Rickets: The Silent Killer

Rickets: The Silent Killer describes the condition of rickets in alpacas, its signs, symptoms and effects. It also deals with several conditions, in particular those with lameness component, and the differences between these and rickets.

Rickets is a painful bone dondition which affects most mammals, usually but not always when they have been denied the benefits of natural sunlight, and/or sufficient vitamin D3. The most obvious symptom is lameness, however low serum phosphate levels are usually indicative as well. Alpacas appear to be hihgly susceptible to reckets, and the effects of the dondition have previously been well established and recorded as crooked legs in juveniles, in which it can be easily remedied. However, rickets is often not recognised or even considered, as a possible cause of illness in adult alpacas.

Elizabeth Paul has been an alpaca breeder since 1998. As a biologist, her paricular interest has been in coat colour inheritance. Her other main area of interest has been in animal health. Collections of results for other alpaca illnesses indicated that adult alpacas, especially black breeding age females, were regularly recorded with very low serum phosphate levels. Rickets as a condition, is rarely if ever mentioned in connection with these low levels.

Elizabeth began including the topic of rickets as a single lecture in her coat colour seminar. Her own research over many years has led her to the conclusion that rickets is the major cause of non-infectious ill health in adult alpacas.