Samantha - Autopsy Report & Thanks

[twnpnds]

My son went down to feed our llamas Saturday evening and found Samantha laying down away from the herd. She was breathing hard and moaning. At first I thought it was heat stress. But then she got up and went to the poop pile twice in 5 minutes. She seemed to be straining some and only peed. This worried me. Samantha is pregnant and while I don't know her due date, I do know it's too early. I figure that she's about 11 months along. Llama gestation is eleven and a half months. Samantha gets a full bag about a week before birthing. She does not have much of a bag and does have a little watery milk. I called the vet and he seemed to think she was impacted and a little colicky. So we went through the enema, oil, and pain meds treatment. She seemed to feel a little better and was resting. I checked under her tail and all seemed normal. So i went back to the house at 3:30am. Had 3 orphaned baby squirrels to feed. I went back out at 5:30am and she was breathing really hard again and moaning. She seemed like she was also having contractions. I checked her and she was opening up a little. I stayed with her for half an hour and nothing was happening. She did not dilate anymore and was not pushing. Just seemed to be having contractions and doing a lot of moaning. I woke the vet up. We had 2 choices. Risk the baby and maybe her too and try a c-section or try to keep her from having the baby. So right now we are opting for the latter. She did finally stop the contractions and did eat. But she breathes hard and nosily when lying down. We believe it's from the pressure of the baby. She is miserable and we have her on some light pain meds to help keep her comfortable. So far, so good. How long that lasts is anyone's guess. I was up for 27 straight hours and finally went to bed for a 4 hour nap after knowing she was ok. I know I haven't asked for anything before, but I am now asking for prayers for my sweet Samantha.

[downundermum]

twnpnds prayers coming your way for your girl Samantha. Hopefully she will get through this and hold on for a couple of weeks more.
What do you call a baby llama?? Do you seperate them from the herd when they are due or do they prefer to have their babies outside in their herd..

[redmustangwoman1]

Oh No...I will keep her in my prayers.Hoping she holds on for a couple weeks more... Keep us posted ok...God bless.....

[catg06]

Awww...Samantha must be so uncomfortable..especially in all of this heat! Sending prayers and positive thoughts from Long Island!

[Meghan]

prayers coming from Nottingham in GB

[twnpnds]

Thanks everyone for your prayers. Samantha seems a little better today. She is no longer dilated and her bag is somewhat fuller. She does have full teats and her milk seems a little thicker. Her breathing is also back to normal. She also is humming instead of moaning. She is still uncomfortable and isn't eating much. What we are now thinking is that the baby may be putting pressure on her and this is causing her the discomfort and keeping her from eating much at one time. I am hoping that she does not have a huge baby in there. Babies weigh in the 20 to 30 pound range when born. She is drinking water with some electrolytes in it. Yesterday I could feel the baby and today I can't. It might have moved up more in the birth position. When I pushed on her side I felt some movement but can't be sure if it was from the baby or Samantha pushing back. Hopefully the little wooly in there was saying I felt that!

A baby llama is called a cria. Llamas are strong herd animals and don't like to be seperated from the herd. I let my females birth in the pasture unless it's nasty out. They will move away from the herd but stay pretty close. Something I have noticed with my girls is that their daughter/s or their mom will stay close and are the first ones to greet the new arrival. After the baby is born the other herd members will come and welcome the little one then leave mom and baby alone. Not long after mom and baby will return to the herd. I will put them in the shed for a few hours at this point to allow for good bonding with mom. I have a female that likes to steal babies so I want to be sure the new baby knows who mom is. I also check them over good, iodine their navels, and make sure they are nursing good. I also make sure to give a lot of hugs and kisses. Baby llamas are almost always born during the day. The latest I have had born was at 1:30pm. The earliest was at about 6:30am. Wish all these dang mares would be so considerate. LOL. When Samantha births I will post pics here for everyone to see.

