This is not meant in ANY way to replace your veterinarian.  Rather, this is intended to educate, so that you may be a better partner in working with your veterinarian in providing care for camelids.  Do NOT attempt to diagnosis any illness at home.  Any animal that you suspect may have a medical problem should be taken quickly to your veterinarian.  Ask your veterinarian to demonstrate these injection techniques to you and supervise your first attempts.  SQ & IM techniques can be easily mastered with a little practice.  IP & IV techniques are best left for your veterinarian. 

Many of the injections that I give my animals are SQ (subcutaneous) injections.  I like to always give the vaccines on the left and the anthelmintics on the right.  This way I know if an animal has any swelling or hair loss in the area I know exactly what was given & where.  Again, routine is important!  If I am treating an animal with antibiotics or any medication that requires repeated injections I select multiple injections sites and rotate.  This way I allow the tissue around a given injection site to repair before receiving another insult.  With any injection I always aspirate back (pull back) on the plunger to make certain I'm in the correct location.

1 - SQ site; behind the shoulder

2 - IM site; vastus lateralis & tensor fasciae muscles

3 - IM site; caudal thigh muscles

SQ - Subcutaneous, meaning just under the skin.  18 - 20 gauge needles work well on adults, while 22 gauge needles work well on neonates.  I find the best place to give SQ injections are just behind the shoulder.  I part the fiber to the skin, gently lift the skin and insert the needle (with the hole away from the animals body) parallel to the animal (Photo 1).  Aspirate & inject.  If I obtain blood on my aspirate, then I withdraw the needle & select a new injection site.

IM - Intramuscular, meaning within the muscle.  18-20 gauge needles work well on adults, while 20-22 gauge needles work well on neonates.  I like to inject into the tensor fasciae muscle & vastus lateralis muscle.  I use this area due to the absence of major vasculature or nerve innervation to the area.  The lateral saphenous vein and the sciatic nerve are nestled in the caudal thigh muscles and can be hit by a needle inserted into the caudal thigh (Photo 3-4).  Injecting a drug like penicillin into a vein can cause rapid systemic changes, potentially resulting in death.  Positioning is important here as well.  I stand with my right hip against the animal left hip.  From this position the animal doesn't have the range of motion to kick me.  I grasp the wool firmly in one hand and insert the needle perdendicular to the animal (Photo 2).  Aspirate & inject.  If I obtain blood on my aspirate, then I withdraw the needle & select a new injection site.

IP  - Intraperitoneal, meaning within the peritoneum or abdominal cavity.  I like to give plasma transfusions IP, rather than IV.  

IV - Intravenous, meaning within the vein.  18-20 gauge needles work well on adults, while 22 gauge needles work well on neonates.  16 gauge x 5.5" catheters work well on adult alpacas, while 14 gauge x 5.5" catheters work well on adult llamas.  16 gauge x 5.5" works on neonates >25#, while 18 gauge x 2" catheters work well on neonates < 25#.  Many times medications or fluids require IV administration.  For single administration, I use the jugular vein.  For repeated administration, an IV catheter is generally placed to reduce repeated punctures to the animal and the vessel walls.  This should only be performed by a veterinarian.  Tapping a jugular vein is considerably more difficult in llamas and alpacas than in other livestock species. 

This is not a procedure that should be attempted without direct supervision from your veterinarian and extensive hands on training.  There are vital structures (recurrent laryngeal nerve & carotid artery - on the right side and the vagosympathetic trunk, carotid artery & esophagus - on the left side) that run inside and along side of the jugular groove.  Placing a needle through one of these structures could lead to immediate or long term problems, like the development of mesaesophaus or a blood clot in the artery which can lodge in the brain. 

Positioning of the animal is important for access to jugular veins in lamoids.  I like to place the animal in a chute or tie the animal & have an assistant restrain the head and neck of the animal against their own body.  The head should be in a normal flexed position, not extended towards the sky, in alignment with the neck (Photo 6).  Neonates can be in a cushed position with an assistant holding the neck upright & the neck in a normal flexed position.  The adult lamoid skin is thick and the overlying muscle can be a pain & painful to get through.  Higher on the neck, the skin is thicker, but the vessel is more shallow.  Lower on the neck, the skin is thinner, but the vessel lies more deeply.  I give IV injections and place IV catheters about 1/3 down the animals neck (Photo 5-6).  In some animals visualization of the vein is near impossible, so I must rely on landmarks & ballotment.  For obtaining a blood sample or giving IV medications it is not necessary to clip any fiber from the area, simply part the fiber down to the skin. 

When placing a catheter, it is best to clip a small area and prepare it as a surgical site.  Duck tape works well to hold fiber out of the surgical preparation area.   I like to inject a small amount of lidocaine in & around the intended catheter placement site.  Due to the thickness of lamoid skin and the fragility of an IV catheter, frequently a cut down through the skin is performed to provide ease of passage of the catheter through the skin.  When either the needle or the catheter pass into the vessel there is a slight change in pressure that can be felt by a gentle hand.  I aspirate the needle or watch for blood to flow out the end of the catheter - SUCCESS!  When placing a catheter into lamoids, don't go too fast and force the catheter, as this can cause kinks or the catheter to thread out of the vein.  Patience is a virtue when placing IV jugular catheters into llamas & alpacas.  Once you think the catheter is in, double check because often times it has encountered an problem somewhere along that 5.5" of the catheter.  These can be tricky, so don't be surprised if it takes 2-3 attempts to get a catheter properly set.  By the way, if you are an owner, don't watch the vet set a catheter - that is the automatic curse that it will take multiple attempts!  Once the catheter is in place, I apply a small amount of skin glue & then suture it in place.  Vet wrap will help protect the catheter.  I like to take an extra piece of vet wrap to cover the injection cap, just to reduce contamination.  Remember catheters are temporary!  They should be removed after 5-7 days.  TIP:  In cria's be careful & methodical when placing a catheter as the jugular vein is small and is easy to thread the catheter out of it. 

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Last modified: 07/22/08