Scabies on alpacas

Scabies on alpacas

At the outset, it is worth saying that scabies is, has been and will be present on alpacas. It is a parasite that lives on the skin of alpacas, and as soon as the alpaca's immunity drops, it immediately multiplies and becomes pathogenic (causes symptoms). If we notice disturbing symptoms in our alpaca, we must act immediately because late diagnosed or untreated scabies affect the hair follicles and it can lead to the fact that the fleece will not grow back. And the complete neglect of this disease in alpacas can even lead to its death.

Types of scabies in alpacas

There are 3 types of scabies:

Chorioptes - The most common: tail, feet, genitals

Psoroptes - The most common: ears, mouth

Sarcoptes - The most common: abdomen, armpits, groin and legs.

How do you know if scabies is active?

Active - When all wounds, erosions, bloody rushes, redness are visible.

Inactive - If the skin is already of normal color, hyperkeratosis of the skin is reduced and the wounds have healed, we can proceed to the second stage, which is skin regeneration.

How to treat scabies in alpacas

Theoretically, to be 100% sure what species of scabies we are dealing with, we should:

Take scrapings of the lesions and check under the microscope.


However, hardly anyone does it, because it is worth reacting quickly, besides, sarcoptosis and chorioptosis most often coexist. The first thing we pay attention to is location. As described above, if, for example, we see belly symptoms in an alpaca, we can assume that it is Sarcoptes and then take appropriate action.


Before starting any drug administration, we always start by removing the scab, because if the scab is not removed, the drug will not reach all mites and the treatment will be ineffective. We can do it in 2 ways:


a) mechanical pulling - dilute the keratolytic shampoo in water, apply it to the scab, and when it is soft, rub it with the coarsest towel, using circular movements. Depending on the severity of hyperkeratosis, this process may take up to several days.


b) using an ointment containing salicylic acid to dissolve the scab.


This is very important because there may be mites under the scab and we cannot eliminate them. If we suspect:


Chorioptes or Psoroptes that live on the skin, we use Sebacil or the so-called witch decoction.


- Sebacil - The best known and most commonly used mite treatment on the Polish market. This drug is based on the active substance Foksym. We use it in the following proportions: 1 ml per 1 liter of water. Then we mix and spray it in all places of scabies lesions.


- Witch decoction - a multi-component drug that can be ordered, among others, in the OMNI-VET office.


Sarcoptes - is susceptible to internally administered IVERMECTIN, therefore, in addition to external treatment with the above-mentioned drugs, we also use ivermectin administered subcutaneously in the treatment of sarcoptosis. We use 0.6 ml of ivermectin per 10 kg of alpaca weight. We give it every 7 days in a cycle of 3-6 weeks. It all depends on how advanced the scabies we are dealing with. This system works best for us.


When we manage to kill all the mites, we still have to take care of the condition of the alpaca skin. If baldness has occurred, we also want the fiber to grow back. For this purpose, we must regularly moisturize and lubricate the skin.


If the mange mite is advanced in the herd, faeces should be examined for the presence of internal parasites - they can cause a large drop in immunity in the herd, and thus the development of mite infestation.

Prevention - how to counteract it and what not to do

It is impossible to protect alpacas against scabies, because alpacas do not have lanolin, unlike sheep, so the drug does not spread throughout the body or remains in the hair follicles and sebaceous glands. The drug that we apply to the skin acts only locally at the point of application and does not spread over the skin.

- Scratching posts for alpacas in the pasture - this is the perfect tool for carrying mites - we advise against mounting.

- Nothing will be better than regularly browsing your herd. We recommend that you carefully (in all places, especially those invisible from the outside, such as the armpits, under the tail and groin) to examine each alpaca at least once a week.

- Reducing the excessive density of alpacas - the greater the distance between alpacas, the better