[twnpnds]

Forgot to post this. Sorry I haven't been on to chat with all my friends. Really haven't had much time. Between feeding the baby squirrels I have to do that nasty H word (housework) or do whatever other chores and errands I can squeeze in. I do get on late at night while waiting to feed the squirrels their last meal before going to bed for a few hours. I love you all and miss you.

[redmustangwoman1]

Hi Gigi...I can't wait to see some pics when he or she is born...I bet ya are really busy but thats kewl...Awwwwww baby squirrels...How cute.My Sinbad would love em too....You take care ok...See ya on Yahoo soon I hope....God bless.. We miss ya

[Melanie]

How is Samantha doing today? I pray she is doing better.

[Meghan]

I was going to say that,how is she???

[twnpnds]

I took Samantha for a short walk today to let her graze. She ate a little then wanted to go back. I sprayed her with the hose to cool her off and she enjoyed that. She also visited with some of the other llamas then had enough. So it was back to the shed. She still won't eat any grain and eats very little of anything else. She is still uncomfortable but doesn't seem to be in pain. The discomfort is more noticeable while laying down. So maybe the baby is putting pressure on her. She is very depressed. I am going to have a fecal done to see if maybe she has some parasites that could be causing her to have no appetite. A sad possibilty is that she may have fatty liver disease. She really has us baffled. Unfortunately when it come to llamas not many vets know much about them, including mine. My vet does not have the equipment to do an ultra sound. I am going to call around and see if any vets within a reasonable distance does. I would like to take her to Mississippi State but it's about a 2 or 3 hour drive and I don't think she can handle the trip. Especially with our near 100 degree temps. I would need an air conditioned trailer for that kind of trip and don't know of anyone with one. They also don't know much about llamas but they at least have the equipment to do ultra sounds and examine her properly. Can also do tests and have results right away. Just don't know what to do. I am at such a loss. I called a llama friend tonight who is a pro when it comes to pregnancys and birthing problems. She has saved many premies. She told me that she has a few females that will go through the whole labor thing about a month before their due date. Moaning, groaning, rolling, etc. then about 3 days later they quit and then a month later give birth. She thinks they are getting the baby in position. Geez, sure would be nice if this was Samantha's case. Thanks for all the prayers and for just listening. It really helps when you have animal loving friends to share your anguish with. I love you all. God bless all of you.

[downundermum]

Thanks for the update twnpnds, l had been wondering how Samantha was doing. Sure hope this is just a case of baby getting ready or causing pressure in the wrong place, but like human babies feet under the ribs oww mine did it to me a lot.
Will keep praying for her.

[twnpnds]

Samantha is not doing very well. We finally found the problem. A huge problem. Hookworms and lots of them. Really surprised me. My llamas are on a worming schedule and I do have fecal checks done. Last one was in May and everything seemed fine. A friend told me something that I didn't know. Before I go into that let me explain llama poop. It looks like deer droppings and we call it llama beans. I take in about 6 beans to be tested. What I didn't know is that worms can show up in 1 of those beans and not the others. So now I'm wondering how many false readings have I had? I know the vet only checks one which is the norm. I also know that I am the one responsible for her misery. And she is in a lot of misery. So now I have 2 very hard decisions to make. End her's and the baby's life or do a c-section and try to save a very compromised baby whose chances are extremely slim. Samantha probably won't survive the surgery and there's a chance that the baby may already be dead. Felt no movement this evening. My heart is ripped apart. Especially since this could have been prevented. But I know I must do what's best for my darling Samantha.

[Melanie]

Oh NO.. I'm so sorry!! What a tough decision to make. I feel so bad for you. Please don't beat yourself up on this. You have done so much for Samantha and we all know how much you care for her. What does the vet recommend? Hugs to you...

[redmustangwoman1]

Oh no Gigi...Praying really hard for your dear Samantha and her baby.Don't be hard on yorself ...Ya didn't know.Hugs to you and Momma and baby...God bless