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[3droms]

We have an eight (approx) year old bullock dromedary. He lost weight rapidly in December. We are still not entirely sure why.

We wormed him first (with Panacur) and when he didnt get any better we collected material for an egg count and wormed him again. The egg count test did not reveal any parasites (but we had just wormed him a week before).

The test did reveal a large number of non-parasitic free living larvae. The lab put that down to contamination however, the pathologist recommended that we test the pasture for Sporodesmin fungus (a pasture fungus that affects the liver that has affected Alpacas in our area). The weather conditions were perfect for the fungus and the camel was showing a couple of the symptoms (sudden weight loss, lethagy, inappetance and lowered faecal output). Unfortunately by the time the pathologist gave me the instructions to carry out the fungus test it had rained (known to dramatically reduce fungus numbers) and the test showed nothing. We have 2 other camels and they seemed fine.

We had the vet come out and he wanted a blood sample. The bullock did not want any part of that and we decided to give that up and try worming him again and giving him Blud Sachets (blood builder and liver supporter). He perked up and began eating well again.

He has gained some of the weight back but his weight gain seems to have stopped (he is still eating well) and he is still underweight. We have wormed him regularly so I do not think it is caused by worms. Any suggestions????