alpacas having reactions to different types of grasses.


When Stewart arrived he had small raised bumps on his lips which could be felt by touch. Prescribed treatment: Prednoderm (a green cortisone based ointment obtained through a Vet) applied every couple of days or as required. 


Flaky skin around an infected ear tag hole. Treated with Prednoderm (Prescribed by Vet). 


Albert had a skin condition, believed to be dermatitis, on his bum/rear end that resulted in hair loss, wormy skin and a black wax-like substance. We treated this with a betadine wash every couple of days and Cetrigen spray. To help remove the wax substance and to encourage hair regrowth we scrubbed his skin with Truly Natural Ointment. 


Disclaimer: If your alpaca is unwell, you should seek professional veterinary treatment. We are not trained vets and are only sharing our personal experiences.

Mites in Alpacas


One thing we learnt soon after getting Albert, is that there are no approved drugs or medication for Alpacas in Australia. This means having a good vet who is experienced in working with Alpacas is important. 


So in December 2019, yes at the same time as his eye injury, we discovered shortly after shearing that Albert had these sores on parts of his legs. A skin scraping was taken and no mites were found under the scope. Believing it was dermatitis, it was suggested that we wash Albert with a Malesab wash daily to relieve his skin. While this helped to remove the crustiness, we stopped this treatment after a week as we felt it was making his skin “pink” and irritated. 


Instead, we began to treat the sores with a pink antibacterial spray called cetrigen. On our second trip to the vet, this time to Station Street Veterinary Clinic, a second scrapping was taken. The results: Scabies Mites!


There are three types of mites: 


Sarcoptic Mites are typically found burrowed in areas with little hair (legs, ears, face, belly). Typically signs are hair loss, thickening crusty skin and itching! 


Chorioptes Mites live on the surface of the alpaca and are usually accompanied by hair loss and itching. Typically found in between alpacas toes. 


Psoroptes or Mange is less common in Australia. In the UK signs are typically crusting and thickening skin around the lips accompanied by hair loss. Witches brew (see http://www.shagbarkridge.com/info/mites.html) is said to be effective for treating this. 


Treatment of Albert’s Scabies Mite: Our vet prescribed 1ml Dectomax injected SC. 


At the time we thought one injection would do but this is incorrect! 


If your Alpaca has mites, you will need to give them 1ml Dectomax every 7 days for four weeks. This is because while you will kill the living mites, you will not have killed their eggs which will hatch in the next seven days. 


In addition to 1ml Dectomax SC injection every seven days other things we tried:


Anywhere the skin had broken, we sprayed with a pink antibacterial spray called cetrigen to prevent infection and flies. 


A couple of months later, Albert's fleece grew back in those areas. 


Alternate treatment for mites: 


Note if your alpaca has manage mite it is likely they will also have tapeworm as mange mites carry tapeworm. 


Disclaimer: If your alpaca is unwell, you should seek professional veterinary treatment. We are not trained vets and are only sharing our personal experiences.