Who Has Worry Wrinkles Besides Me??

Page 4

This llama displays nearly all of the cues about the head for serious stress or strain.

He has severely tightened his facial muscles actually pulling the lower lid away from the eye. This tightening has pulled his lower lip back enough that his mouth is now partially opened. His nostrils are very flared indicating rapid breathing. His eye seems distant. He is off balance leaning against a tree trunk. Additionally, though it is somewhat difficult to note in the photo, he is drooling.

This condition is serious. If you are training, end the session immediately. If you are traveling or at a show or fair, do what you can immediately do to remedy or at least significantly mitigate the circumstances. If you would see this stance out in your field, know there is a problem of some sort. Immediately consider the surroundings and call your veterinarian.

With each and every situation, it is important to consider the “look” you feel expressed in their eyes. Review the photos of each of these llamas and alpacas paying deliberate attention to their eye expression. What additional information comes to you about their personalities or their interest in what is going on around them? Is it possible to consider that their expressed tension and concern might seem more from an outside stimulus as opposed to within them – a reaction to their surroundings as opposed to illness? Perhaps it is both. Consider the possible stories for each of these llamas and what course of action you might chose to best assist in a mitigation or remedy. Would you take their temperature or take them for a walk? Would you stop what you are doing with them or perhaps do something differently? Would you call your veterinarian? Is the level of stress appropriate for the surroundings and personality of a particular animal at this given time? Could it be something more? Learning what might be expressed through the eyes of each of your alpacas and llamas will be a valuable aide in determining how they may be feeling. As with people, though we may individually express a bit differently, our eyes and faces can tell quite a story.

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It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

Eugene Ionesco

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